The global coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 51 million people and killed over 1.2 million. Here are the updates for November 11:
November 11, 2020:
US records new high of over 200,000 cases in 24 hours
US far exceeded its previous daily record of new cases, adding 201,961 cases in 24 hours, according to the tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The high number, partly due to data delayed over the weekend, took total cases in the US to 10,238,243, with a total of 239,588 deaths, as of 8:30 pm (0130 GMT).
In the 24-hour period, 1,535 deaths from Covid-19 were registered, a record in recent months as the US struggles to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Mexico reports almost 6,000 new cases
Mexico’s health ministry on Tuesday reported 5,746 more cases and 617 more deaths, bringing the official toll to 978,531 cases and 95,842 deaths.
Health officials have said the real number of infections and deaths is likely significantly higher.
Mainland China reports 17 new cases
Mainland China reported 17 new cases on November 10, down from 22 reported a day earlier, the country’s health authority said on Wednesday.
The National Health Commission said one of the new cases was a local infection reported in Anhui, the first such infection in the eastern Chinese province since February 27.
The other 16 cases were imported infections originating from overseas, it said.
The commission also said the number of new asymptomatic cases fell to 15 from 25 reported a day earlier.
China does not classify symptomless patients as confirmed cases.
The total number of confirmed cases reported in mainland China now stands at 86,284, while the death toll remains unchanged at 4,634
Brazil passes 5.7 million cases
Brazil reported 25,012 additional confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, and 201 deaths, the Health Ministry said on Tuesday.
The South American country has registered 5,700,044 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 162,829, according to ministry data.
It is the world’s second most fatal outbreak after the United States
Ireland to ease quarantine in hotspots from end of November
Ireland will ease travel curbs for arrivals from “red” regions of Britain and the European Union hardest hit by the pandemic from November 29 by cutting their quarantine period to as little as five days from 14 currently if they test negatively for the virus.
Ireland began implementing the EU’s “traffic light” system for non-essential EU travellers this week, ending some of the bloc’s tightest controls that were strongly opposed by its two main airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.
People arriving from “green” regions with fewer than 25 infections per 100,000 people in the last 14 days do not need to restrict their movements, neither do those travelling from “orange” areas if they produce a negative test taken in the previous three days.
“Red” regions – those with infection rates of 50 or more per 100,000 and positive tests of 4% – must restrict their movement for a minimum of five days before they can take a test that, if returned negative, ends their quarantine, the government said.
Only Greenland is now categorised as a low-risk green region, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), with Finland, Norway and parts of Greece deemed to be orange.
Ireland’s 14-day incidence of 152 cases per 100,000 is the fifth lowest of the 31 countries monitored by the ECDC, having fallen 51% compared to the previous two weeks after Ireland was one of the first EU countries to reimpose lockdown measures.
Hospitalisations soar in California as pandemic surges
The number of patients hospitalised with the virus in California has risen by 32% over the past two weeks, and intensive care admissions have spiked by 30% as the pandemic surges across the US, the state’s Health and Human Services secretary said on Tuesday.
Dr. Mark Ghaly said three counties that are home to about 5.5 million people – San Diego, Sacramento and Stanislaus – must reverse their reopening plans and go back to the most restrictive category of regulations aimed at slowing the spread of the virus.
More counties will likely be required to roll back reopening in coming weeks, he said.
In the most restrictive tier of regulation, indoor dining in restaurants is not allowed. Gyms and religious institutions are also not allowed to hold indoor activities.
“We anticipate if things stay the way they are… over half of California counties will have moved into a more restrictive tier” by next week, Ghaly said.
Canada PM scolds provinces to do more to fight virus
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday urged premiers of the country’s 10 provinces to “do the right thing” and take stricter measures to fight a rapidly spreading second wave of the coronavirus.
As Trudeau spoke, the central province of Manitoba announced a major shutdown beginning on Thursday. All social gatherings will be forbidden, restaurants closed except for takeout meals, and recreational facilities shut. Even supermarkets and pharmacies will operate only at 25% capacity.
Quebec – the province that has recorded the most cases – will keep restrictions on the hardest-hit areas in place for at least another two weeks, Premier Francois Legault said on Tuesday.New cases are rising everywhere except for the Atlantic coast provinces, which have closed their borders even to most other Canadian visitors. But many provinces have resisted imposing another round of lockdowns, fearing the potential economic damage.
Virus kills 15,000 minks in US
More than 15,000 mink in the US have died of the virus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate the cases, state agriculture officials said.
The US states of Utah, Wisconsin and Michigan – where the coronavirus has killed mink – said they do not plan to cull animals and are monitoring the situation in Denmark.
“We believe that quarantining affected mink farms in addition to implementing stringent biosecurity measures will succeed in controlling SARS-CoV-2 at these locations,” the US Department of Agriculture told Reuters on Tuesday.
The USDA said it is working with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state officials and the mink industry to test and monitor infected farms.
The US has 359,850 mink bred to produce babies, known as kits, and produced 2.7 million pelts last year. Wisconsin is the largest mink-producing state, followed by Utah.
