Health News Roundup: Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus; China reports 15 new coronavirus cases and more

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 Oct. 23 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/31Dqz4H) Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Saturday, and police used tear gas on several occasions as thousands of people protested in Warsaw against COVID-19 restrictions.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

U.S. disease expert Fauci says vaccine verdict due by early December

U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday it would be clear whether a COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective by early December, but that more widespread vaccination would not be likely until later in 2021. "We will know whether a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, the beginning of December," Fauci told the BBC.

Italy orders bars and restaurants to close early as COVID rates surge

Italy on Sunday ordered bars and restaurants to close by 6 p.m. and shut public gyms, cinemas and swimming pools to try to halt a rapid resurgence in the coronavirus that has pushed daily infection rates to new records. The measures, which take effect on Monday and were agreed between Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte's government in Rome and regional authorities, arrived after two nights of protests in Naples and Rome against curfews introduced in a number of regions last week.

U.S. CDC reports 223,393 total deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 8,469,976 cases of new coronavirus, an increase of 82,929 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 946 to 223,393. 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 Oct. 23 versus its previous report a day earlier.(https://bit.ly/31Dqz4H)

Latest on the worldwide spread of coronavirus

Polish President Andrzej Duda has tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said on Saturday, and police used tear gas on several occasions as thousands of people protested in Warsaw against COVID-19 restrictions. Europe became the second region after Latin America to surpass 250,000 coronavirus deaths, according to a Reuters tally..

Australia's COVID-19 epicentre delays decision on lifting lockdown restrictions

Victoria state, Australia's COVID-19 epicentre, on Sunday delayed an expected announcement on the easing of lockdown restrictions due to an outbreak in Melbourne, prompting warnings that residents were at a "financial and mental breaking point". The restrictions have limited most retail businesses in the state's capital to providing online services only since early August, and 5 million people living under stay-at-home orders were expecting an announcement on Sunday.

Mainland China reports 15 new coronavirus cases vs 28 previous day

China reported 15 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for Oct. 23, down from 28 cases in the previous day, the health commission said on Sunday. All 15 of the new infections were imported, according to a statement by the National Health Commission.

Hungary's coronavirus daily tally tops 3,000 for first time

Hungary reported 3,149 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, its highest single-day tally and jumping above 3,000 for the first time, the government said. The total number of cases rose to 59,247 in the country of 10 million, with 35 new deaths taking the total to 1,425.

UK considers reducing quarantine period for COVID-19 contacts

Britain's government is looking at how long those exposed to COVID-19 need to quarantine, Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis told Sky News on Sunday, commenting on reports that the self-isolation period could be reduced from 14 days. Like many other European countries, the UK is facing a surge in infections. It has so far reported 884,457 coronavirus cases with 44,795 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.

French COVID tracing app needs more downloads to be effective: minister

France's new COVID-19 contact-tracing app needs to be downloaded by at least 20% of the population to be effective but is far from reaching that level for now, the minister for digital affairs said on Sunday. On Oct. 22, France relaunched its "StopCovid" tracing app and renamed it "Tous Anti-Covid" (all against Covid), which has since seen an additional 1.2 million downloads for a total number of about 4 million.

U.S. sets single-day record for COVID-19 cases during new surge

More than 84,000 people were diagnosed with COVID-19 across the United States on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, a record one-day increase in infections during the pandemic as the virus surges again nationwide. The spike to 84,218 cases, breaking the record of 77,299 set on July 16, comes as University of Washington researchers forecast that the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could reach a total of 500,000 by February.