Category: Corona Virus

A look at some of the top headlines trending online today around the world including Thanksgiving meal shopping and food price increases, coronavirus updates and much more.

Thanksgiving dinner will gobble up more of your cash as turkey, other food prices rise (Orlando Sentinel)

Thanksgiving shoppers may not find everything on their grocery list (CBS)

US food banks struggle to feed hungry amid surging prices (AP)

Even hot dogs, burgers and deli meats will soon get more expensive (CNN)

Judge rejects Trumps bid to block release of Jan. 6 documents (NPR)

Storm to march from Pacific to East Coast, unleashing rain, wind, snow and cold air (Washington Post)

WHO: Coronavirus cases declining everywhere except Europe (AP)

Without ability to force recalls, FDA can only warn consumers about benzene in hand sanitizers (NBC)

Whistleblowers to play key role in enforcing Biden vaccine rule (CBS)

N.F.L. Fines Aaron Rodgers and Packers for Violating Covid-19 Protocols (NY Times)

Browns running backs Nick Chubb, Demetric Felton test positive for COVID (cleveland.com)

People names Paul Rudd 2021s Sexiest Man Alive (The Week)

Dean Stockwell of Quantum Leap, Blue Velvet dies at 85 (AP)

Brian Williams announces plans to depart MSNBC, NBC News after 28-year career with the network (Fox)

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala ties the knot in nikkah ceremony (BBC)

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Food prices, coronavirus news & more: Whats trending today - cleveland.com

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 249.8 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.04 million. More than 7.25 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

Australia has begun administering boost shots of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as restrictions were further eased in Sydney.

New Zealand is set to ease COVID-19 restrictions in Auckland, with lockdown measures likely phased out by the end of the month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

Indonesia will begin to give COVID-19 booster shots to the general public once 50% of the population has been fully vaccinated, its health minister has said. It's expected that the 50% mark will be hit at the end of next month.

South Korea has agreed to buy 70,000 courses of Pfizer's experimental antiviral COVID-19 pill, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on Saturday.

Costa Rican children aged 5 and older must get COVID-19 vaccinations, according to a new health ministry mandate.

Authorities in Greece have announced new measures that restrict access to cafes and restaurants, state services, banks and shops to those who are either vaccinated or have a negative test. It comes as new COVID-19 cases have hit a new daily high almost every day in November.

Japan recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than a year on Sunday, according to local media

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

The UK will start to roll out Merck's molnupiravir COVID-19 antiviral pill through a drug trial later this month, Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Adviser at the UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday.

It comes as the UK last week became the first country in the world to approve the pill, with the government announcing in October that it had secured 480,000 courses of the Merck drug, with another 250,000 courses of a Pfizer antiviral pill also ordered.

Asked about the molnupiravir approval, Hopkins told BBC television: "That is great news and it will start to be rolled out through a drug trial in the end of this month/the beginning of December."

Hopkins said all the trials so far had been done with the unvaccinated, so this would help understand how it will work in the wider vaccinated population.

"The new Pfizer drug is probably not going to be licensed until the new year some time," she added. "It is still likely to be a couple of months away."

Each of our Top 50 social enterprise last mile responders and multi-stakeholder initiatives is working across four priority areas of need: Prevention and protection; COVID-19 treatment and relief; inclusive vaccine access; and securing livelihoods. The list was curated jointly with regional hosts Catalyst 2030s NASE and Aavishkaar Group. Their profiles can be found on http://www.wef.ch/lastmiletop50india.

Top Last Mile Partnership Initiatives to collaborate with:

The US is preparing for long queues and delays today when travel restrictions are eased today, a senior official told Reuters on Friday.

President Joe Biden's administration "expects pent-up demand for travel, which means longer than normal wait times for travellers," the official said. The government was boosting staffing to pre-pandemic levels but "long lines are expected in the initial days".

The US is lifting travel restrictions for fully vaccinated air travellers from 33 countries and at its land borders with Mexico and Canada. The restrictions, put in place in early 2020 during the pandemic, barred most non-US citizens who within the last 14 days had been in any of the 33 counties.

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Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the coronavirus pandemic on 8 November | World Economic Forum - World Economic Forum

New research from the US has shown that white-tailed deer are being infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans. Antibodies were found in 40% of deer that were tested from January to March 2021 across Michigan, Pennsylvania, Illinois and New York state. A second unpublished study has detected the virus in 80% of deer sampled in Iowa between November 2020 and January 2021.

