World Passes 35 Million Cases of COVID-19

The world tallied more than 35 million cases of COVID-19, Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, and more than a million deaths.  Among the nations hardest hit is Great Britain, which is closing in on 500,000 cases and more than 42,400 deaths, the worst in Europe and the fifth highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins data.  On Sunday, Britain again set a record for new COVID-19 cases in one day: 22,961. Authorities blame the high number partly on a technical issue that had kept more than 15,000 test results from being transferred into computer systems and to contact tracers on time. The technical problem was identified Friday and has been resolved, according to a statement from Public Health England (PHE). If Britons, like the rest of the world, were hoping for a vaccine soon and a return to their pre-pandemic lives, the chairwoman of Great Britain’s vaccine task force had some sobering news. Kate Bingham told the Financial Times on Sunday that vaccinating everyone was “not going to happen.” A woman holds an umbrella as she walks past a Cineworld in Leicester’s Square in London, Oct. 4, 2020.”People keep talking about time to vaccinate the whole population, but that is misguided,” she told the newspaper. Vaccinating healthy people, who are unlikely to have severe outcomes from COVID-19, “could cause them some freak harm,” she said. “It’s an adult-only vaccine, for people over 50, focusing on health workers and care home workers and the vulnerable,” Bingham said in an interview.   In France, starting Tuesday, Paris bars will close for two weeks and restaurants will begin using new sanitary protocols, according to the prime minister’s office. France on Sunday reported 12,565 new cases of coronavirus, while 893 COVID-19 patients had been admitted into intensive care over the past week. The maximum COVID-19 measures take effect when the incidence rate exceeds 100 infections per 100,000 among the elderly and 250 per 100,000 for the general public.    In Russia, officials said Sunday 10,499 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the previous 24-hour period.  Russia’s Tass news agency said it was the first time since May 15 that the new caseload had exceeded 10,000.  
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