Coronavirus Morning News Brief – Oct. 31: U.S. Moves Towards 100 Million Mark in Cases, Shanghai Disney Closes Again

A shop window in London’s Mayfair section decorated for Christmas

Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 935th day of the pandemic.

In news we cover today, England may see an almost Covid-free Christmas holiday and Disneyland in Shanghai shut down for the second time this year, trapping some visitors inside until they test negative.

UNITED STATES

The New York Times reported that the so-called “fast furniture” that Americans purchased for extra beds and desks for home offices during the early days of the pandemic is rapidly being abandoned and going into landfills, in part due to the poor quality of the items and in part because they are no longer needed.  “Fast furniture” is mass produced, relatively inexpensive, and sold by retailers such as Ikea and Wayfair.

GLOBAL

Modeling from the University College London indicates that the holiday season could be almost Covid free.  The models show that new coronavirus infections will continue to decline until January, when another wave is anticipated.

Officials in Macau announced plans to conduct community-wide testing for SARS-CoV-2 on Tuesday.  The world’s biggest gambling hub is grappling with the spread of the virus, and authorities have started to reinstate some restrictions.

Shanghai Disney Resort, which is home to Shanghai Disneyland as well as shopping and dining facilities, will be closed indefinitely starting on Halloween due to tightened Covid restrictions.

“We will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations,” Disney said in a statement.

Meanwhile in one of the “Happiest Place[s]on Earth,” park visitors were a bit less happy at the moment.  Park visitors were unable to leave without producing a negative coronavirus test.  The park will only close once all visitors have departed, but rides continue to operate for those who are trapped inside.

TECH

The Foxconn-operated iPhone factory in Zhengzhou issued three notices on Sunday, stating it will arrange safe passage for workers who wish to leave due to the Covid lockdown, and providing a sanitized environment for those workers who choose to remain.

TODAY’S STATISTICS

Now here are the daily statistics for Monday, October 31.

As of Monday morning, the world has recorded 635.5 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.1 million cases, and 6.6 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 614.7 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, an increase of 0.2 million.

Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Monday at press time is 14,200,594, a decrease of 151,000. Out of that figure, 99.7%, or 14,164,433, are considered mild, and 0.3%, or 36,161, are listed as critical.  The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past 24 hours.

The United States reported 2,737 new coronavirus infections on Monday for the previous day, compared to 3,692 on Sunday, 33,060 on Saturday, 68,726 on Friday, and 80,771 on Thursday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The 7-day incidence rate is now 36,242.  Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.

The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 36,869, a 2% decrease, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources.  The average daily death toll over the same period is 352, a decrease of 6% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 27,415, an increase of 3%.

In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Monday, recorded over 99.3 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.1 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, over 44.7 million, and a reported death toll of 529,024.

The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States.  Rosstat reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.

Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 36.8 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 35.6 million total cases.

Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 688,155, has recorded 34.9 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.

The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are South Korea, with over 25.5 million cases, the United Kingdom, with 23.9 million cases, placing it in the number seven slot, and Italy, with 23.5 million, as number eight, as well as Japan, with 22.3 million, and Russia, with over 21.4 million.

VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of last Thursday, over 266 million people in the United States – or 80.1% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 68.4%, or 226.9 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 636.9 million. Breaking this down further, 91.1% of the population over the age of 18 – or 235.2 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 78.1% of the same group – or 201.7 million people – is fully vaccinated.  In addition, 7.3% of the U.S. population, or 22 million people, has already received an updated or bivalent booster dose of vaccine.

Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish the updated information on Thursday by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.

Some 67.9% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Thursday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information.  So far, 12.89 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 2.26 million doses are now administered each day.

Meanwhile, only 23.1% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.

In addition, with the start of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines.

Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)