USA coronavirus: Amy Barrett confirmed to Supreme Court

Cases among children on the rise in the US

A report by the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that there has been an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases among US children.

According to data gathered by the AAP, the period of 8-22 October saw 94,555 new infections among children reported in the States - a 14% increase on the previous two weeks.

Children account for 11% of all cases across the US, the body said.

Giving up on controlling pandemic "dangerous" - WHO chief

The head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has warned that giving up on controlling the coronavirus pandemic is “dangerous”, in the wake of remarks by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows this weekend.

Meadows told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday: “We’re not going to control the pandemic, we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigations.” 

In response, Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday: “The government can do its share - the contact tracing, testing and the rest - and the rest of the transmission control is actually up to the community. Wearing a mask, keeping physical distance, hand hygiene and the rest. 

“So, controlling transmission is not only the government’s responsibility, but it’s also the business of each and every individual. So nobody should give up on this. A government should do its share, and our citizens should do their share and do everything to minimize transmission. 

“So we should not give up and that’s why we’re saying that although we agree with the chief of staff that protecting the vulnerable is important, giving up on control is dangerous, and control should also be part of the strategy.” 

Amy Coney Barrett is sworn in at White House

In a socially distanced ceremony shortly after Judge Barrett was confirmed by the Senate just 48-52 and after what had been a whirlwind nomination and confirmation process Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as the newest Supreme Court Justice just 8 days before Election Day. 

Testing of Boston area wastewater shows levels of covid-19 spiking

Boston area public schools were forced to halt the reopening schedule and close all schools last week after the seven-day positivity rate from testing increased to 5.7 percent.

Further evidence of the increase in covid-19 infection rate can be seen from a pilot study sampling of sewage water for the virus which should be able to track the prevalence of the infection in the community, even those who area asymptomatic.

Amy Coney Barret will take oath tomorrow

Chief Justice John Roberts will administer the judicial oath in a private ceremony whereupon she will be able to begin to take part in hearing cases before the Supreme Court.

She will have a more formal ceremony at a later date to invest her in the lifetime appointment.  The Supreme Court will now have a 6-3 conservative majority.

President Trump gets third Judge on Supreme Court

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed tonight to the Supreme Court to fill the seat left vacant by Ruth Bader Ginsberg in a 52-48 vote with Senator Susan Collins from Maine the sole Republican to vote against her confirmation.

Live: vote in Senate on Amy Coney Barrett Confirmation to the Supreme Court

Eli Lilly says its antibody treatment does not work on patients hospitalised with covid-19

The drug maker Eli Lilly said on Monday that its antibody treatment was ineffective on patients hospitalised with advanced covid-19 and that a government-sponsored trial would not administer the drug to new participants.

The company said that other trials of the treatment, in people who are not as sick or who have been exposed to the virus, would continue and that it remained optimistic that the treatment could work if given early in the course of the disease.

Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said he had received the experimental treatment earlier this month, shortly after he was diagnosed with covid-19. President Trump received a similar therapy, made by Regeneron, soon after he was infected. Both companies have applied to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency use of the treatment in outpatients.

Eli Lilly said the recommendation to discontinue the use of the antibody treatment, called bamlanivimab, “was based on trial data suggesting that bamlanivimab is unlikely to help hospitalised covid-19 patients recover from this advanced stage of their disease.” 

Masks required during event tonight, White House says

The audience will be socially distanced at Judge Amy Coney Barrett's expected confirmation event tonight, a White House official has told CNN.  

Masks will also be required and those near President Trump will be tested beforehand, the official said.

WHO says getting covid-19 outbreak under control may require ‘sacrifice for many, many people’

The World Health Organization warned on Monday that some countries may need to shut down their nonessential businesses again as a way to take the “heat” out of their worsening coronavirus outbreaks.

WHO officials said they are still hopeful most countries won’t need to impose nationwide lockdowns, which were imposed by some world leaders earlier in the year as a way to slow the spread of the virus. But as covid-19 cases now accelerate across the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in the United States and Europe, some countries may need to impose those stricter mitigation measures again, the agency said.

