Health News Roundup: Italian study finds 40% of coronavirus cases had no symptoms; First COVID case found in migrant camp at US border and more

Where COVID-19 is spreading fastest as U.S. cases rise 46% in past week The United States saw a 46% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 28 compared to the previous seven days, with 21 states reporting positivity test rates above the level that the World Health Organization has flagged as concerning.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Italian whole-town study finds 40% of coronavirus cases had no symptoms

A study of coronavirus infections that covered almost everyone in the quarantined north Italian town of Vò found that 40% of cases showed no symptoms - suggesting that asymptomatic cases are important in the spread of the pandemic. The study, led by a scientist at Italy's Padua University and Imperial College London, also produced evidence that mass testing combined with case isolation and community lockdowns can stop local outbreaks swiftly.

First coronavirus cases found in sprawling migrant camp at U.S. border

Three asylum seekers have tested positive for coronavirus in sprawling encampment steps from the U.S. border in Matamoros, Mexico, marking the first cases in a settlement that advocates have long viewed as vulnerable amid the pandemic. Global Response Management (GRM), a nonprofit providing medical services in the camp, said it is proactively testing and isolating all close contacts of the three migrants who tested positive.

Scottish firm to trial T cells as possible COVID-19 treatment

A Scottish biotechnology firm said on Tuesday it would start clinical trials on a possible T cell treatment for COVID-19, aimed at reducing the need for intensive care among hospitalized patients. T cells are white blood cells that form a key part of the immune system, along with antibodies, and scientists are hopeful they could play a role in tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic.

UK confirmed COVID death toll rises by 155 to 43,730

The death toll from confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom rose by 155 to 43,730, health officials said on Tuesday.

Fauci warns spread of COVID-19 'could get very bad', says no guarantee of vaccine

The United States government's top infectious diseases expert on Tuesday warned that daily COVID-19 cases could more than double if Americans fail to take countermeasures and cautioned against pinning hopes on a vaccine. California, Texas and several other states are reporting record increases in cases of the sometimes deadly illness caused by the novel coronavirus, leading to a sobering reassessment of efforts to contain it and raising the stakes for the scores of vaccine candidates being developed at unprecedented speed.

U.S. CDC reports 2,581,229 coronavirus cases

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday reported 2,581,229 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 35,664 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 370 to 126,739. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 pm ET on June 29 compared with its previous report a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/31sxbnj)

WHO to Latam: Don't lower COVID-19 guard, deaths could quadruple by October

The toll from COVID-19 could rise to 438,000 deaths in Latin America by October if prevention measures are not kept up, the World Health Organization's regional director for the Americas Carissa Etienne warned on Tuesday. Fatalities so far in Latin America have reached 113,844 or almost one fifth of the number of people who have died globally, according to mapping by Reuters.

Eight states added to New York governor's quarantine order

People arriving in New York from an additional eight states must quarantine themselves for 14 days amid the coronavirus pandemic, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered on Tuesday. The eight additional states are California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee, all of which are contending with growing caseloads, Cuomo said in a statement.

Where COVID-19 is spreading fastest as U.S. cases rise 46% in past week

The United States saw a 46% increase in new cases of COVID-19 in the week ended June 28 compared to the previous seven days, with 21 states reporting positivity test rates above the level that the World Health Organization has flagged as concerning. Nationally, 7% of diagnostic tests came back positive last week, up from 5% the prior week, according to a Reuters analysis of data from The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to track the outbreak.

Global COVID-19 prevention trial of hydroxychloroquine to resume

A global trial designed to test whether the anti-malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine can prevent infection with COVID-19 is to restart after being approved by British regulators. The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) took its decision on what is known as the COPCOV trial after hydroxychloroquine was found in another British trial to have no benefit as a treatment for patients already infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.