Health News Roundup: The faces of India's coronavirus pandemic as deaths hit 100,000; What you need to know about the coronavirus right now and more

https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/ygdvzkaerpw/ Send staff home, Moscow mayor tells firms as COVID-19 cases surge Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered employers on Thursday to send at least 30% of their staff home to work, to halt coronavirus infections that are now rising by around 2,000 a day in the Russian capital.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

'You cannot lock down everybody' Madrid tells Spanish government in COVID spat

"You cannot lock down everybody," the chief of the Madrid region said on Thursday, pushing back against the Spanish government's plan to confine the capital city to tackle a surge in COVID-19 cases. The health ministry said late on Wednesday that the central government was overriding regional authorities and would impose a lockdown of the city of over 3 million people and some surrounding towns in the coming days.

U.S. coronavirus cases rise month-over-month in 27 states in September, led by Wisconsin

New cases of COVID-19 rose in 27 out of 50 U.S. states in September compared with August, led by an increase of 111% in Wisconsin, according to a Reuters analysis. The Midwest states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin all saw cases surge more than 50% month-over-month, as did Montana, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming. https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/ygdvzkaerpw/

Send staff home, Moscow mayor tells firms as COVID-19 cases surge

Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered employers on Thursday to send at least 30% of their staff home to work, to halt coronavirus infections that are now rising by around 2,000 a day in the Russian capital. Writing on his blog, Sobyanin said hospitalisations of people with COVID-19 were rising in Moscow by around 5,000 per week and that the share of children among the city's sick had risen above 19% for the first time.

Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine unlikely to be ready before U.S. election: FT

Moderna Inc will not be ready to apply for emergency authorization for its potential COVID-19 vaccine before the U.S. presidential election in November, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing the company's chief executive officer. Stéphane Bancel told FT that he did not expect to have full approval to distribute the drug to all sections of the U.S. population until next spring. (https://on.ft.com/36h2LXD)

Weekly COVID-19 cases up 61% in England: test and trace scheme

There was a 61% increase in positive COVID-19 cases in England's latest weekly data, with more than four times the number of cases recorded as there were at the end of August, the health service's test and trace scheme said on Thursday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has implored Britons to follow tighter rules that have been introduced in a bid to stem a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and avert a crippling second wave that could overwhelm the health service.

The faces of India's coronavirus pandemic as deaths hit 100,000

Eight months after the novel coronavirus arrived in India, the number of deaths from the disease is due to cross 100,000 imminently. Nearly 6.5 million people have been infected in total, second only to the number in the United States. Reuters met and interviewed relatives of 30 people who died of the virus in India, from coastal Kerala on the country's southern tip to the Himalayan region of Kashmir in the north.

Exclusive: FDA widens U.S. safety inquiry into AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine - sources

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has broadened its investigation of a serious illness in AstraZeneca Plc's COVID-19 vaccine study and will look at data from earlier trials of similar vaccines developed by the same scientists, three sources familiar with the details told Reuters. AstraZeneca's large, late-stage U.S. trial has remained on hold since Sept. 6, after a study participant in Britain fell ill with what was believed to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.

Trump-touted hydroxychloroquine shows no benefit in COVID-19 prevention: study

A malaria drug taken by U.S. President Donald Trump to prevent COVID-19 did not show any benefit versus placebo in reducing coronavirus infection among healthcare workers, according to clinical trial results published on Wednesday. The study largely confirms results from a clinical trial in June that showed hydroxychloroquine was ineffective in preventing infection among people exposed to the new coronavirus.

Spanish ICU adds beds for winter after 'terrible avalanche' of patients earlier this year

At the Cruces hospital just outside the Spanish city of Bilbao, the sound of power drills and hammers rings out as a construction crew gets to work on a new intensive care ward in preparation for a potential winter surge in COVID-19 cases. "Winter is going to be a high-risk time for us as more people will be staying at home in enclosed spaces, raising the risk of infection," said Dr Alberto Martinez Ruiz, the hospital's head of anaesthesiology and recovery.

What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: FDA widens safety inquiry into AstraZeneca vaccine

(With inputs from agencies.)