As voters across the United States lined up to cast their ballots in a hotly contested presidential race Tuesday, the nation posted one of its biggest numbers of confirmed COVID-19 infections in a single day. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Research Center shows a total of 91,530 total confirmed cases on Election Day, including 1,130 deaths. Additionally, there were more than 50,000 hospitalizations on Tuesday, according to separate data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project, an effort launched by The Atlantic magazine. Votes are counted at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Election Day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Nov. 3, 2020.More than 20 states have announced more new COVID-19 cases in the past week than in any other seven-day period, with states like Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania — three states that play a major role in the presidential contest — setting single-day records on Tuesday. The pandemic continues to affect the U.S. sporting world on all levels. The athletic department at the University of Wisconsin announced Tuesday that its football team, one of the country’s top programs, is cancelling its scheduled game against Purdue University this Saturday due to an ongoing surge of coronavirus cases among the team’s players and coaching staff, including head coach Paul Chryst. This is the second consecutive cancellation for the Badgers after calling off last Saturday’s contest against Nebraska. The United States leads the world with more than 9.3 million of the world’s 47.4 million total COVID-19 infections, including 232,627 deaths. Medical staff members move a patient from a plane during a transfer operation of people suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Vannes Airport, France, Nov. 2, 2020.France also reached another grim milestone Tuesday, as it recorded 854 new COVID-19 deaths, its highest increase since mid-April, according to Reuters news service. India, second only to the United States in the number of total COVID-19 infections with more than 8.3 million , appears to have turned a corner in its battle against the pandemic. The health authority recorded more than 46,000 new infections over the past 24 hours ending Wednesday, the tenth consecutive day the South Asian nation has posted fewer than 50,000 new cases. But New Delhi reported more than 6,700 new cases Tuesday, the highest single-day rise for the Indian capital city. FILE – A Queensland police officer moves a stop sign at a vehicle checkpoint on the Pacific Highway on the Queensland – New South Wales border, in Brisbane, Apr. 5, 2020.The situation is also improving in Australia, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian of New South Wales state announced Wednesday on Twitter that the border between New South Wales and the southern state of Victoria will reopen on November 23. On Monday, 23 November – the NSW/Victoria border will reopen. We need to keep moving forward as we live with COVID-19. I have confidence that everyone will continue to work hard to keep everyone safe.— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) November 4, 2020The border has been shut down since July, when a second wave of COVID-19 cases swept across Victoria and its biggest city, Melbourne, which peaked at more than 700 new cases a day and 819 of the nation’s 907 total deaths. The surge led state authorities to impose a strict lockdown of the city and its 5 million residents that was finally lifted last week.
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Month: November 2020
South Africa Leads Global Research on COVID-19 Effect on Athletes
Organizers of next year’s rescheduled Tokyo Olympics will have measures in place to limit the spread of COVID-19. But little is known about how the virus affects the long-term health of those already infected, including athletes. South African researchers are leading an international effort looking for answers, as Marize de Klerk reports from Pretoria.
