Coronavirus Updates
Fauci expresses support for national mask mandate
11:38 | 10/29/2020
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the top infectious disease expert in the United States, on Wednesday appeared to call for a national mask mandate for the first time in a series of interviews, The Washington Post reports.
US reports over 80,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday
11:36 | 10/29/2020
The United States reported an additional 80,662 coronavirus cases and 996 deaths on Wednesday, according to an NBC tally.
France, Germany announce partial lockdown restrictions
11:35 | 10/29/2020
France and Germany are going into partial monthlong nationwide lockdowns as they grapple with a surge in coronavirus cases. Germany on Wednesday agreed to a shutdown starting Monday with restaurants, bars and theaters closing. French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday announced a lockdown from Friday including the closure of nonessential businesses and the requirement of a certificate to move around.
Melbourne ends 111-day lockdown
11:34 | 10/29/2020
Melbourne, Australia’s second-biggest city, on Wednesday ended its 111-day lockdown after recording zero new coronavirus cases on Monday for the first time since June.
Saudi Arabia to pay families of deceased health care workers
11:33 | 10/29/2020
Saudi Arabia will grant 500,000 riyals ($130,000) to the families of health care workers who died from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Arab News reports.
Iran parliament speaker contracts coronavirus
11:30 | 10/29/2020
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker, on Wednesday announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Also on Wednesday, Iran confirmed a daily record 415 coronavirus deaths.
Study: US mask mandate could save 130,000 lives by February
11:29 | 10/29/2020
A new study by researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and published in the journal Nature Medicine models that 130,000 lives could be saved in the United States by February if a national mask mandate were in place.
Turkey to reconsider coronavirus measures
11:48 | 10/28/2020
The Turkish government on Wednesday will look into possible changes to the country’s current coronavirus measures, weighing whether to loosen or tighten the restrictions depending on the pace of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Small businesses in Israel to be exempted from property tax
11:48 | 10/28/2020
Israel’s Economy Minister Amir Peretz on Tuesday called for small businesses forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic to be exempt from property tax.
Nearly half a million Americans contracted coronavirus over past week
11:47 | 10/28/2020
A Reuters tally on Tuesday showed that almost half a million Americans contracted COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, over the past seven days.