This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Saturday, September 12th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.
New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here's the latest:
AstraZeneca has been cleared to once again carry out study trials for its COVID-19 vaccine in one country a week after a participant in the United Kingdom became ill.
In a statement released on Saturday, AstraZeneca said the Phase 2/3 testing study was cleared by the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority to resume solely for trials in the United Kingdom. The U.S., Brazil, and South Africa trials still have its trials for the vaccine on hold pending investigations by their respective regulatory bodies.
Trials were put on hold after the participant, a woman, developed symptoms consistent with myelitis, a condition that affects the spinal cord and can cause muscle weakness, paralysis, and pain, according to STAT News.
"AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, as the trial sponsor, cannot disclose further medical information," said the statement from the company. "All trial investigators and participants will be updated with the relevant information and this will be disclosed on global clinical registries, according to the clinical trial and regulatory standards."
The AstraZeneca trial is one of 35 clinical trials from around the world, with nine of those trials in the final stages, according to Stat News.
In May, AstraZeneca entered a deal with the U.S. government to produce at least 300 million doses for upwards of $1.2 billion. But it hasn't allowed politics to influence the fast-tracking of a vaccine after AstraZeneca joined a pledge to "uphold the integrity of the scientific process."
In Latest Count, NYC Sees No Reported COVID-19 Deaths
12:35 p.m. There were no reported coronavirus-related deaths in New York City on Friday as the state continues to see the total number of new cases below 1%, Governor Cuomo announced on Saturday.
The infection rate marks the 36th straight day where the number of reported cases remains below 1% even as the state saw 102,925 tests conducted, setting a new record in the number of tests carried out.
In a statement, Cuomo called testing the “cornerstone” to “keep New Yorkers safe from COVID-19.”
"Yesterday's record-high number of tests helps the state make informed decisions to protect the welfare of New Yorkers, and helps them make informed decisions for themselves,” said Cuomo. “But testing alone isn't enough, and we need residents to continue to wear masks, socially distance and wash their hands. We will get out on the other side of this together, but in the meantime we have to stay New York Tough."
As part of the effort to contain the COVID outbreak, the State Liquor Authority and State Police were once again dispatched to bars and eateries to ensure social distancing is enforced. Authorities cited two establishments, one in the Bronx and the other in Staten Island, for violating state guidelines.
The state saw 467 hospitalizations, down from 474 the day before, and 127 patients in the ICU, up from 120 day before.
A woman at the 9/11 Memorial on September 11, 2020
Fauci Expects A Return To "Normality...Well Into 2021, Towards The End Of 2021"
11:35 a.m.: While there are dozens of vaccines in various stages of development, the nation's preeminent infectious disease expert believes it will take around a year before things might get back to "normal."
"By the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccine and get a majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, that’s likely not going to happen until the end of 2021," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Friday, during an interview with Andrea Mitchell. "If you’re talking about getting back to a degree of normality prior to COVID, it’s going to be well into 2021, towards the end of 2021."
While he does think there will be a vaccine by the end of this year or early next, Fauci is concerned about impending cooler and colder weather months. "Being indoors absolutely increases the risk" of spreading COVID-19, he said. "I am concerned when I see things starting indoors, and that becomes more compelling when you move into fall and winter season."
In an interview on Thursday, Fauci was also worried about the number of cases the country has, "I keep looking at that curve and I get more depressed and more depressed about the fact that we never really get down to the baseline that I’d like."
"We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter because it's not going to be easy," he added.
Earlier this week, Politico reported that emails show the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services tried to muzzle what Fauci would say in interviews. For instance, a "Trump administration appointee," Paul Alexander asked Fauci's team, "Can you ensure Dr. Fauci indicates masks are for the teachers in schools. Not for children. There is no data, none, zero, across the entire world, that shows children especially young children, spread this virus to other children, or to adults or to their teachers. None. And if it did occur, the risk is essentially zero," and "[Alexander] add[ed] without evidence that children take influenza home, but not the coronavirus."
A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released on Friday notes that children caught the coronavirus while in a daycare setting—and then gave it to their family members.
There are 6,446,933 COVID-19 cases and 193,070 deaths in the United States, as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University.
