Health News Roundup: Biden team held COVID-19 talks with Operation Warp Speed drugmakers before election; U.S. becomes first nation to cross 10 million COVID-19 cases as third wave of infections surge and more

U.S. becomes first nation to cross 10 million COVID-19 cases as third wave of infections surge The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Biden team held COVID-19 talks with Operation Warp Speed drugmakers before election

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's healthcare advisers have held talks with drugmaker executives on the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed program to accelerate development of a possible COVID-19 treatment, a Biden spokesman said on Sunday. Under the Trump administration, Operation Warp Speed has struck deals with several drugmakers in an effort to help speed up the search for effective treatments for the disease amid the global coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. becomes first nation to cross 10 million COVID-19 cases as third wave of infections surge

The United States became the first nation worldwide since the pandemic began to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections, according to a Reuters tally on Sunday, as the third wave of the COVID-19 virus surges across the nation. The grim milestone came on the same day as global coronavirus cases exceeded 50 million.

CDC reports 236,547 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Sunday reported 9,808,411 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 93,811 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,072 to 236,547. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 7 versus its previous report a day earlier. (https://bit.ly/38ny4Rn)

China's Tianjin to test cold storage food sites after confirmed coronavirus case

China's northern port city of Tianjin said on Sunday it plans to carry out tests on some cold storage facilities and their staff after a confirmed coronavirus case involving a worker who had handled frozen pork imported from Germany. The patient, a 38-year-old male employee of a frozen food company in the Binhai New Area district of the city, had handled pork products from Germany on Nov. 4, the local government said.

Australia says U.S. return to Paris Agreement, WHO under Biden would be welcome

Australia would welcome President-elect Joe Biden restoring the United States to the Paris climate accord, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, speaking as he faced renewed pressure himself to boost efforts to cut Australia's carbon emissions. "We would be welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, somewhere we've always been," Morrison told reporters, saying a U.S. return to other global organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) would also be welcome.

Britain reports 20,572 new cases of COVID-19, 156 deaths

Britain reported 20,572 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 156 deaths from the virus, both lower than figures from a day before, government data showed.

Italy new COVID-19 cases fall to 32,616 on Sunday

Italy has registered 32,616 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, compared to 39,811 on Saturday. The ministry also reported 331 COVID-19 related deaths, down from 425 the day before.

Global coronavirus cases exceed 50 million after 30-day spike

Global coronavirus infections exceeded 50 million on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally, with a second wave of the virus in the past 30 days accounting for a quarter of the total. October was the worst month for the pandemic so far, with the United States becoming the first country to report more than 100,000 daily cases. A surge in Europe contributed to the rise.

Texas becomes first U.S. state to exceed one million coronavirus cases

Texas became the first state to surpass a million coronavirus cases in the United States on Saturday, as the country battled a third wave of new infections and recorded over 100,000 infections three times in less than a week. In Texas, the surge in new cases in the past week came mainly from Harris, Dallas and El Paso counties, based on a Reuters tally. The surge is straining medical facilities, with the city of El Paso converting a convention center into a field hospital.

With cases soaring, Biden to announce COVID-19 task force

Making the resurgent coronavirus his immediate priority, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on Monday will announce a 12-member task force to deal with the pandemic. Biden spent much of his election campaign criticizing President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic, which has now caused the deaths of 237,000 people in America.

The United States saw a record number of new infections last week, with the total number of cases nearing 10 million.