The Latest: NY Gov. Cuomo: Restaurants, bars close at 10 pm
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says all restaurants, bars and gyms will have to close at 10 p.m. across New York state in the latest effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor says people will be barred from hosting private gatherings with more than 10 people. Cuomo says the new restrictions go into effect Friday. He says they are necessary because new coronavirus infections have been traced to those types of activities. Only carry-out service will be allowed after 10 p.m.
Cuomo spoke as rates of coronavirus infection continued to rise in New York. He says 1,628 people were hospitalized across the state for COVID-19 on Tuesday and 21 people died.
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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Britain is 5th nation to reach 50,000 coronavirus deaths
— Italy reaches 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases
— Texas surpasses 1 million virus cases, 1st state in U.S.
— European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde: Recovery bumpy until vaccine widespread
— During the early days of the coronavirus, top World Health Organization scientists described some countries’ approaches as “an unfortunate laboratory to study the virus” and a “macabre” opportunity to see what worked, recordings obtained by The Associated Press show.
— Hong Kong and Singapore will start an air travel bubble this month, allowing travelers from each city to visit the other without entering quarantine.
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Follow AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
BISMARCK, N.D. —- North Dakota has reported one of every 83 residents has tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week.
North Dakota had 2,265 new cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks, which ranks first in the nation for new cases per capita.
State health officials reported 1,039 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, and a daily positivity rate of more than 18% for the second consecutive day.
There were 12 more deaths, increasing the total to 696. There have already been 123 deaths in November, matching all of September. October was the deadliest month so far in North Dakota, with 292 deaths.
North Dakota has the ninth highest per capita death count, with 88.7 deaths per 100,000 people.
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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Mayo Clinic Health System says its hospitals in the northwest region of Wisconsin are full to capacity.
System officials say 100% of their beds are full at hospitals in the region, which encompasses Barron, Bloomer, Eau Claire, Osseo and Menomonie. Eighty-three patients have COVID-19, WQOW-TV reported.
They say 50% of the patients in intensive care have COVID-19 and 40% of their medical or surgical beds are filled with cornavirus patients.
In addition, 300 workers are on work restrictions due to COVID-19 exposure.
Last month, Mayo Clinic Health System announced it was temporarily postponing elective procedures in the region.
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OMAHA, Neb. – One of 141 people in Nebraska was diagnosed with the coronavirus In the past week.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska increased from 811 on Oct. 27 to 1,847 on Tuesday.
New restrictions in the state took effect Wednesday, including a mask requirement at businesses where employees have close contact with customers for more than 15 minutes and limiting large indoor gatherings to 25% of a building’s capacity.
Bars and restaurants can operate if they maintain 6 feet between tables.
Masks are required in the state’s largest communities of Omaha and Lincoln, but Gov. Pete Ricketts has rejected a statewide mask mandate.
Hospitalizations for the virus increased to 860 on Tuesday from the previous day’s 820.
Nebraska reported its second-highest daily cases at 2,182, giving the state a confirmed total of 87,733. It registered 20 more deaths on Tuesday for a total of 730.
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LONDON — Britain become the fifth country in the world to record more than 50,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
The British government reports Wednesday another 595 people have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19, the highest daily rate since May. That took the total to 50,365.
The U.K.’s death toll is widely considered to be higher as the total only includes those who have tested positive for the coronavirus and doesn’t include those who died of COVID-related symptoms after 28 days.
The U.K joins the United States (239,000), Brazil (162,000), India (127,000) and Mexico (95,000) to record more than 50,000 deaths, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The British government says another 22,950 people tested positive for the virus. The U.K. has imposed a series of restrictions in the past few weeks that expire on Dec. 2.
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MILAN — Italy surpassed 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
The Health Ministry says the country added nearly 33,000 new positives in the last 24 hours to bring the pandemic total to 1,028,424.
Italy’s death toll surged to 623 — the highest single-day total since April 6 — to reach 42,953, the second highest in Europe after Britain.
Hospitals are filling with COVID-19 patients. There’s a total of 29,444 coronavirus patients currently hospitalized and more than 3,000 are in critical care units with respirators.
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NEW YORK — A caravan of 100 vintage jeeps, cars and other vehicles paraded down New York’s Fifth Avenue in a socially distant Veterans Day observance.
The morning car caravan was held instead of the parade that usually marks Veterans Day in New York. U.S. Navy officials laid wreaths at Madison Square Park’s eternal light flagstaff at 6 a.m. before reviewing the car parade.
A ceremony was planned later Wednesday at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, the former aircraft carrier USS Intrepid. Speakers at the invitation-only ceremony included Mayor Bill de Blasio and representatives from the museum and the Navy.
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RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina on Wednesday reported its highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases, with 3,119 people testing positive.