Camera: Franco Puglisi Produced by: Jon Spier
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COVID-19 Border Restrictions To Be Lifted Between Australia’s Most Populous States
COVID-19 border restrictions are to be lifted between Australia’s most populous states. Authorities in New South Wales say the border with Victoria will reopen on Nov 23 but warn it will be a “calculated risk.” Victoria has been at the center of Australia’s coronavirus crisis, but strict lockdown measures appear, for now, to have worked. Four months ago, New South Wales closed its border with Victoria because of a second wave of coronavirus infections. The closure separated families, disrupted travel and businesses. Victoria was at the epicenter of a national public health crisis. The state capital, Melbourne, was placed for a second time into lockdown, and those strict measures, which have recently been relaxed, have seen the outbreak contained. Victoria has recorded its fifth consecutive day of no new community COVID-19 cases and zero deaths. Its success in curbing the spread of the virus has prompted neighboring New South Wales to lift border restrictions on November 23, allowing travel between Australia’s most populous states. Officials have said it was “good riddance” to a border closure “that COVID-19 forced on us.” New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian says it is another step in the reopening of Australia. “New South Wales will be the only jurisdiction in Australia that will be welcoming residents of all states, of all jurisdictions. So, New South Wales will be the place where every Australian citizen is welcome, including New Zealand citizens and that is something I think we can be proud of. But with that there comes some level of risk and we accept that, but we believe that it is a cautious risk, it is a calculated risk,” Berejiklian said.Australia is made up of six states and two main territories. The pandemic has brought fragmentation to the federation established in 1901. COVID-19 was first confirmed in Australia in late January, and since then authorities have closed various internal borders to curb its spread. Queensland and Western Australia continue to impose border restrictions on other parts of the country, much to the dismay of the prime minister, Scott Morrison. He said in September that “at times it has felt like Australia could break apart.” As infection rates fall, those internal tensions between jurisdictions are soothed. Australia has recorded 27,600 coronavirus cases and 907 people have died. More than eight million COVID-19 tests have been carried out. Internal borders are gradually reopening, but international travel is likely to remain highly restricted into next year. Australia closed its borders to foreign travelers in March, although New Zealanders are allowed into parts of the country. Citizens and permanent residents are also permitted to come home but face mandatory hotel quarantine when they arrive.
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Powerful Hurricane Eta Continues on Slow Path Over Central America
Hurricane Eta continues on a destructive path over the Central American nations of Nicaragua and Honduras hours after making landfall along the Nicaraguan coast. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Eta is moving inland over northeastern Nicaragua carrying maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers an hour. Forecasters are warning of life-threatening storm surges, damaging winds and flash floods over portions of Central America. Hurricane Eta made landfall Tuesday near the eastern Nicaraguan coastal town of Puerto Cabezas, carrying maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-level scale that measures a storm’s potential destructiveness. At least three people have been killed as a result of Eta. A 12-year-girl in Honduras was killed when her home was buried in a landslide, while two miners were killed in a mudslide in Nicaragua.A general view shows a flooded street as Hurricane Eta approaches, in Tela.Forecasters predict the storm will produce a storm surge that will raise water levels along the coastline from four to more than six meters – and rainfall throughout Central America of 25 to 51 centimeters, with isolated areas receiving more than 63 centimeters. They say flash flooding and landslides in elevated areas are likely. The storm is expected to move slowly through the region in the coming days. Forecasters are watching the potential for Eta to reemerge over the Gulf of Mexico late in the week, becoming a danger once again to areas farther north, though the Hurricane Center noted there is considerable uncertainty regarding its path. Eta is the 28th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, tying the record for the busiest hurricane season ever observed in the North Atlantic Ocean Basin. In 2005, it took until the end of December to arrive at 28 named storms, putting this year nearly two months ahead.
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US Among Top Contributors to Ocean Plastic Pollution
The United States contributes much more to ocean plastic pollution than previously estimated, according to a In this April 23, 2019, aerial photo, plastic bottles and other garbage float in river Drina near Visegrad, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina.In 2016, the U.S. recycled just 9% of its total plastic waste. About half of this was recycled domestically and half was shipped overseas. The researchers estimate that up to 1 million metric tons of U.S. plastic waste entered the environment from these exports in 2016.“For years, so much of the plastic we have put into the blue bin has been exported for recycling to countries that struggle to manage their own waste, let alone the vast amounts delivered from the United States,” said Kara Lavender Law, research professor of oceanography at Sea Education Association and lead A man scavenges along a river for household plastic waste to be sold for recycling in Jakarta on Sept. 23, 2020.To help tackle ocean plastic pollution, the U.S. Senate passed the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act earlier this year.“The Save Our Seas 2.0 is a key stepping stone in the right direction toward comprehensive solutions that address marine debris. But in its current form, however, it does not address the reduction step that is critically needed … for us to get a handle on this,” said Nick Mallos, senior director of Ocean Conservancy’s Trash Free Seas program and a co-author of the study, during a press conference. “Reducing plastic waste is critical to avoiding an unmanageable plastic future globally.”Although plastic pollution is a global problem, researchers say that individual actions can make a difference.“Doing everything you can to reduce your own plastic footprint, whether that’s using a reusable shopping bag or a reusable coffee mug, and then just sort of minimizing the single use plastics you use can be part of the solution,” said Ocean Conservancy’s Leonard.
