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WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday (Nov. 10) recorded a record 200,000 new cases of COVID-19 in one day, highlighting the desperate need for a vaccine after results of a medical trial fueled optimism across the world.
News of the vaccine brought some relief to an otherwise bleak outlook, with tighter restrictions imposed in Europe and the Middle East, and a surge in the United States that claimed 1,535 lives in 24 hours.
Stocks in some industries hardest hit by travel restrictions, social distancing and lockdowns rallied in hopes that the world will return to normal after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech announced Monday that their vaccine candidate was 90% effective.
A vaccine is seen as the best chance to break the cycle of deadly virus waves and severe restrictions across much of the world since COVID-19 first emerged in China late last year and became a pandemic.
Pfizer and BioNTech said they could supply up to 50 million doses of the vaccine globally this year and up to 1.3 billion next year if approved.
The scientific community reacted positively overall, although the trial is still ongoing and the candidate vaccine would have to be stored in specialized freezers, creating huge complications in the supply chain.
The candidate vaccine is one of more than 40, but no other developer has made similar claims about effectiveness.
READ: Alarmed by Rising COVID-19 Hospitalizations, Some US States Harden Sidewalks
There was also promising news from Brussels, where the EU parliament and member states reached an agreement to approve the bloc’s multi-year budget, unlocking 750 billion euros ($ 886 billion) in coronavirus recovery funds.
Dacian Ciolos, head of the centrist Renew Europe Group in parliament, called the agreement “a game changer” for Europeans facing the adversity of the pandemic.
“A VERY DARK WINTER”
The new coronavirus has infected about 51 million people worldwide, with more than 1.2 million deaths.
On Tuesday, 6,867 new deaths were recorded worldwide, with the highest daily tolls in France, Spain and the United States.
The United States remains the worst-hit country with more than 10 million cases and nearly 240,000 deaths, with shocking new data now including a record 60,000 current hospitalizations.
The pandemic was one of the main problems for voters in last week’s presidential elections.
Joe Biden, who had been critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the crisis, spared no time in announcing a COVID-19 task force on Monday after being declared president-elect.
“We are still facing a very dark winter,” Biden said.
READ: COVID-19 vaccine news gives ‘hope’, but long battle ahead, says Biden
A woman without a face mask photographs former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential candidate, as he visits residents across the street from the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Aquatic Center in Wilmington, Del., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020 (AP Photo / Carolyn Kaster)
Trump had repeatedly clashed with experts in his own administration, often refusing to endorse restrictions or even wearing a mask in public. After Pfizer’s announcement, he claimed, without proof, that the news was delayed until after the election to damage him.
READ: Trump refuses to budge, Biden leads COVID-19
There was a breakthrough when the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted emergency approval to a synthetic antibody treatment developed by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly.
Bamlanivimab, which has been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization and emergency room visits, is the first major drug to be approved that was designed specifically for the coronavirus.
“CRITICAL HAZARD STAGE”
Despite the encouraging news on the medical front, rising infection and death rates have left many governments struggling to cope.
Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who has downplayed the virus even as it has killed 163,000 people in his country, lashed out with a homophobic tirade.
“I am sorry for the deaths. I really do. But we are all going to die one day. There is no use running away from reality. We have to stop being a country of fags,” he said in a speech. “We have to face it and fight. I hate these fag things.”
In Italy, virus restrictions were increased in five of the country’s 20 regions on Tuesday.
Hungary, one of the worst affected countries in terms of deaths as a proportion of population, also announced new measures that will go into effect on Wednesday.
Elsewhere on the continent, Albania imposed a night curfew and Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid isolated herself after coming into contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19.
In Greece, the government prevented supermarkets from selling “non-essential products” to avoid unfair competition against smaller stores that were forced to close, following a similar move in France.
In the Middle East, Lebanon on Tuesday announced a new two-week shutdown despite a devastating economic crisis that has already hit businesses.
“We have reached a stage of critical danger because public and private hospitals do not have the capacity to receive serious cases,” the country’s Acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a televised speech.
The region also mourned the death from complications of the coronavirus of veteran Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, a longtime architect of plans to end the conflict with Israel by creating an independent Palestinian state.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the passing “a brother and friend … a great loss for Palestine and our people.”
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