Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on Monday
WHO cautious on COVID-19 plasma treatment after U.S. issues emergency authorization
The latest:
- WHO remains cautious about use of plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients for treatment.
- New Zealand extends coronavirus lockdown in Auckland to end of the week.
- Australia reports lowest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in almost two months.
- Italy begins testing potential COVID-19 vaccine on volunteers.
- Hospitalizations rising in B.C., after increase in new cases from over the weekend.
- Masks now mandatory in British Columbia on TransLink, BC Transit and BC Ferries.
- Manitoba announces $52 million for back-to-school costs amid rising COVID-19 case numbers.
The World Health Organization on Monday was cautious about endorsing the use of recovered COVID-19 patients' plasma to treat those who are ill, saying evidence it works remains "low quality" even as the United States issued emergency authorization for such therapies.
So-called convalescent plasma, which has long been used to treat diseases, has emerged as the latest political flashpoint in the race to find therapies for COVID-19.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday authorized its use after President Donald Trump blamed the agency for impeding the roll-out of vaccines and therapeutics for political reasons.
The technique involves taking antibody-rich plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and giving it to those who are suffering from severe active infections in hopes they will recover more quickly.
Soumya Swaminathan, WHO chief scientist, said only a few clinical trials of convalescent plasma have produced results, and the evidence, at least so far, has not been convincing enough to endorse it beyond use as an experimental therapy. While a few trials have showed some benefit, she said, they have been small and their data, so far, is inconclusive.
"At the moment, it's still very low-quality evidence," Swaminathan told a news conference. "So we recommend that convalescent plasma is still an experimental therapy, it should continue to be evaluated in well-designed randomized clinical trials."
Evidence is conflicting: One Chinese study showed plasma from people who have recovered from coronavirus failed to make a difference in hospitalized patients, while another pooled analysis showed it can lower the risk of death.
One challenge, Swaminathan added, was plasma's variability, since it is drawn from many different people, producing a product that is less-standardized than monoclonal antibodies crafted in the lab.
WATCH | No proof yet convalescent plasma works, epidemiologist says:
WHO senior adviser Bruce Aylward added that beyond plasma's efficacy, there were also potential safety risks that must be vetted.
"There are a number of side effects," Aylward said, ranging from mild fevers to severe lung injuries or circulatory overload. "For that reason, the clinical trial results are extremely important."
The U.S. National Institutes of Health this month announced it was giving several million dollars toward a mid-stage convalescent plasma trial.
What's happening with coronavirus in Canada
As of 1:15 p.m. ET on Monday, Canada had 125,069 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 111,269 of those as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 9,114.
In British Columbia, the number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 continues to rise in B.C. after a weekend that saw 269 new confirmed cases of the disease and one more death.
A long-term care home had a new outbreak in the Fraser Health region on Monday, bringing the total number of active outbreaks in the health-care system to 10.
Also from the province, anyone aboard a TransLink or BC Transit bus, boat or train and passengers aboard BC Ferries vessels is required to wear a face mask beginning Monday to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
TransLink and BC Transit first announced the requirement on Aug. 6. Masks had previously been recommended, but TransLink's anecdotal evidence suggested only about 40 per cent of riders were wearing one.
Meanwhile, Victoria police arrested and fined a guest at a Saturday night party held in the same apartment where a man was fined for COVID-19 safety violations for a party on Friday night.
WATCH | B.C. apartment parties lead to COVID-19 fines:
Officers responding to reports of a party at the one-bedroom suite found a group of 15 people and told the host and guests that the party was over.
One guest refused to co-operate and was arrested for obstructing a peace officer. Police said the man also received a $230 fine for violating the COVID-19 Related Measures Act "for abusive or belligerent behaviour at a social gathering."
Manitoba schools will have an extra $52 million to draw from to fund safety measures as students prepare to head back to class amid rising infection case numbers.
In addition to paying for personal protective equipment, some of that money will be available to hire additional staff, Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said at a news conference Monday morning.