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US Formally Exits Global Climate Pact Amid Election Uncertainty
The United States formally exited the Paris Agreement on Wednesday, fulfilling a years-long promise by President Donald Trump to withdraw the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas emitter from the global pact to fight climate change. But the outcome of the tight U.S. election contest will determine for how long. Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, has promised to rejoin the agreement if elected. “The U.S. withdrawal will leave a gap in our regime, and the global efforts to achieve the goals and ambitions of the Paris Agreement,” said Patricia Espinosa, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United States still remains a party to the UNFCCC. Espinosa said the body will be “ready to assist the U.S. in any effort in order to rejoin the Paris Agreement.” Trump first announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the pact in June 2017, arguing it would undermine the U.S. economy. But he was unable to formally do so until now because of the requirements of the deal. The departure makes the United States the only country of 197 signatories to have withdrawn from the agreement, hashed out in 2015. Obama’s White House had pledged to cut U.S. emissions 26-28% by 2025 from 2005 levels under the deal. Biden is broadly expected to ramp up those goals if elected. He has promised to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 under a sweeping $2 trillion plan to transform the economy. The Rhodium Group said that in 2020, the United States will be at around 21% below 2005 levels. It added that under a second Trump administration, it expects U.S. emissions would increase by more than 30% through 2035 from 2019 levels. Most scientists believe the world must cut emissions sharply and quickly in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of global warming. China, Japan, South Korea, and the European Union have recently ramped up their carbon cutting targets.
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After Several Quiet Weeks, 3 NFL Teams Have COVID-19 Issues
The U.S. National Football League, after at least three weeks with no new COVID-19 cases, saw three teams with positive cases, this time including two senior management officials. A statement from the Denver Broncos said General Manager John Elway and team Chief Executive Officer Joe Ellis each tested positive for the virus early this week. The team said after their review of contact-tracing data with the league, they “are confident these cases originated independently outside team facilities.” Both executives are reported to have minor symptoms. The Baltimore Ravens and the Green Bay Packers each had a player with a positive test result Monday, though the tests for both players were given before they played in games Sunday. Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey and Packers running back A.J. Dillion each were tested before their respective games Sunday. Through contact tracing, two other Packers players — running back Jamaal Williams and linebacker Kamal Martin — were determined to be high-risk after close contact with Dillion. All three will be quarantined and ineligible to play in the Packers game with the San Francisco 49ers scheduled for Thursday night. That game will be played as scheduled. Humphrey will not play in Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Indianapolis Colts. NFL reporter Tom Pelissero says the team noted Tuesday that six players were found to have had game-day contact with Humphrey and have been added to the team’s COVID-19 list. They also will not play in Sunday’s scheduled game. The team has not yet released the other players’ names. After discovery of infected Packers and Ravens players on the field Sunday, the NFL issued a memo announcing new game-day protocols for players, including the strong recommendation for all players and personnel to wear masks or double-layered neck gaiters when not actively participating in the game. The memo said, “Wearing a mask or approved face covering may be the difference between being designated a ‘High Risk Close Contact’” and not being required to miss games.