Such high levels of infection led the researchers to conclude that deer are actively transmitting the virus to one another. The scientists also identified different SARS-CoV-2 variants, suggesting there have been many human-to-deer infections.

The large numbers of white-tailed deer in North America and the fact that they often live close to people provide several opportunities for the disease to move between the two species. This can include wildlife management operations, field research, recreation, tourism and hunting. In fact, hunters are likely to be one of the most obvious sources of potential reinfection as they regularly handle dead animals. It has also been suggested that water sources contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 might provide a pathway for transmission, although this has yet to be proved.

Human-to-deer and deer-to-deer transmission are believed to be driving the rapid spread of the disease within white-tailed deer populations across the US. This is particularly apparent during the early months of 2021 when COVID infections were spiking in the human population. Previous studies have shown that SARS-CoV-2 can be passed from humans to domestic and captive animals including cats, dogs, zoo animals and, most notably, farmed mink. But, until now, the disease had not been shown to spread in wildlife species.

White-tailed deer are the most abundant large mammal in North America with a range extending from Canada to South America. The US population alone is estimated to number 30 million animals. They are a social species that live in family groups of two to 12 individuals that can thrive in a range of habitats, including urban parks and woodland.

These aspects of their ecology and behaviour have made them a species of particular concern when it comes to the spread of diseases, including bovine tuberculosis and chronic wasting disease. These pathogens have already led to considerable effects on the health of wild and domestic animal populations around the globe.

The findings from these latest studies have raised concerns that white-tailed deer could be a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2. Not only could this readily infect large numbers of animals, but also, more worryingly, it could spill back to humans.

This type of infection cycle was documented in workers on infected mink farms, which ultimately led to the Danish government euthanising their entire captive population of 17 million animals. It is important to underline that there is currently no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from white-tailed deer to humans. Initial experimental work has also suggests that infected deer tend not to have symptoms. Still, disease transmission in wildlife populations has considerable implications for human and animal health.

There is the possibility that viral mutation in a reservoir host, such as white-tailed deer, could lead to new variants of the disease. These variants may lead to greater infection rates, increased virulence (severity of symptoms) and prove more effective at evading the human immune system. Likewise, any reinfection from wildlife reservoirs could also complicate our long-term efforts to fight and suppress the disease.

Influenza, which jumps readily between birds, humans and other mammals (particularly pigs), presented similar problems. These multiple reservoirs of disease can lead to new strains emerging that humans have lower immunity against, as was the case with swine flu in 2009.

It is important to note that there are limitations to these studies, both in terms of the methods used and the limited geographical range of investigation. The most recent and unpublished study used the latest genetic approaches to reliably detect SARS-CoV-2 in tissue samples but focused only on deer in Iowa. Whereas the antibody tests in the first study were conducted across four states but only show that the animal has been exposed to the virus. Yet the combined findings have highlighted that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is likely to be widespread in white-tailed deer.

There is a great deal that we still need to learn about the developing situation with COVID and deer. The most important topics to focus on include understanding how the virus is being transmitted from humans to deer and determining the risk of spillover back into the human population. Research is urgently needed to assess the risk that this potential reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 presents to humans, as well as the possible spread of the virus to other wildlife species that deer interact with, such as predators and scavengers.

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White-tailed deer found to be huge reservoir of coronavirus infection - The Conversation UK

NHS workers in England must be legally required to get Covid vaccinations before the winter, Matt Hancock has said, in his first intervention since leaving government.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Hancock, who resigned as health secretary in June after it emerged he had breached Covid-19 social distancing restrictions with Gina Coladangelo, an adviser with whom he was having an affair, warned ministers against delaying mandatory jabs for nurses and doctors.

Hancocks comments come as the chief executive of NHS England said the country faced a difficult winter, with hospital Covid admissions 14 times higher than they were this time last year.

It has been reported that the government is expected to say the law will not be changed to require Covid jabs for the NHSs 1.45 million staff in England until spring 2022.

The law has already been changed to make Covid jabs mandatory for care workers in England, with the requirement to come into effect on Thursday.

Hancock said: Having looked at all the evidence, I am convinced we must require vaccination for everyone who works not just in social care but the NHS, and get it in place as fast as possible So, as we prepare to face a difficult winter, lets use all the tools that we have to save lives.

He argued compulsory vaccination for health staff in France proved the policy could work, with the proportion of vaccinated healthcare workers rising from two-thirds to 99% after the requirement was introduced.