The state has now eclipsed 300,000 cases since the start of the pandemic. Nearly 8% of tests came back positive, marking the highest positivity rate in more than a month.
“This is not the milestone we want to be hitting, particularly as we head into holidays where people want to come together,” said a statement from Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
North Carolina reported 38 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the confirmed total to 4,698.
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ATHENS, Greece — Greece has imposed a nationwide nightly curfew as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country continues to surge despite a lockdown.
The circulation ban will start Friday and be in effect from 9:00 p.m. through 5 a.m. with exceptions applying only for health emergencies, work-related trips, and short walks with pets. A nationwide lockdown went into effect last week.
Public health officials reported 43 deaths Wednesday, a daily record, and 2,752 confirmed new cases.
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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s health regulator on Wednesday authorized the resumption of large-scale clinical trials on a potential coronavirus vaccine developed by a Chinese company just a day after shutting the test down.
The initial decision by Anvisa led to complaints that the action was more political than scientific.
The agency had cited an “adverse, serious event” that occurred on Oct. 29 as the reason for halting the trials on Monday night, but said Wednesday it “has sufficient elements to allow vaccination to resume.”
The potential CoronaVac vaccine is being developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac. In Brazil, it would be mostly produced by Sao Paulo’s state-run Butantan Institute.
About 10,000 volunteers are taking part in Phase 3 testing of the Sinovac candidate, one of several potential vaccines under trial in one of the nation’s hardest hit by the coronavirus. Brazil is No. 3 in cases with 5.6 million and No. 2 in deaths with more than 162,000.
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MADRID — Spain’s Health ministry says it will ask foreign travelers from countries considered high risk to provide a negative coronavirus test to visit.
The ministry says travelers will have to submit a negative test result 72 hours before arrival. They can do so via the internet or on paper before boarding a plane.
The ministry says the measure will apply to European Member countries designated as high risk by EU guidelines. Spain will determine the situation of non-EU counties based on case rates for 14 days.
The measures take effect on Nov. 23.
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PARIS — Aid group Doctors Without Borders is recruiting emergency help for French nursing homes.
That’s where more people with the virus have died so far in November than in the previous five months combined.
The group, founded in Paris in 1971 and renowned for its work in impoverished or conflict-torn countries, issued an appeal this week for medics, psychologists and other volunteers to help in nursing homes in the Paris region.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, also deployed emergency help in Europe earlier this year when the pandemic first hit.
France has reported more infections than any European country, though the numbers of new infections have been falling for the past week. Virus-related hospitalizations in France appear to be stabilizing, though ICUs are already saturated and virus deaths are still rising.
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SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Utah teachers has organized an event to encourage educators across the state to call in sick and use the day to get tested for the coronavirus.
Granite School District teacher Lindsay Plummer says there are currently no testing requirements for teachers or students, despite the surge in cases.
FOX13 reported that some teachers believe the “test out” planned for Thursday could prompt state government leaders to do more to increase classroom safety measures. The Utah Education Association says it is urging teachers to be patient. The governor’s office has said all teachers currently have universal access to testing.
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FRANKFURT, Germany — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde says the recovery could be bumpy until vaccination becomes widespread.
That warning came in a speech at an online ECB conference Wednesday. She says the recent upsurge in infections gave the pandemic “a new dynamic” and economists are worried the recovery could go into reverse in the last three months of the year.
While recent news of vaccine tests are promising, Lagarde says the economy could face recurring cycles of growth and restrictions until enough people can be vaccinated.
She says the ECB could add more stimulus at its next meeting Dec. 10. Analysts have been predicting more stimulus as a surge in coronavirus cases and partial lockdowns weigh on economic growth.
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PRAGUE — The Czech Republic has been partly lifting the complete closure of schools, allowing the youngest school children to return.
Education Minister Robert Plaga says the schools reopen for the children from the 1st and 2nd grades of elementary schools, starting on Nov 18. Both teachers and students, must wear face masks. Also, the schools for children with disabilities will reopen.
All the other grades at elementary schools, high schools and universities will continue with remote teaching.
The day-to-day increase of new cases reached 9,016 on Tuesday, about 3,000 less than a week ago. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases decreased from 120 cases per 100,000 people on Oct. 27 to 89 on Tuesday.
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STOCKHOLM — Stockholm reintroduced a ban on visiting elderly in care homes after a reported spike.
The ban “is a precautionary measure because the residents belong to a risk group,” the city of Stockholm said in a statement.
In September, Sweden lifted a national ban on visiting elderly in care homes. The ban came after the bulk of Sweden’s deaths this year was recorded among people above the age of 70, and many in nursing homes.
In recent days, Sweden has seen an uptick in cases. Overall, Sweden has reported 162,240 confirmed cases and 6,082 deaths.
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