President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with the coronavirus as the nation sets daily records for confirmed cases for the pandemic.Two senior administration officials confirmed Friday that Meadows had tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans so far this year.Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to Election Day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count. He had been one of the close aides around Trump when the president came down with the virus more than a month ago but was tested daily and maintained his regular work schedule.
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France, Italy and Russia reported new daily records for coronavirus cases Friday, a day after the United States set its third record-setting day of new cases this week.France registered 60,486 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Friday, after posting a record of over 58,000 on Thursday, health ministry data showed. The ministry also reported 828 new deaths.Italy announced Friday 37,809 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the country’s highest ever, while Russia also recorded its highest daily tally at 20,582.Diners have dinner outdoors, Nov. 6, 2020, in Boston’s North End. More stringent coronavirus restrictions are now in effect in Massachusetts, including requiring restaurants to stop providing table service at 9:30 p.m.The new high totals in those European countries follow a record high 121,888 new coronavirus cases reported in the United States on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.Infections are surging in all regions in the United States as the COVID-19 death toll continues to climb. More than 1,200 deaths were reported Thursday, the most since mid-September after a sharp spike during the summer, according to Johns Hopkins University.Hospitalizations in the United States have significantly increased, forcing hospitals in Midwestern and Southern states to take urgent action to accommodate floods of new patients.Midwestern states have been especially hard hit, with a record-high number of infections reported Thursday in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma.Julian St. Laurent wear a face shield and two face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus as he walks to a voting both to cast his ballot to vote on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Portland, Maine.Since the surge in the U.S. began in mid-September, some states have periodically imposed piecemeal lockdown measures, including Maine, which extended its mask- wearing requirement to cover all public spaces.Officials in Denver, Colorado, on Friday urged residents to stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in an effort to reduce a growing wave of coronavirus cases.Far more stringent restrictions are being implemented in Europe.Britain began a four-week lockdown Thursday, while Greece begins a three-week shutdown Saturday.A nearly empty Carnaby Street in London, Nov. 6, 2020. Britain’s lockdown started Thursday, shuttering restaurants, hairdressers and clothing stores until at least Dec. 2.Anyone traveling from Denmark to Britain must now self-isolate for 14 days. Denmark was removed Friday from Britain’s corridor of travel, following a coronavirus outbreak on mink farms in the Scandinavian country.Denmark has announced it is culling more than 15 million minks to halt the spread of a mutated form of the coronavirus that has appeared in the minks.Authorities ordered more than a quarter-million people in a northern region where the mink farms are located to go into lockdown. There is no evidence the mutation poses a threat to people, but officials said they were taking no chances.In Italy, new coronavirus restrictions were imposed on Friday. Under the so-called soft lockdown, the country has been divided into three zones according to the severity of the outbreak.Pakistani Muslims wearing facemasks as a preventive measure against the COVID-19, arrive for the annual Tablighi Ijtema religious gathering in Raiwind on the outskirts of Lahore on Nov. 5, 2020.In Pakistan, authorities said they would impose a mini lockdown in selected areas of major cities to try to stem the tide of coronavirus cases. The country reported 1,376 new cases and 30 deaths from the coronavirus on Friday.India announced more than 47,000 new COVID-19 cases, while Tunisia and Jordan are seeing significant accelerations in their infection rates.A child dressed as an angel character takes part in the Mama Negra festival in honor of the Virgin of Las Mercedes in Latacunga, Ecuador, Sept. 24, 2020.In South America, the situation is brighter in Ecuador, where the infection rate has plunged 44% to 800 new cases a day.The United States has 9.7 million of the world’s 49.2 million coronavirus cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. also continues to lead the world in COVID-19 deaths, with 236,000 of the world’s 1.2 million fatalities.
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In parts of Italy, 16 million people went into lockdown Friday as the country moved to prevent another wave of coronavirus in hard-hit areas despite stiff opposition from local authorities. Italian health authorities have zoned the country into red, orange and yellow, depending on identified risk factors — red for high risk and yellow for low risk. Lombardy, Piedmont and Aosta Valley in the north as well as Calabria in the south are considered high risk and are in the red zone. These regions closed all nonessential businesses and activities. Residents may leave their homes only for work, medical reasons or emergencies, and essential shopping. Mayors like Calabria’s have pushed back against the red zone restrictions, expected to last 15 days, which halt bar, restaurant and gym operations. Restaurants may provide only takeout service. Mask-wearing is encouraged: People wearing masks may briefly step out of their homes to exercise. Meanwhile, hairdressers can keep their shops open. Italy’s Health Ministry reported a record 37,809 cases on Friday after performing more than 234,000 swab tests in 24 hours. The ministry said this new infection record, which was 9% higher than the previous day, was accompanied by 445 deaths, the highest daily death toll in six months. The densely populated Lombardy region contributed nearly 10,000 cases. People who live in medium-risk regions, such as Puglia and Sicily in the south, can move about freely in their region but cannot travel outside their region. In the yellow zone, including Rome, only the national restrictions apply. The national restrictions include a nighttime curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. In addition, schoolchildren age 12 and older have switched to remote learning. Italy has reported a total of more than 862,681 coronavirus cases, with a total death toll of 40,638, the sixth highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University statistics. 
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Health officials in Poland reported a record number of coronavirus-related deaths on Friday as the first treatments began for patients at a makeshift hospital in the country’s national stadium. The government reported 445 deaths and 27,086 new infections in its latest report. The caseload was the second highest number of in a single day during the pandemic — second only to Thursday’s total. The figures coincided with the admission of the first patient at a new field hospital located in Warsaw’s National Stadium. The rapidly growing number of COVID-19 cases has placed Poland among the 20 most-affected countries in the world.  If the level of infections reaches 70 people per 100,000 or if 30,000 patients are hospitalized, a full national lockdown will take effect, according to the government. The health ministry said the health care system is facing shortages of hospital beds, equipment and medical personnel. The health ministry added that, as of Friday, COVID-19 patients occupied 19,479 of 29,407 available hospital beds and were using 1,703 of 2,238 available ventilators. 
 