Hancock said: To me, the logic is crystal clear. Medicine is founded on science, and the science of the Covid vaccine is comprehensively proven. Mandating the use of the best science isnt controversial: its common sense.

There are some people who say this isnt the way we do things in Britain. But we already mandate vaccination against hepatitis B for doctors. The British historic precedents for compulsory vaccination go back to the 1850s. He added that getting vaccinated was a moral duty.

Amanda Pritchard, the head of NHS England, told Sky News on Monday: We have had 14 times the number of people in hospital with Covid than we saw this time last year and we have also had a record number of A&E attendances and indeed a record number of 999 calls.

So as we look into winter, were very clear this is going to be a difficult winter and the things we would encourage people to do is anything they can do to protect themselves, so thats the Covid vaccine, its the flu vaccination in particular.

NHS industry bodies and Labour frontbenchers have warned that legally requiring staff to take the vaccine in the run-up to winter could risk loss of NHS staff at a critical time.

Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said if the policy was wrongly adopted then we risk a significant loss of a significant number of staff.

Hancock was health secretary for three years, playing a key role in the UK governments response to the pandemic.

There have been 141,805 deaths within 28 days of a positive tests reported by the Department of Health and Social Care since the crisis began in early 2020.

NHS workers in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the respective devolved administrations.

The latest figures show 79.7% of people aged 12 and over have had two doses of the coronavirus vaccine.

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NHS England staff should have Covid vaccine before winter, Hancock says - The Guardian

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Coronavirus Updates: India logged 11,451 new coronavirus infections taking the countrys total tally of COVID-19 cases to 3,43,66,987, while the active cases declined to 1,42,826, the lowest in 262 days, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The death toll climbed to 4,61,057 with 266 fresh fatalities, according to the data updated at 8 am.

The daily rise in new coronavirus infections has been below 20,000 for 31 straight days and less than 50,000 daily new cases have been reported for 134 consecutive days now. The active cases comprise 0.42 per cent of the total infections, the lowest since March 2020, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate was recorded at 98.24 per cent, the highest since March 2020, the ministry said.

A decrease of 2,019 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours. The cumulative doses administered in the country so far under the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive has exceeded 108.47 crore. Indias COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 2020, 30 lakh on August 23, 40 lakh on September 5 and 50 lakh on September 16. It went past 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11, crossed 80 lakh on October 29, 90 lakh on November 20 and surpassed the one-crore mark on December 19. India crossed the grim milestone of two crore on May 4 and three crore on June 23.

After Indias first indigenous vaccine, Coxavin, received a nod from the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of external affairs (MEA) has reached out to a number of countries to secure approval for the vaccine. While the MEA is holding discussions with counterparts from various countries over the issue, Indias diplomatic missions, too, are in talks with their respective host nations in this regard.

According to a Hindustan Times report, currently, several countries allow fully vaccinated Indian nationals to enter without mandatory quarantine upon arrival. However, most of these countries require travellers to be vaccinated with Covishield, the Indian variant of Britains AstraZeneca jab. Covaxin, on the other hand, has been approved by nearly a dozen nations. From November 8, the United States, too, will allow entry to travellers jabbed with the made-in-India vaccine.

In India, there has been a growing demand to roll out booster shots of COVID vaccines for frontline workers and vulnerable high-risk groups, as news of states and private players sitting on stockpiles of soon-to-expire vaccine doses spread. A TOI report states that even as the Centre monitors the national stockpile to ensure sufficient quantities are available for those eligible for second doses, there is a strong recommendation to allow boosters for the vulnerable population, as it will be criminal negligence to waste or let even a single dose expire. The issue came into the limelight recently, as the National Covid Task Force member Dr Subhash Salunkhe said that those responsible for vaccination, need to draw up a strategy for immunisation for both second and booster shots to be taken up concurrently.

According to Cowin data, it is possible to know the daily stocks, expiry date of vaccines and those eligible for second doses. Therefore, the Centre should take the crucial decision on this as a majority of doses will expire soon, Dr Subhash Salunkhe suggested. It is especially worrying because municipal bodies like the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has stocks of over 5 lakh Covid vaccine doses for the first time since the vaccination drive began on January 16 but the civic officials claim that only a few have turned up to get jabbed due to the festival season.