“We’re well behind this virus,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a press conference at the agency’s Geneva headquarters. “We will have to get ahead of this virus, and [that] may require sacrifice for many, many people in terms of their personal lives.”

“It may require shutting down and restricting movement and having stay-at-home orders in order to take the heat out of this phase of the pandemic."

El Paso orders curfew to stem coronavirus surge as hospitals overflow

The virus surge in the El Paso, Texas area has gotten so bad that local officials are taking drastic action, imposing a two-week stay-at-home order and a 10 pm to 5 am curfew that took effect on Sunday night.

The number of people hospitalised with coronavirus in the region along the Mexico border is soaring, and officials are scrambling to make space for them by setting up overflow beds in a convention center and under tents in carparks.

As a third surge has taken hold in the country, the El Paso metro area now ranks 11th in the nation in coronavirus cases relative to its population, according to a New York Times database. The only cities that rank higher in this fall wave are in hard-hit Idaho, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Weekly US covid-19 deaths up 15%, new cases rise 24%

The number of new covid-19 cases in the United States last week rose 24% to more than 485,000 while the number of tests performed rose 5.5%, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.

Nationally, over 5,600 people died of the virus in the seven days ended 25 October, up 15% from the prior week. Deaths have risen for at least two weeks straight in 16 states, compared with nine states previously.

Deaths more than doubled in seven states -- Connecticut, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio and Wyoming -- though they remained low compared to Texas, Florida and California, according to the Reuters analysis.

Thirty-six out of 50 states have seen cases increase for at least two weeks in a row, up from 34 the prior week. They include Florida, Ohio and Michigan — all hotly contested states for the 3 November US presidential election. New cases doubled last week in Wisconsin, another crucial state.

The United States performed 7.7 million covid-19 tests last week, of which 6.3% came back positive for the new virus, compared with 5.4% the prior week, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

South Dakota led the nation with the highest positive test rate at 40%, followed by Idaho at 34% and Wyoming at 29%. A total of 14 states had a positive test rate of over 10%. 

Taylor Johnson, 24, wears a Keep America Great Trump themed mask due to the coronavirus pandemic while queueing with supporters before President Donald Trump holds a rally on October 26, 2020 in Lititz, Pennsylvania. With 8 days to go before the election, Trump is holding 3 rallies across Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state. In 2016, Trump won Pennsylvania by only 44,000 votes out of more than 6 million cast, the first Republican to carry the Keystone State since 1988. Mark Makela/Getty Images/AFP

Eight days before election, Trump focuses on pivotal state of Pennsylvania

With eight days to go until the US election, President Donald Trump on Monday wooed voters in Pennsylvania, a battleground state he won in 2016 that is crucial to his chances of defeating Democratic challenger Joe Biden and winning a second term.

More than 60 million Americans already have cast ballots ahead of the 3 November election in a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest US voter turnout by percentage in more than a century.

Surging coronavirus cases in many parts of the country and a covid-19 outbreak within Vice President Mike Pence's staff have kept the focus of the race on the pandemic. Pence, due to campaign in Minnesota on Monday after an appearance in North Carolina on Sunday, tested negative for the coronavirus on Monday, his office said, after multiple senior aides tested positive over the weekend.

A state whose voters can swing toward either major party, Pennsylvania has been heavily courted with frequent visits by both candidates. A Republican, Trump addressed a rally in Allentown and was due to speak later in the day in Lititz and Martinsburg.

He planned multiple trips to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin this week, as well as visits to Arizona, Nebraska and Nevada.

"I think we're going to win Pennsylvania by than more than we did last time," Trump told reporters before the Allentown rally.

Average daily Covid-19 cases in the U.S. higher now than during first wave

During the past seven days, the U.S. recorded an average of just under 69,000 new Covid-19 cases every day, the highest seven-day average of the pandemic and up by 22% since this time last week. Health officials have warned that now colder weather is arriving, cases are rising exponentially as more people tend to stay indoors where the virus is more easily transmitted.

Trump blasts media Covid-19 coverage as "Fake News"

Just minutes after tweeting that U.S. coronavirus cases have been rising because of more tests being carried out, president Donald Trump was back on Tweet and bizarrely attacking the media for, in his opinion, spreading false news about the pandemic. 