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African Beat
White House COVID-19 Coordinator Warns US Entering ‘Deadly Phase’ of Pandemic
A key member of U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force says the nation is entering a “deadly phase” of the nearly year-long COVID-19 pandemic. News outlets say Dr. Deborah Birx, the task force’s coordinator, issued a memo Monday urging administration officials to undertake “an aggressive balanced approach” between lockdowns and taking steps to control the virus, including urging Americans to wear masks, observe social distancing and launch an aggressive testing program. FILE – Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator speaks during press briefing with the Coronavirus Task Force, at the White House, March 18, 2020, in Washington.Dr. Birx’s memo contradicts President Trump’s assertions during his re-election campaign speeches that the country is “rounding the corner” of the pandemic, which has claimed more than 230,000 lives and sickened more than 9.2 million citizens, including 84,089 new cases and 557 deaths on Monday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.Pregnant women at greater risk
Pregnant women are more vulnerable to COVID-19 than nonpregnant women, according to a new study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC found that expectant women infected with the novel coronavirus are more likely than non-pregnant women to require intensive care and are at increased risk of death. They are also most likely to need the use of a mechanical ventilator to help them breathe and to be connected to a specialized heart-lung bypass machine. The CDC study also discovered that minority pregnant women were at greater risk of being infected and falling seriously ill to COVID-19. A separate CDC study also found that COVID-19 positive pregnant women were at increased risk of delivering premature babies. Dr. Denise Jamieson, the head of the gynecology and obstetrics department at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said the studies show that pregnant women need to take extra precautions to avoid exposure to the virus, such as wearing maks and practicing social distancing, and even going so far as to avoid social gatherings. Cellular immunity
Meanwhile, British scientists have discovered that cellular immunity to the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is likely to be present in most patients for six months after they were first infected, suggesting they could be protected from a second bout of the virus. The scientists made the discovery after analyzing blood samples of 100 non-hospitalized patients who were asymptomatic or had mild COVID-19 symptoms. While some of the patients’ antibody levels had declined, the response of their so-called “T-cells,” a type of white blood cell that makes up the human body’s immune system, were still detectable.
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Twitter, Facebook, Google Brace For US Election Day
Social media companies have made a lot of changes ahead of the U.S. election to stop the spread of misinformation. Will it be enough? VOA’s Michelle Quinn reports.Camera: Deana Mitchell, Matt Dibble Produced by: Matt Dibble
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Twitter, Facebook, Google Ready to Combat Election Day Misinformation
As U.S. voters wait to hear who the next president will be, Twitter, Facebook, Google and other internet firms will be busy doing something else: Monitoring their sites and deciding if and when to stop the spread of misinformation. After the 2016 U.S. election, in which internet firms were criticized for allowing foreign-sponsored actors to use their networks to spread misinformation, they vowed to take steps to better protect their sites. Once the coronavirus pandemic hit, companies began to more directly tackle misinformation related to the health crisis, observers say, and turned to more automated ways to moderate content, such as artificial intelligence. Those practices have carried over to efforts to address misinformation around the election, said Spandana Singh, a policy analyst with New America’s Open Technology Institute. “A number of the policies and practices that they adopted for the U.S. elections were largely informed by their COVID-19 response,” she said. Now that they’ve signaled more of a willingness to address misinformation, the tech firms are walking a tightrope: Take steps to stop misinformation about the election from spreading or allow people to express themselves, whether it’s sharing truth or falsehoods. Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
FILE – People wearing face masks during the coronavirus pandemic walk by the Twitter logo outside the New York City headquarters in Manhattan, Oct. 14, 2020.Facebook said it could turn to its so-called “break-glass options.” What that exactly means, the company hasn’t said. But the Wall Street Journal reported that the company may turn to measures taken in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, such as possibly deactivate hashtags related to false information about election results or suppress viral posts that spread messages of violence or fake news. “This election cycle is a really good testing ground for a number of new policies and practices,” Singh said. “Should they be effective, I definitely think they will be rolled out globally.” FILE – The Facebook application is displayed on a mobile phone at a store in Chicago, July 30, 2019.One problem with online misinformation is that it can spread widely before internet sites, which are also sensitive to claims they are suppressing certain viewpoints, decide to act, said Shannon McGregor, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “I worry if they will break the glass as quick as it might need to be done depending on what is happening in our post-election period,” she said. While U.S. voters chart the future course of the nation, this Election Day is another test case of whether social media helps or hurts the democratic process.
