Health News Roundup: Ireland tightens COVID-19 curbs in counties; Spain's intensive care staff confront COVID second wave and more

COVID-19 increases risks for cancer patients Eli Lilly says other COVID-19 antibody drug trials ongoing after study halted for safety concern Eli Lilly & Co on Wednesday said other trials of its experimental coronavirus antibody therapy remain on track after a government-run study testing the treatment in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was paused due to safety concerns.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Ireland tightens COVID-19 curbs in counties bordering Northern Ireland

Ireland's government moved three counties on its open border with Northern Ireland - Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan - to Level 4 of its five-step framework of COVID-19 constraints and banned almost all visits to homes across the country. British-run Northern Ireland announced the strictest curbs seen in the United Kingdom since early summer on Wednesday in response to a rapid rise in cases that neighbouring Prime Minister Micheal Martin of Ireland described as "hugely worrying."

Better equipped but emotionally drained, Spain's intensive care staff confront COVID second wave

Emotional fatigue has begun to set in among the intensive care staff at the Infanta Sofia hospital near Madrid, even though the team is better equipped now than during the pandemic's March-April peak. "At that time we had a spike that completely overwhelmed us," said intensive care chief Dr. Miguel Angel Gonzalez Gallego. "We had to increase the number of beds five-fold."

No time for conviviality: France imposes curfews to beat back coronavirus

French President Emmanuel Macron ordered a third of France's population be put under nightly curfew on Wednesday to tackle a surging second wave of the coronavirus, saying now was not the time for conviviality. The virus was spreading at parties and private gatherings, the president said, and action was needed now in Paris and eight other big French cities to slow the rate of infection or else hospitals risked being overwhelmed.

COVID-19 increases risks for cancer patients; common cold antibodies no help vs coronavirus

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. COVID-19 increases risks for cancer patients.

Eli Lilly says other COVID-19 antibody drug trials ongoing after study halted for safety concern

Eli Lilly & Co on Wednesday said other trials of its experimental coronavirus antibody therapy remain on track after a government-run study testing the treatment in hospitalized COVID-19 patients was paused due to safety concerns. Lilly said on Tuesday that an independent safety monitoring board requested a pause in the trial, called ACTIV-3, due to a potential safety issue.

Kids may not be recommended for COVID-19 vaccination initially, U.S. CDC says

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines may not be initially recommended for children when they become available. Children, who rarely have severe COVID-19 symptoms, have not yet been tested for any experimental coronavirus vaccine. The CDC said so far early clinical trials have only included non-pregnant adults, noting the recommended groups could change in the future as clinical trials expand to recruit more people.

WHO fears spike in global COVID-19 cases will be followed by increased deaths

The World Health Organization's (WHO) chief scientist on Wednesday raised concern that the recent global increase in new COVID-19 infections will be followed by rising deaths that currently number around 5,000 every day. Cases are surging, with nearly 20,000 infections reported in Britain and Italy, Switzerland and Russia among nations reporting record new cases. More than 38 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and nearly 1.1 million have died, according to a Reuters tally.

U.S. states oppose settlement being negotiated by OxyContin maker Purdue and Justice Department: letter

A group of 25 state attorneys general oppose a settlement of U.S. opioid probes being negotiated with Purdue Pharma LP and members of the wealthy Sackler family who own it, arguing the deal would improperly entangle state and local officials with future sales of the company's addictive pain drug OxyContin. In a letter to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, the state attorneys general take issue with the Justice Department's condition that Purdue transform into a "public benefit company" that would be run on behalf of thousands of U.S. communities suing the drugmaker and Sackler family members. The letter cited a previous Reuters report detailing discussions to resolve the investigations.

France's new daily COVID-19 cases above 20,000 again

France reported 22,591 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the daily tally going beyond the 20,000 threshold for the third time in six days, while hospitalisations and deaths linked to the disease also keep ramping up. Those data are published as French President Emmanuel Macron is announcing new restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, including curfews imposed on COVID-19 hotspots, including Paris.

New coronavirus rapid diagnostic tests will be game changer: PAHO director

Rapid antigen diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus will be a game changer in the fight against the pandemic, the Pan American Health Organization's (PAHO) director Carissa Etienne said on Wednesday. PAHO is helping to roll out hundreds of thousands of these tests in Latin America, especially in more marginalized regions at first, which will allow people with active symptoms to have test results much faster than before, PAHO officials said at a press conference.