Trump claims Covid-19 numbers are rising because of increased testing

After a weekend which saw several U.S. states post record, single-day highs of Covid-19 cases, president Donald Trump has once again again claimed that numbers are up due to increased testing...

Microban 24- effective in killing the virus that causes Covid-19

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray as being effective at killing SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. Microban 24 Sanitizing Spray has been tested by a third-party lab, in accordance with the EPA testing guidelines, and was shown to kill SARS-CoV-2 in 60 seconds. It has also been approved of killing 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, including viruses that cause common colds and the flu.

Safe-haven dollar up as coronavirus surges, US stimulus hope fades

The dollar gained on Monday, as surging coronavirus cases in Europe and the United States and a lack of progress on a U.S. stimulus package made traders turn to the safe-haven currency. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday she expected a White House response on Monday to the latest stimulus plan, but there is little evidence a deal is close.

The United States has recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases for two consecutive days and so has France. Spain announced a new state of emergency and Italy has ordered restaurants and bars to shut by 6 p.m. Media reports that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has proved successful in elderly people and that staff at a major British hospital were told to prepare for it as early as next month were not enough to bolster sentiment.

Cuomo: Trump administration guilty of "great American surrender"

In the wake of White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' remarks that the US is "not going to control the pandemic", New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the Trump administration has perpetrated "the great American surrender".

"[The White House] believed from the beginning that they can't control the virus," Cuomo said on Sunday. "That's the only rationale that explains the denial and the lying. If you believed you could control it, then you'd try to control it; if you don't believe you can control it, then you lie about it and deny it and you minimize it.

"They surrendered without firing a shot. It was the great American surrender. Americans don't surrender. And they didn't even put up a fight and what we learned in New York was if you put up a fight you would have won because New York won. Other states won also."

US seven-day average hits new high

The US’ seven-day average of new coronavirus cases reached 68,767 on Sunday, per CNN. The media outlet notes that this figure is almost 1,500 higher than the country’s previous highest weekly average of 67,293 fresh infections.

"Contract-free trick or treating"

Sarah Schwimmer of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, poses with her 'trick or treat candy chute' as she plans for a socially distant Halloween to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease.

(Photo: Reed Schwimmer/Handout via REUTERS)

Biden says Trump has "quit on the American people"

Joe Biden says Donald Trump has "quit on the American people", after White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told a CNN interview the US is "not going to control the pandemic" (see previous post). 

"President Trump and his administration may have quit on the American people - but I can promise you I never will," the Democratic presidential candidate tweeted.

In a video subsequently released on his Twitter profile, Biden added: "They've given up on protecting you."

Biden's renewed condemnation of the administration's handling of the pandemic came as Vice-President Mike Pence campaigned on Sunday despite a covid-19 outbreak among his aides and Trump claimed progress despite the US setting records for daily infections.

“There’s no nation in the world that’s recovered like we’ve recovered," Trump told a rally in New Hampshire this weekend. “We are coming around, we’re rounding the turn, we have the vaccines, we have everything. Even without the vaccines, we’re rounding the turn."

The White House cited Pence's status as an "essential worker" as justification for his campaign travel despite exposure to his chief of staff, Marc Short, who tested positive on Saturday.

Multiple other senior aides to Pence have also tested positive. The vice-president addressed a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, on Sunday and will be in Hibbing, Minnesota, on Monday.

(Reuters contributed to this post)

Meadows: "We're not going to control the pandemic"

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has conceded that the United States is “not going to control the pandemic”, as case numbers continue to surge in the country.

The US on Saturday registered 83,718 cases, just shy of Friday’s record daily total of 83,757.

Speaking on the CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Meadows told host Jake Tapper: “We’re not going to control the pandemic, we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigations.” 

Asked by Tapper why the US isn’t going to control the pandemic, Meadows replied: “Because it is a contagious virus.”

Worldwide cases pass 43m mark

The total number of global coronavirus cases has now surpassed 43 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. As of 3:30 ET on Monday, there had been 43,009,938 cases since the pandemic began, JHU said, leading to 1,153,861 deaths.