More than 116.58 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been provided to states and UTs so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. Over 15.77 crore balance and unutilised vaccine doses are still available with the states and UTs to be administered, it said. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to states and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, the ministry said.

However, hesitancy towards taking the second vaccine has been a major cause of concern in India. TOI report states that almost 16 crore doses of vaccine were available with states and UTs on Saturday while 7 crore individuals who were due for their second shot were yet to show up. During the Diwali celebrations, merely 2.42 crore doses were administered in the country.

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Coronavirus Updates: India Logs 11,451 New Infections, Active Caseload At 1,42,826 Is Lowest in 262 Days - News18

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A seemingly innocent post by Sesame Street icon Big Bird encouraging children to get the COVID-19 vaccine sparked controversy among some conservative figures on Twitter.

The Sesame Street icon and fictional character posted on Twitter Saturday that he got his coronavirus vaccine. This was part of a collaboration between Sesame Street and CNN, who had a town hall for families with the shows characters, CNN journalist Erica Hill, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta on COVID-19 vaccines Saturday morning.

I got the COVID-19 vaccine today! My wing is feeling a little sore, but it'll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy.

Ms. @EricaRHill even said Ive been getting vaccines since I was a little bird. I had no idea!

The program coincided with the first COVID-19 vaccines being given for children between the ages of 5 and 11 this weekend.

For many people, the tweet was well received. One Twitter user even pointed out Big Birds history of educating children on immunization in the earlier days of the show.

However, others, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz, didnt view the Sesame Street casts involvement in promoting COVID-19 vaccine quite as kindly. Cruz called Big Birds tweet government propagandafor your 5-year-old.

The senator later tweeted Sunday afternoon poking fun at the backlash he got for the propaganda, saying liberals were triggered by Big Bird.

Cruz wasnt the only one to speak out against Big Birds vaccination. Lavern Spicer, the Republican candidate for Floridas 24th Congressional District, also condemned the town hall.

Sanjay Gupta pushing drugs (vaccine) to kids on Sesame Street is now the cringiest most shameful thing Ive ever seen! Why are they lying to us??!! she wrote on Twitter.

However, Florida political strategist Ana Navarro-Crdenas issued a statement of her own, saying the Republican politicians complaining about Big Bird are acting like 5-year-olds.

While these bloviating outrage machines attack Sesame Street, Biden got a deal passed to build actual streets, she said. Also, apologies to 5 year olds.

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Sen. Ted Cruz says Big Bird getting COVID-19 vaccine is government propaganda - WFLA

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More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the United States to close its borders to international travellers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status.

Beginning Monday, bans on travel from specific countries are over. The U.S. will allow in international travellers, but they must be vaccinated with a few exceptions.

The U.S. is also reopening itsland borders with Canada and Mexico for people who are vaccinated.

Air travellers will needto show proof of vaccination on arrival in the U.S. andwillstill need toshow a pre-departure negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding their flight.

WATCH |U.S. border reopening to all vaccinated Canadians on Monday:

Non-essential travellers crossing at a land border will be required to show proof of vaccination or attest to their vaccination status upon request by a border agent. Unlike air travellers, theywill face no requirementto show a negative COVID-19 test.

But when returning to Canada, recreational travellers must provide proof of anegative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hoursof their return flight or planned arrival at the land border.

Canada will only accept a molecular test such as a PCR test which can cost hundreds of dollars.

Children under 18 won't need to be vaccinated, but they do need to take a pre-entry COVID-19 test before entering the U.S. Kids who are twoand younger are exempt from testing requirements.

Canada is still requiring all travellers five years of age andolder who are entering the country to provide proof of a negative test, regardless of their point of entry.

As for which vaccines will let someone into the U.S., it's any COVID-19 vaccine approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, which include the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines used in the U.S., as well as most used overseas, such as AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac. Not currently allowed is Russia's Sputnik V vaccine, which is authorized in 70 countries. The WHO is reviewing Sputnik but hasn't approved it.

As of Sunday, more than249.7million cases of COVID-19 had been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The reported global death toll stood at more than five million.

In Europe,officials in Greece are now restricting access to cafs, restaurants, state services and banks to those who are either vaccinated against COVID-19 or have a negative test.

In theAsia-Pacific region, the Australian city of Sydney will further ease physical-distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly 100 days, as close to 90 per centof people have receivedboth doses of vaccine, officials said.

Although limited to people who are fully inoculated, the relaxation in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, lifts limits on house guests or outdoor gatherings, among other measures.