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VOA Learning English
Police ‘Brain Training:’ Neuroscience Tech Firm Rolls Out New App
A police academy in Washington state has incorporated what’s known as “brain training” as a part of its curriculum. Its creator calls it a paradigm shift for police. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has the details.Camera: Deborah Bloom, Michelle Quinn
Producer: Elizabeth Lee
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Asian Markets Post Strong Earnings as US Presidential Election Day Looms
Asian markets are posting a second consecutive day of solid gains Tuesday, hours before voters cast their ballots on the official day of the U.S. presidential election. The Nikkei index in Tokyo finished the trading day up 1.3%. Sydney’s S&P/ASX index closed 1.9% higher. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.4%. Seoul’s KOSPI index gained 1.8%, and the TSEC index in Taipei earned 1.1% Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is 2.1% higher in late afternoon trading, while Mumbai’s Sensex is up 1.3%. In commodities trading, gold is selling at $1,889.90, down 0.1%. U.S. crude oil is selling at $36.70 per barrel, down 0.3%, and Brent crude is down 0.5% at $38.76 per barrel. All three U.S. indices are trending positively in futures trading, an indication that they will build on Monday’s positive earnings.
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Officials Say Vienna Attacker Was Islamic State Sympathizer
Austrian officials said Tuesday the perpetrator of an attack in Vienna, Austria that killed at least three people and wounded 15 others was a sympathizer of the Islamic State terror group. “We experienced an attack last night by at least one Islamist terrorist,” Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told reporters. He said the assailant was armed with an assault rifle and wore a fake suicide vest. Police shot the assailant dead, and Nehammer said a search was ongoing Tuesday to see if anyone else was involved in the attack. “At the moment we can’t rule out that there are still other attackers out there. That’s why we are investigating the environment of the attacker and also all of Vienna in order to make sure whether there was just one perpetrator or two,” he said. After a shooting armed police officers stand on a street at the scene in Vienna, Austria, Nov. 3, 2020.Authorities advised people to stay away from public places and public transport. Students in Vienna were allowed to miss classes Tuesday. The shootings took place late Monday at six locations in Vienna, hours before a partial lockdown was due to go into effect due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the country. The dead included two men and a woman, while a police officer was among the wounded. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz described the shootings as a “repulsive terrorist attack.” He said the attackers had “prepared professionally” and “were very well equipped with automatic weapons.” Speaking to the Austrian public broadcasting station ORF, Nehammer said all six locations that were attacked were near a central city street that house’s Vienna’s main synagogue. Jewish community leader Oskar Deutsch said on Twitter that it was not clear whether the synagogue and its adjoining offices had been the target of the attack. He said the buildings were closed at the time of the violence. President Emmanuel Macron of France, which has faced several recent attacks blamed on Muslim extremists, tweeted that the French “share the shock and grief of the Austrian people hit by an attack tonight.” “This is our Europe,” he said. “Our enemies must know with whom they are dealing. We will not retreat.” German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity with neighboring Austria in a statement Tuesday, saying, “The fight against Islamist terrorism is our common struggle.”
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Nicaragua Braces for Arrival of Hurricane Eta
Nicaragua is bracing for the imminent arrival of Hurricane Eta. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the potentially catastrophic hurricane could make landfall early Tuesday, with winds in excess of 248 kilometers per hour. Thousands of people on Monday began evacuating Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast, where a hurricane warning is posted from the Honduras-Nicaragua border to Sandy Bay Sirpi. The hurricane is located 75 kilometers east of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. Forecasters warn of flooding and landslides, especially in central and northern Nicaragua and most of Honduras. Eastern Guatemala, southern Belize and Jamaica are also expected to get heavy rain. Eta is already impacting life in Honduras. Cancellations are said to be coming in ahead of a five-day national vacation aimed at bolstering tourism and bringing some financial help to the pandemic weary economy. Eta is the eighth Atlantic storm of the hurricane season, which ends November 30.