Oxford vaccine trials produce robust immune response in elderly

Early results from tests for a coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca Plc, show it produces a robust immune response in elderly people, the group at highest risk, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

It has been discovered that the vaccine triggers protective antibodies and T-cells in older age groups, the newspaper said citing two people familiar with the finding, encouraging researchers as they seek evidence that it will spare those in later life from serious illness or death from the virus.

The findings echo data released in July which showed the vaccine generated "robust immune responses" in a group of healthy adults aged between 18 and 55, the newspaper reported, citing people aware of the results from so-called immunogenicity blood tests.

US Elections

US elections: 40% of voters say they will not accept result if favored candidate loses

40% of voters say they will not accept result if favored candidate loses

Poll reveals that 22% of Biden supporters and 16% of Trump supporters said they would engage in street protests or even violence if their preferred candidate loses.

CORONAVIRUS STIMULUS CHECKS

Second stimulus check: will there be a new payment in November?

Not much hope for stimulus in November

With the latest deadline missed to break the deadlock on a second round of stimulus all sides are still optimistic a deal will be reached just not when.

Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation edges closer after Sunday vote

The Republican-controlled U.S. Senate on Sunday moved closer toward a final confirmation vote on President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, on Monday, just over a week before Election Day.

The Senate voted 51 to 48 along party lines on Sunday afternoon to limit debate on the nomination, teeing up the final vote that is expected to take place on Monday evening.

With Republicans controlling the chamber 53-47 and no indication of an internal revolt against the conservative appeals court judge replacing liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barrett looks almost certain to take up a lifetime appointment on the bench over universal Democratic opposition.

Dollar firm as virus' spread and stimulus stalemate spur caution

The dollar found support on Monday, as surging coronavirus cases in Europe and the United States and a lack of progress toward a U.S. stimulus package put traders in a cautious mood, although hopes for a Brexit trade deal held sterling steady.

Against a basket of currencies, the greenback traded between steady and slightly firmer early in the Asia session, hovering around the middle of a range it has held for months.

Against the risk-sensitive Australian dollar and New Zealand dollars, it gained about 0.1%. Sterling, however, rose a tiny bit to $1.3046.

The United States has recorded its highest ever number of new covid-19 cases for two consecutive days, while Italy has ordered restaurants and bars to shut by 6 p.m. as a fresh wave of infections sweeps Europe.

WHO chief warns against “vaccine nationalism” 

​​​​​​In a video address at the opening of the three-day World Health Summit in Berlin, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated:,“It is natural that countries want to protect their own citizens first but if and when we have an effective vaccine, we must also use it effectively.

Covid-19 Economic Crisis

Unemployment benefits California: how many people are still waiting and when will they receive it?

Unemployment benefits California: how many people are still waiting and when will they receive it?

The economic fallout of covid-19 has seen the state's unemployment rate soar to 11% with many Californians left waiting months for benefit payments.

Pence to keep up U.S. campaigning after close aides test positive for covid-19

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence planned to press ahead with campaigning including a Sunday trip to the battleground state of North Carolina after multiple close aides tested positive for the coronavirus, as the pandemic remained front and center in the presidential race.

With nine days to go before the Nov. 3 election in which Democrat Joe Biden is challenging Republican President Donald Trump, the White House cited Pence's status as an "essential worker" as justification for his travel despite exposure to his chief of staff, Marc Short, who tested positive on Saturday.

Multiple other senior aides to Pence also tested positive for covid-19, the White House chief of staff said, as new nationwide infections soared to record numbers in recent days amid a pandemic that has killed 225,000 Americans.

Trump goes on offensive against Biden with trip to New Hampshire

President Donald Trump will go on the offensive against Democratic rival Joe Biden on Sunday with a campaign trip to New Hampshire, a state he narrowly lost in 2016 but is trying to reclaim in this year's White House race.

With nine days left until the Nov. 3 U.S. elections, the Republican president is storming his way through top battleground states in a late push to make up ground against Biden, who leads in national opinion polls.

Opinion polls in many of the most vital swing states that will decide the election show a closer race. New Hampshire, which Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton by about 3,000 votes in 2016, has not been considered a top-tier battleground, and most polls show Biden with a comfortable edge in the New England state.