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Researchers in Australia say a jelly-like sea sponge found along the Great Barrier Reef could provide clues about an elusive part of the human DNA. Their newly released study, which looks at 700 million years of evolution, concludes that elements of the human genome, what scientists describe as “an incredibly complex and ever-changing instruction manual of life,” work in the same way as the genome of the prehistoric sea sponge.Researchers at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney say that while the DNA of humans and these simple, yet highly adaptable aquatic invertebrates are not similar, they do share a comparable set of instructions that control how information contained in a gene is decoded and used. The scientists believe these genetic links have been preserved across millions of years of evolution.Lead researcher Emily Wong said the new study has allowed them to better “read” and understand how our genetic library works.“We focused on sequences in the genome called enhancers, and they are responsible for switching on and off genes,” she said. “We found that similar sequences are deeply conserved all the way from humans to sea sponges. So, that is over 700 million years of evolution. We are really excited about this discovery because it is the first time that such a deeply conserved enhancer has been discovered.”Long before the dinosaurs, the sea sponge was one of the species that dominated life on Earth.The researchers believe that it is not only people that share a genetic link to sea sponges, but most likely the entire animal kingdom.The study could have implications for biomedical advances and health care.A senior researcher said, “the more we know about how our genes are wired, the better we are able to develop new treatments for diseases.”The academic work was a collaboration between various Australian universities and research organizations and has been published in the journal Science.
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The world’s biggest iceberg is on course to collide with the island of South Georgia – a key haven for wildlife in the south Atlantic Ocean. Scientists say it could have a grave impact on the ecology and economy of the island, as Henry Ridgwell reports.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell   Produced by: Marcus Harton 
 
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The world’s largest iceberg is on course to collide with the island of South Georgia, a key haven for wildlife in the south Atlantic Ocean, scientists say. They add it could have a grave impact on the ecology and economy of the island. The giant iceberg carved off the Larsen C ice shelf on the eastern Antarctic peninsula in 2017. Named by scientists as A68a, it has since drifted toward South Georgia, a remote British island.  Satellite images show the iceberg is still largely intact. Some 150 kilometers long and 48 kilometers wide, it is traveling at one kilometer per hour and is on course to hit South Georgia in around 30 days. FILE – A rift across the Larsen C Ice Shelf is seen during an airborne survey of changes in polar ice over the Antarctic Peninsula from NASA’s DC-8 research aircraft, Nov. 10, 2016.Its shallow depth of 200 meters means it could drift very close to the island and ground just offshore. South Georgia is home to huge colonies of penguins and seals. Their feeding grounds could be blocked just as breeding season gets under way, says scientist Geraint Tarling of the British Antarctic Survey. “That means they have to go a lot further, they have to go around the iceberg, or to actually go further to find sources of food. And that time is quite critical at this particular period of their life cycle. They have to get back to their chicks and pups in short amounts of time so that they don’t starve in the interim,” Tarling told VOA. The grounding of the iceberg would disturb the soft sediment on the seabed, polluting the surrounding seas, ecologists say. As the iceberg melts, it also would release large amounts of fresh water into the ocean, potentially affecting the krill populations that are a staple food for the island’s wildlife. FILE – Macaroni penguins in the colony of some 2.5 million breeding pairs are seen on the island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic, Aug. 2, 1999.Tarling says the iceberg could stick around for a decade and change the entire ecosystem. “These are globally significant populations of these species. If these species fail in this particular area, then the numbers globally are going to go down quite dramatically.” Iceberg carving in Antarctica is a natural process – but it’s modifying with climate change. “What we’re seeing with models and some observations now is the rate at which this is happening is increasing. And so, this might become more of a usual thing into the future,” Tarling told VOA. The iceberg also could damage South Georgia’s valuable fishing industry. Licenses are sold to catch Patagonian sawtooth fish and krill, which supply omega-3 oils for nutrition supplements. The hope is that changing weather patterns could yet divert the iceberg into the open ocean, where it would eventually break up and melt. 
 
