Health News Roundup: New COVID-19 cases in France; North Dakota becomes 35th state and more

New COVID-19 cases and deaths rise sharply in France The number of confirmed new COVID-19 cases and deaths in France rose sharply in the last 24 hours, according to French health ministry data published on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New COVID-19 cases and deaths rise sharply in France

The number of confirmed new COVID-19 cases and deaths in France rose sharply in the last 24 hours, according to French health ministry data published on Saturday. France registered 32,095 new COVID-19 cases over the previous 24 hours to reach a total of 1,954,599. Deaths in hospitals in France from COVID-19 rose by 359 over the previous 24 hours to reach a total of 44,246 so far.

As U.S. pandemic intensifies, North Dakota becomes 35th state to require masks

North Dakota has become the 35th U.S. state to require face coverings be worn in public, as governors across the country grapple with a surge in coronavirus infections that threatens to swamp their health care systems. North Dakota joined 38 other states this month in reporting record daily jumps in new cases, 17 others with record deaths and 25 others with a record number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to a Reuters tally.

South Korea reports 208 new COVID-19 cases, eighth day of triple-digit rises

South Korea reported 208 new coronavirus cases as of Saturday midnight, marking the eight straight day of triple-digit increases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said on Sunday. That was slightly higher than the previous day's 205 new infections and the highest since early September.

CDC reports 243,580 deaths from coronavirus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 10,690,665 cases of the novel coronavirus, an increase of 181,801 cases from its previous count, and said that the number of deaths had risen by 1,364 to 243,580. The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19 as of 4 p.m. ET on Nov. 13, compared with its previous report released a day earlier. https://bit.ly/3f2c7IQ

China finds coronavirus on frozen beef, tripe from various countries

The eastern Chinese city of Jinan said it has found the new coronavirus on beef and tripe, and on packaging for these products, from Brazil, New Zealand and Bolivia as China ramps up testing on frozen foods. The importers were a unit of Guotai International Group and Shanghai Zhongli Development Trade, the Jinan Municipal Health Commission said in a statement on its website late on Saturday. UK reports 26,860 new COVID cases on Saturday, 462 deaths

Britain reported 26,860 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, down from 27,301 on Friday and the lowest number since Wednesday. The daily number of new deaths reported within 28 days of a positive test rose to 462 from 376 on Friday, taking the cumulative total to 51,766.

Johnson & Johnson, U.S. government expand pact to support next phase of COVID-19 vaccine R&D

Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have expanded an agreement to support the next phase of COVID-19 vaccine candidate research and development, the company said on Saturday. Under the agreement the company will commit approximately $604 million and the HHS Department's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority will commit about $454 million to support the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial evaluating Janssen's investigational COVID-19 vaccine candidate as a single dose in up to 60,000 volunteers worldwide, the company said in a statement.

Irish health chief concerned by unexpected rise in COVID-19 cases

An unexpected 10% rise in the five-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in Ireland threatens to reverse a recent sharp drop in the incidence rate of the disease to the third-lowest level in Europe, the country's chief medical officer said on Saturday. Ireland was among the first European countries to reimpose tough nationwide measures last month to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, with restrictions on travel and the closure of non-essential retail more than halving the 14-day infection rate to 130 cases per 100,000 people.

Brazil registers 38,307 new cases of coronavirus

Brazil on Saturday registered 38,307 new cases of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry said, bringing the total to 5,848,959. Deaths rose by 921 to 165,658.

Mexico surpasses 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus

Mexico's health ministry reported on Saturday 5,860 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the country and 635 deaths, bringing the official totals to 1,003,253 cases and 98,259 dead. Health officials have previously said the real number of cases is likely significantly higher than the reported figures.