Health News Roundup: Indonesia reports 4,106 new COVID cases; Czech Republic sees further decline in COVID and more

Indonesia reports 4,106 new coronavirus cases, 63 new deaths Indonesia reports 4,106 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total caseload to 467,113, data from the country's COVID-19 task force showed. The health ministry also recorded three new fatalities, raising the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 309.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Indonesia reports 4,106 new coronavirus cases, 63 new deaths

Indonesia reports 4,106 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the total caseload to 467,113, data from the country's COVID-19 task force showed. It recorded 63 COVID-19 deaths, taking the number of fatalities to 15,211.

Czech Republic sees further decline in COVID cases, still among highest in Europe

The Czech Republic reported on Sunday a further decline in the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths from daily highs seen in early November, but the country remains among the hardest hit in Europe during this second wave of the pandemic. Health ministry data showed 4,199 new cases were reported on Saturday, down by more than 3,500 from the same day a week earlier, amid tough lockdown measures, with 132 new fatalities, which includes revisions to previous days.

In COVID-19 vaccine race, Hungarian village firm takes global role

In an unassuming house in rolling hills east of the Hungarian capital, a small family firm is helping oil the wheels of the world's big pharmaceutical companies on the path to a coronavirus vaccine. Biologist Noemi Lukacs, 71, retired to Szirak, her birth village, to establish English & Scientific Consulting (SciCons) and manufacture a genetic sensor so sensitive that a few grams can supply the entire global industry for a year.

French police increase COVID lockdown checks in Paris

French police stepped up controls in Paris over the weekend to ensure residents were complying with strict lockdown rules imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19, amid signs that some people were breaching them. Prime Minister Jean Castex has said people are not abiding by the rules as strictly as during the first lockdown back in the spring.

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.

Germans should brace for 4-5 months of severe COVID-19 measures, minister says

Germans should brace for another 4-5 months of severe measures to halt the rise in coronavirus infections and should not expect the current rules to be eased quickly, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told weekly Bild am Sonntag. "We're not out of the woods yet", he said referring to infection numbers. "We cannot afford a yo-yo shutdown with the economy constantly opening and closing."

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 meat, packaging from Latin America, New Zealand

The Chinese city of Jinan said over the weekend it had found coronavirus on beef and tripe and their packaging from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand, while two other provincial capitals detected it on packaging on pork from Argentina. China is ramping up testing on frozen foods after repeatedly detecting the virus on imported products, triggering disrupting import bans, even as the World Health Organization says the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen food is low.

Malaysia reports 1,208 new coronavirus cases with three new deaths

Malaysia reported 1,208 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total to 47,417 infections. The health ministry also recorded three new fatalities, raising the total number of deaths from the pandemic to 309.

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