WATCH | What teachers are worried about as back-to-school looms:
School divisions also saved $48 million earlier this year, after the province ordered them to hold onto money not being used when in-class learning was suspended in the spring. Added together, the total amount available for back-to-school COVID-19 costs is $100 million.
On Monday, the province announced 49 new cases of COVID-19, marking another double-digit day following two record-breaking tallies over the weekend.
Public health officials announced 42 new cases on Saturday and 72 new cases on Sunday, bringing Manitoba's total active cases to 395 as of Monday.
Manitoba's Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin clarified during a news conference that 24 of the day's new cases were being retroactively added to Sunday's total, bringing that day's case count to 96. That left the official Monday tally at 25 new cases, he said.
In Alberta, the province's top doctor said that most new cases are linked to social gatherings, ranging from formal events such as weddings, funeral and worship services, to family get-togethers.
One of the largest current outbreaks in the province has been linked to the Bible Pentecostal Church in north Edmonton, which has now seen 75 active and two recovered cases.
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- Hutterites fear stigma could resurface as Manitoba COVID-19 cases rise
Here's what's happening around the world
According to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, the global total of confirmed coronavirus cases is now more than 23.4 million. More than 809,000 people have died while 15.1 million have recovered.
Italy kicked off human trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, joining a global effort to develop a response to the virus, which has shown signs of resurgence in Europe.
Rome's Lazzaro Spallanzani institute, a hospital specializing in infectious diseases, will conduct trials on 90 volunteers over the coming weeks, with the hope a vaccine may be available by next spring.
The potential vaccine, called GRAd-COV2, was developed by ReiThera, a company based in Rome. The Lazio region, around the Italian capital, said in a statement early trials, including on animals, had delivered positive results.
Potential vaccines are undergoing trials in a number of different countries, including India, Britain, Russia and China.
Catalonia's president has announced a ban on social gatherings of more than 10 people and widespread testing of half a million students in Spain's northeastern region.
The new series of measures announced by Quim Torra on Monday aim to curb a wave of new coronavirus infections ahead of the reopening of schools in mid-September, which officials and experts fear could become a vector for more contagion.
Catalonia reported 1,776 new infections on Monday, with nearly 700 people currently in hospitals and 134 of them in intensive care units. Spain as a whole leads Europe's charts with more than 386,000 total reported infections since February.
The Indonesian island of Bali has postponed a plan to reopen the country's biggest tourism hub to international tourists on Sept. 11, its governor said, due to the rising level of coronavirus cases reported in the southeast Asian country.
Indonesia has reported more than 155,000 coronavirus infections and 6,759 deaths as of Monday, the highest number of fatalities in Southeast Asia.
Authorities halted international tourism in early April as the outbreak picked up pace. Tourism is Bali's main source of income and travel restrictions due to the pandemic have hammered the local economy.
South Korea's capital on Monday ordered masks to be worn in both indoor and outdoor public places for the first time, as it battles a surge in coronavirus cases centred in the densely populated metropolitan area.
In May, the city government ordered that masks be worn on public transport and in taxis, but a recent spike in cases has health officials worried that the country may need to impose its highest level of physical distancing, known as Phase 3. Under Phase 3, schools and business will be urged to close.
The Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported 266 new cases as of midnight on Sunday, down from 397 a day earlier but continuing a streak of more than a week of triple-digit daily increases.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a coronavirus lockdown in the country's largest city until the end of the week and introduced mandatory mask wearing on public transport across the nation.
Ardern said the four-day extension in Auckland was critical to enable the country to step down its scale of emergency restrictions — and remain at less restrictive levels.
"We want both confidence and certainty for everyone," she said during a televised media conference.
The Auckland lockdown, imposed on Aug. 11 after officials detected the country's first locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in more than three months, had been scheduled to end on Wednesday. It will now end on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Australia reported its lowest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in almost two months on Monday, fuelling optimism that a deadly second wave is subsiding.
Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland and Western Australia states reported a combined 121 new cases over the past 24 hours, the lowest single-day rise since July 5.
With files from The Associated Press and CBC News