In Asia, the Chinese mainland on Saturday reported 50 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Sunday.The commission also reported 24 new imported cases forthe day.

In the Americas, about four million U.S. federal workers are to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Nov. 22 under President Joe Biden's executive order aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus.

Beyond that rule, another such mandate set to take effect in January, aimed at about84 million private-sector workers, is being challenged in court.

On Saturday, a federal appeals court in Louisiana temporarily halted the vaccine requirement for businesses with 100 or more workers.

The mandate states that those workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested weekly, starting Jan. 4.

White House chief of staff Ron Klain told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that he is "quite confident" the vaccine mandate will be upheld once it "gets fully adjudicated."

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Coronavirus: What's happening in Canada and around the world on Nov. 7 - CBC.ca

A look at some of the top headlines trending online today around the world including the latest from Washington, coronavirus updates and much more.

Top Biden aide, very confident infrastructure projects will begin by spring (CBS)

Spending bill faces Senate scramble (The Hill)

New high-resolution climate model predicts more extreme weather events in the future (CNN)

Tesla shares slide 5% after Elon Musk proposes selling 10% of his stock in a Twitter poll (CNBC)

Type of fat, not how much, linked to stroke risk, study finds (NBC News)

US lifts pandemic travel ban, opens doors to visitors (AP)

Feds urge schools to provide COVID-19 shots, info for kids (AP)

First lady Jill Biden and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy kick off kids vaccination campaign (CBS)

Sen. Ted Cruz Trolls Big Bird After Sesame Street Covid-19 Vaccine Tweet (Forbes)

Travis Scott Sued Over Predictable And Preventable Astroworld Tragedy (Spin)

Scott charged twice in the past for inciting incidents at his concerts (Fox)

Odell Beckham Reportedly Has 1 Preferred NFL Team (Sports Illustrated)

China builds mockups of U.S. Navy ships in area used for missile target practice (Reuters)

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Coronavirus news, D.C. updates & more: Whats trending today - cleveland.com

Dutchess County on Saturday reported a surge in its number of active coronavirus cases.

The county reported on its online dashboard of COVID-19 data that it had 448 active cases of the illness, up sharply from the 411 it reported Friday.

Dutchess reported no additional COVID-related deaths.

Here are the latest local COVID-19 statistics.

Ulster County: 240 reported Friday, down from 246 reported Thursday. (Peak was 2,622 on Jan. 30.) Ulster County does not report COVID statistics on Saturdays.

Dutchess County: 448 reported Saturday, up from 411 reported the previous day. (Peak was 2,576 on Jan. 16.)

Ulster County: 3.4%.

Dutchess County: 2.2%

Ulster County: 19,491 confirmed cases, 18,960 recoveries, 291 deaths. (No new deaths reported Friday.)

Dutchess County: 36,285 confirmed cases, 502 deaths. (No new deaths reported Saturday.)

Data as of Friday, according to New York states online vaccine tracker.

Ulster County: 66.8% of the population fully vaccinated, 73.4% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 83.7% of the 18-and-older population with at least one dose.

Dutchess County: 61.8% fully vaccinated, 68.7% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 79.2% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Appointments: vaccinateulster.com, bit.ly/dut-vax, bit.ly/ny-vaxme.

Here are the latest reports of COVID cases in area school districts, according to New York state.

Kingston: One teacher at M. Clifford Miller Middle School.

Red Hook: One student each at Mill Road Intermediate School and one Mill Road Primary School.

Rondout Valley: One student each at the intermediate school and junior high school.

Saugerties: One staff member at Cahill Elementary school, and one student each at Morse Elementary School, the junior high school and the high school.

Ulster BOCES: One student at the Career and Technical Education Center.

For online local coverage related to the coronavirus, go to dailyfreeman.com/tag/coronavirus.

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Active cases of coronavirus jump in Dutchess County - The Daily Freeman

In Zimbabwe, where just 18% of the population are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, the armed forces have a surplus of shots thanks to a gift from a powerful benefactor: Chinas Peoples Liberation Army.

In the Philippines, another PLA donation has helped the majority of service members get vaccinated. In Ethiopia, where the Biden administration is levying fresh sanctions over alleged atrocities committed in an offensive against Tigray rebels, the PLA has delivered 300,000 Covid-19 vaccines to government troops.

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Chinas Army Furnishes Foreign Militaries With Covid-19 Vaccines - The Wall Street Journal