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A new documentary titled “In Case of Emergency” is the product of seven years of interviewing, photographing and filming nurses across America. As Karina Bafradzhian reports, the film explores the challenges of America’s frontline health care workers.
Camera: David Gogokhia
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People in London packed pubs and bars late Wednesday for one last drink before all of England shutdown for one month in an attempt to halt a surge in COVID-19 infections.
 
Streets in London’s Soho neighborhood were blocked so pubs could put out tables for outdoor seating, but that appeared to be the only indication the city was in the midst of a pandemic. People sat shoulder to shoulder or stood arm-in-arm, and the only masks in sight were on the policemen standing by to make sure the revelry did not get out of hand.
 
One man told a reporter the scene felt like a bittersweet New Year’s Eve atmosphere — festive, but with the knowledge it would all be ending.  
 
London and the rest of England began the shutdown at 1:00 am Thursday to combat a surge in new infections that scientists said could, if unchecked, cause more deaths than a first wave that forced a three-month lockdown earlier this year.  On Wednesday, the United Kingdom reported 492 deaths from the virus, the most reported since mid-May.
 
The nation has the biggest official death toll in Europe from COVID-19 and is grappling with more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases a day. Scientists warned the “worst-case” scenario of 80,000 dead could be exceeded without action.  
Under the lockdown, all non-essential businesses in England will be closed and people will be asked to work from home if possible until at least December 2nd. Masks and social distancing will be mandatory when venturing out.
 
The rest of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – have their own lockdown policies and enacted tougher health restrictions last month. 
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Organizers of next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will have measures in place to limit the spread of the coronavirus. However, little is known about how the virus affects the long-term health of those who were already infected, including athletes. South African researchers are leading an international effort to try to find answers. South African Olympic hurdler Wenda Nel is grateful to be back on track for next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics after recovering from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.  “It was about two to four weeks that I’ve took it very slowly with the training. Checked my heart rate every training session. Just monitor that. And from there I actually went into full program. And I feel stronger … fit … and actually fully recovered right now,” she said.  FILE – South Africa’s Wenda Nel runs the 400m hurdles during the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Championships held in Durban, June 26, 2016.The International Olympic Committee tasked a prominent South African sports physician, Martin Schwellnus, to lead international scientists in compiling guidelines for doctors treating athletes recovering from acute respiratory infections, including the coronavirus. The University of Pretoria’s Sport, Exercise Medicine, and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), through the IOC Research Center in South Africa, initiated the international AWARE Research Study as part of this work. The project includes data from the COVID-19 Recovery Clinic for athletes. Schwellnus, who is a professor at the University of Pretoria and the director of SEMLI, says COVID-19 seems to affect various organ systems.  “In the returning to sport, it could result in medical complications,” he said. “And to date, we don’t really know what these are for COVID. And so, the focus of the project is to investigate what happens in an athlete when they had COVID and how does the body heal and respond.”  The project uses an online survey to gather data from any person training regularly for three hours a week who had acute respiratory infections, including COVID-19.  Those recovering from the ailment can join the COVID-19 Recovery Clinic for help returning to sports.    Medical doctor and amateur triathlete Marcel Jooste joined the clinic after he recovered from COVID-19, which he caught from a patient.  “I’m expected to follow a specific return-to-play protocol in terms of what I am allowed to do in terms of exercise,” he said. “That is, if I’ve passed all the testing. And then I’m required to give them feedback in terms of how I’m feeling following training.”  The research examines COVID-19’s impact on all organ systems.  According to preliminary findings, athletes who have had COVID-19 find low-intensity exercise to be harder and recovery time much longer than from other respiratory infections.  Evidence-based guidelines should help recovering athletes to better and more safely prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, says Kelly Muller, rehabilitation specialist at the University of Pretoria’s SEMLI.  “If an athlete does happen to contract COVID-19, it would be really important and really valuable for the coaches and medical professionals to have evidence-based advice to guide that athlete back to their performance in the shortest time possible,” she said.  For Wenda Nel and other Olympic athletes recovering from the infection, the research could help them come home from Tokyo as champions.  
 
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Health officials in South Korea have approved a new test that’s designed to detect both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza from the same samples, which would help prevent disruption at hospitals as the pandemic stretches into the flu season.The country has struggled to stem the coronavirus, which some experts say could spread more broadly during cold weather when people spend more time indoors.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Wednesday reported 118 new cases of COVID-19, most of them in the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area. The national caseload is now at 26,925, including 474 deaths.People have been increasingly venturing out in public after the government eased social distancing restrictions last month to support the weak economy. “Despite efforts by health authorities to trace contacts and suppress transmissions, such efforts have been outpaced by the speed of viral spread,” senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said during a virus briefing.The new test, which targets genes that are specific to both COVID-19 and seasonal flu, is an evolved version of PCR tests that are used to detect COVID-19 from samples taken from noses or throats. Laboratories use machines to amplify genetic materials so that even tiny quantities of the virus can be detected.The illnesses are hard to tell apart by their symptoms, so having a diagnosis for both in three to six hours “would be convenient for patients and also reduce the burden of medical workers,” Yoon said. 
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