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Global Death Toll From COVID-19 Tops 1.2 Million
The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic has surpassed 1.2 million people as many countries around the world contend with rising infection rates from the virus. The fatalities are among the 46.8 million total cases compiled in the ongoing pandemic collected by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center and comes as the European continent reaches its own grim threshold of more than 10 million confirmed coronavirus cases. Europe is in the grip of a second wave of the virus, with a number of nations, including Belgium, Britain, France and Germany, imposing a new set of lockdowns in an effort to contain the surge. In Spain, the number of coronavirus infections rose by 55,019 on Monday, the biggest increase since the start of the pandemic, according to health ministry data. FILE – Guardia Civil officers stop vehicles at a checkpoint in Somosierra, Spain, Oct. 30, 2020.Greece said it would shut restaurants and bars in the most populous areas of the country, including capital Athens, for one month, beginning Tuesday, to try to stem a rising number of coronavirus cases. Italy announced a tightening of restrictions Monday, including a nighttime curfew and limited regional travel, but stopped short of reintroducing a nationwide lockdown. “The evolution of the epidemic in the last few days is very worrying,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Monday he was considering declaring a state of emergency to counteract the spread of the coronavirus, while the Hungarian government said it will decide later this week whether to impose new restrictions. A shopping street in Bonn is empty at the beginning of a month-long COVID-19 lockdown in Germany, Nov. 2, 2020.Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, after one of his bodyguards tested positive for the illness, which is caused by the coronavirus. “The prime minister feels well and will continue treatment at home,” his office said. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director of the World Health Organization, announced Sunday that he is in self-quarantine after he was identified as a contact of someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. Tedros said in a tweet that he is well “and without symptoms” but will sequester himself “in line with @WHO protocols, and work from home.””It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance,” he wrote. “This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.”It is critically important that we all comply with health guidance. This is how we will break chains of #COVID19 transmission, suppress the virus, and protect health systems.— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) November 1, 2020Britain’s Prince William was one of the 10 million coronavirus cases in Europe, according to British media reports Sunday. The 38-year-old prince was reportedly diagnosed in April, just weeks after his father, Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, announced he was entering self-isolation after coming down with mild symptoms of the virus. The illnesses of Prince Charles and Prince William occurred during the same month British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was diagnosed with COVID-19, which eventually led to his being hospitalized and put in intensive care for several days. In the U.S.In the United States, Texas surpassed California in recording the highest number of positive coronavirus tests in the country, according to Johns Hopkins data. Confirmed cases in Texas numbered more than 937,000, based on Sunday’s data, with California registering more than 936,000 cases, followed by Florida with more than 807,000. In total, the United States has more than 9.2 million cases of the virus and more than 231,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. One bright spot in the global pandemic is Australia, where health authorities said Sunday there were no new COVID-19 cases in the country, the first day of no new confirmed cases in five months.
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Scotland’s First Minister Considers Widespread Lockdown as COVID-19 Surges
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon Monday she would not rule out shutting down all or part of the country to address a recent surge in new COVID-19 cases.
At a news conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon reminded reporters that when she laid out the nation’s five-tiered (0-4) alert system last week, she said she would not rule out a move to level four — a shutdown of all bars and restaurants and a ban on indoor socializing, among other restrictions — for all or parts of Scotland.
According to the government’s website, no area of Scotland is currently at an alert level higher that three, which still allows for hospitality businesses to be open, though on a limited basis.
Sturgeon stressed the need for everyone to follow the restrictions that apply to their area so they can drive down the spread of the virus. She said the government is very concerned about the rise in hospital and intensive care admissions around the country, and an increase in those numbers could prompt new restrictions.
Sturgeon expressed some frustration about the uncertainty regarding financial assistance Scotland would receive from Britain should the country be forced to impose tougher measures outside the period where government support was available.
A government program that has paid the wages of millions of furloughed employees during the pandemic was due to end Saturday but will be extended during the new British lockdown which is set to end on December 2.
Sturgeon urged people to continue to comply with current restrictions as the country recorded a total number of confirmed cases of 66,012.
