Cases hit all-time high weekly number: WHO
Thursday, 29 October 2020
India's tally of coronavirus cases stood less than 10,000 away from the grim milestone of 8 million, as 43,893 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, data from the federal health ministry showed, report agencies.
Infections in the USA crossed milestone of 9 million.
Totalling 7.99 million, India has the second-most number of confirmed cases after the United States.
Report from Geneva adds: The number of coronavirus cases worldwide increased by more than 2.8 million in the past week, the biggest number for a seven-day period ever recorded, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Germany and France prepared to announce restrictions approaching the level of last spring's blanket lockdowns on Wednesday as COVID deaths across Europe rose almost 40% in a week, sending financial markets sharply lower on fears of the likely costs.
Another report adds: Some survivors of COVID-19 carry worrying signs that their immune system has turned on the body, reminiscent of potentially debilitating diseases like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, a new study has found.
At some point, the body's defence system in these patients shifted into attacking itself, rather than the virus, the study suggests. The patients are producing molecules called "autoantibodies" that target genetic material from human cells, instead of from the virus.
In another development, the US government will pay as much as $1.19 billion to Eli Lilly and Co to secure nearly 1 million doses of its experimental COVID-19 antibody treatment, a drug similar to a treatment that U.S. President Donald Trump received.