RationalWiki:What is going on with the coronavirus?/September 2020

September 2020
The Portuguese government extends the state of contigency until 14 October in the mainland The Covid-19 pandemic reaches the one million deaths milestone with the WHO warning that two million deaths is a very likely outcome even with a vaccine "Challenge trials", in which volunteers will be deliberately infected with coronavirus to test the effectiveness of possible vaccines, will take place in London. Amid a rise in coronavirus cases, Boris Johnson announces tougher new restrictions on the country. Office workers are once again encouraged to work from home if they can, pubs and restaurants must close at 10pm, face masks will be compulsory for all retail workers and travellers in taxis and weddings will be limited to just 15 attendees. It comes after scientists had warned that the UK could see 50,000 new cases a day by mid-October if no action was taken. New Zealand is almost over its massive outbreak, with most of the country moving to alert level 1, Auckland to level 2. How big was New Zealand's latest outbreak? 178 cases (so far), most of them under the age of 40. 3 people died. It turns out that the Postal Service had a plan to distribute 650 million face masks across the US before the White House nixed it [https://usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-09-16/trump-cdc-head-was-wrong-on-coronavirus-vaccine-timeline Robert Redfield, director of the Center for Disease Control, says that a Covid-19 vaccine could be readily available by late 2021. Donald Trump thinks he knows better. He insists Redfield didn't know what he was saying because a vaccine is damn near good to go right now.] The World Health Organisation warns of a "very serious situation" unfolding in Europe. Several European countries (including France, Spain, and the UK) have seen sharp rises in infections in recent weeks. Researchers in Wuhan are investigating on the strange phenomenon why spectacle-wearers are significantly less likely to catch COVID-19, then non-spectacle wearers. A man on a bus to Manchester tries to use a live snake as a face mask. The Portuguese government implements new and stricter measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, but ongoing plans of reopening schools and back to work programs will still go foward Israel is to be subject to a second national lockdown, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem under fire for spending $5 million federal coronavirus relief funds on tourism ads whilst the state is still seeing large increases in Covid cases. [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-54108648 The number of people allowed to meet up indoors in Wales will be reduced to six. Children under 11 don't count. Unlike in the rest of the UK, up to 30 people will still be allowed to meet up outside.] The mayor of Auckland lays into covidiots - "it's a failing of their own intellect". [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-54093110 The number of people allowed to meet socially in Scotland will be reduced to six. Relaxations on restrictions planned for September 14th, including the reopening of theatres and live music venues, will now be delayed until at least October 5th.] Senegal has effectively tackled Covid-19 by transforming hotels into quarantine units, implement tests every 24 hours, temperature checks in every store and having no petty fights over masks Donald Trump took the decision to deliberately downplay the threat of what he knew to be a deadly and highly contagious virus before the first confirmed US death from it. Due to a rise in coronavirus cases in England, the number of people who are allowed to meet socially will be reduced from thirty to six. New Zealand churches with US links blamed for spreading misinformation and resistance to testing, prolonging the outbreak there. Late stage trials for a potential coronavirus vaccine have been paused, after a participant falls ill. The shot, developed by AstraZeneca and The Oxford University, has been considered one of the leading candidates for a workable vaccine. Update: the trials are to resume. The Portuguese government allowed the Portuguese Communist Party to hold a three-day long party event with 16,500 attendees Anti-lockdown protests, fueled by online groups that promote antivax and coronavirus-related conspiracy theories, are held in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Silvio Berlusconi is being treated in hospital for double pneumonia after testing positive for the coronavirus. First covid-19 death linked to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally reported in Minnesota The United States won't take part in a global effort to develop and distribute a Coronavirus vaccine as it is being led by the World Health Organisation. Iowa State plans to allow 25,000 fans into football opener, even though Iowa is a covid hotbed Former PM Tony Abbott rails against "health dictatorships" in a speech at Policy Exchange think tank in London, claiming it's better to let eldery afflicted with Covid-19 die naturally