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Britain Locks Down as Europe Becomes Pandemic Epicenter
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is defending plans to impose a nationwide lockdown beginning Thursday, warning that a failure to act could cause up to twice as many deaths this winter as during the first wave in the spring. The country is recording several hundred COVID-19 deaths and at least 20,000 new coronavirus infections every day. Government scientists say infection rates are exceeding worst-case scenarios modeled just weeks ago. Johnson offered a stark warning to British lawmakers in Parliament Monday. “To those in this House who believe we should resist further national measures, let me spell out the medical and moral disaster we face,” Johnson told members of Parliament. “If we allow our health system to be overwhelmed, exactly as the data now suggests, then that would not only be a disaster for thousands of COVID patients, because their survival rates would fall, we would also reach a point where the NHS was no longer there for everyone. The sick would be turned away because there was no room in our hospitals — that sacred principle of care for anyone who needs it, whoever they are and wherever, whenever they need it, could be broken for the first time in our lives.” Johnson said Britain’s lockdown would end as soon as the data allowed. FILE – Pedestrians walk near public health signs in London, September 11, 2020.“Let me stress that these restrictions are time-limited. After four weeks on Wednesday, the 2nd of December, they will expire, and we intend to return to a tiered system on a local and regional basis, according to the latest data and trends, and the House will have a vote to agree the way forward,” the British leader said Monday. Despite some opposition from lawmakers in his own Conservative Party, the new lockdown measures are expected to be voted through on Wednesday with the help of opposition Labour Party lawmakers. The nationwide lockdown will force all nonessential shops and services, including pubs and restaurants, to close their doors for at least four weeks with people once again encouraged to work from home. However, schools and universities will stay open in contrast with the spring lockdown. The prime minister had until now resisted calls for a second lockdown despite sharply rising infection rates through September and October. Over two-thirds of Britons support the measures, according to a YouGov poll published Monday. Many scientists say it remains to be seen whether the new measures will be enough to bring the pandemic under control. “Particularly with schools, there is some evidence that older children are drivers of infection,” said Dr. Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at the University of Reading. “So, keeping those schools open means that driving down the number of infections in the U.K. will be more difficult than it otherwise would have been. So, we’ll see what effect that has over the coming month.” FILE – Children use hoops for social distancing at L’Ecole des Petits, an independent French bilingual school, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdown eases in Fulham, London, June 9, 2020.The government has extended its furlough scheme, which pays 80% of workers’ wages at firms hit by the lockdown, alongside grants for businesses forced to close and additional support for some self-employed workers. During the first lockdown, the British economy shrunk by a fifth. Many companies rely on Christmas trading to boost profits, and there are fears of further economic pain. “We’re just going to end up going through this weird cycle of closing and opening and closing and opening,” London bartender Marshall Seyler told Reuters. “And people are just going to continue to lose their jobs and rely on government support to pay their rent.” This time there is also greater political opposition. Nigel Farage, widely seen as the architect of Britain’s exit from the European Union, announced plans Monday to rebrand his Brexit Party into the Reform Party, with opposition to the lockdown its central theme. Farage is not an MP and his party does not hold any parliamentary seats, but analysts say Conservative MPs are nervous that his message could appeal to some voters. The World Health Organization said this week that Europe is once again the epicenter of the pandemic. France and Belgium have imposed nighttime curfews in addition to monthlong lockdowns as infections surge. In Spain, protesters clashed with police amid lockdown measures in several regions. Germany and Italy, along with several other European countries, have imposed tighter restrictions. The hope is that locking down now will mean an easing of the rules for Christmas. However, if infection rates remain high, governments say the lockdowns could last for several more weeks.
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Twitter to Label Tweets with Premature Election Claims
Social media giant Twitter said Monday it will put warning labels on tweets from U.S. election candidates that claim victory ahead of official results. In a blog post Monday, the company said an election win must be “authoritatively called” before tweets without warning labels will be allowed by candidates or campaigns. To determine election results, Twitter said it would require an announcement from state election officials or a “public projection from at least two authoritative national news outlets that make independent election calls,” citing examples that included ABC News, The Associated Press, CNN and Fox News. Tuesday’s U.S. election has a record number of early votes, which election officials say could slow down the vote count in some states. Because of this, it is possible that a winner in the presidential race, along with some state and local races, will not be known on election night. Twitter said candidates’ tweets that include premature claims of an election victory would be subject to warning labels such as, “Official sources called this election differently,” or “Official sources may not have called the race when this was tweeted.” The company said U.S.-based accounts with over 100,000 followers and a significant engagement that post premature claims will also be considered for labeling. In addition, Twitter said any tweets “meant to incite interference” with the election process or with the implementation of election results, including through violent action, will be removed.
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