The rates of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions were all trending downward in California in the latest counts, the governor said on Monday.

Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said that despite that good news, the state’s Central Valley agricultural region was still being hit hard by the coronavirus. He said the data had yet to reach a point for lifting pandemic restrictions.

“This virus is not going away,” Newsom said at a daily coronavirus briefing. “It’s not going to take Labor Day weekend off or Halloween off or the holidays off. Until we have a vaccine we are going to be living with this virus.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-california/california-governor-says-covid-19-cases-hospitalizations-trending-down-idUSKCN24Z2IG

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The UAE reported 164 new coronavirus cases on Monday, its lowest daily total since April 1.

Officials confirmed a further 248 patients had beaten the virus as the recovery tally climbed to 54,863.

No patients died for the third consecutive day, as the death toll in the Emirates remained at 351.

The latest infections were identified after an additional 27,811 tests were carried out.

The number of coronavirus cases nationwide now stands at 61,163.

The UAE has conducted close to 5.2 million Covid-19 tests since the outbreak began.

https://www.thenational.ae/uae/government/coronavirus-uae-reports-lowest-number-of-daily-cases-since-april-1.1058498

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Tests are being carried out at sewage plants across England as the government tries to get a "head start" on where new coronavirus outbreaks may happen.

During the trials, experts at 44 treatment works will be analysing samples of wastewater for fragments of the disease.

Tests can detect the genetic residues of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

The residues could be used to discover the presence of the virus in the population, including among those who do not have symptoms or before they develop them.

People infected with coronavirus are believed to shed it in their faeces.

The World Health Organisation has said there is no evidence that COVID-19 has been transmitted through sewerage systems, but scientists believe nationwide monitoring of them could be a good way to identify future hotspots.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-tests-at-sewage-plants-aim-to-get-head-start-on-detecting-new-covid-19-outbreaks-12041735?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

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Here at last is some good news about the Covid-19 pandemic and the wholesale disruption to our lives it has caused: In many places with strict lockdowns this spring, there were far fewer premature births than is considered normal.

The trend doesn’t appear to be universal, but where it applies, the data are staggering. In Denmark, the number of babies born after less than 28 weeks of gestation — 40 weeks is the norm — dropped by 90% during the country’s month-long lockdown this spring. In one region of Ireland, the rate of preemies with very low birth weight was down by 73% between January and April compared with averages over the preceding two decades. Somewhat smaller decreases have been observed in parts of Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Elsewhere, clinics and doctors are now scurrying to examine their own data.

One reason to rejoice is, of course, that this means many parents had healthier, happier babies this spring. Premature birth and low gestational weight are associated with various medical complications, ranging from cerebral palsy or death in the worst cases to learning disabilities or visual problems in later life. For example, it’s why Stevie Wonder, an American singer who was born six weeks early, is blind.

But the bigger reason to cheer is that this phenomenon could eventually help us understand what causes premature birth in the first place, and thus how to prevent it. For now we can only speculate, as the researchers behind the Danish and Irish work freely admit — their papers haven’t yet been peer-reviewed.

One explanation for fewer premature births may be the decreases in air pollution during the lockdowns, as fewer people drove or flew and factories belched less. Another factor could be that the moms-to-be had fewer infections generally — and thus less inflammation in their bodies — as we reduced contact with people and germs and obsessively washed hands.

But the most obvious and plausible reason appears to be that for many expecting moms, though decidedly not all, the lockdowns reduced stress. This may seem counterintuitive, because a pandemic is itself a big a stressor. Moreover, the lockdowns deprived many people of their livelihood and thus caused additional financial and even existential anxiety.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-08-01/why-do-coronavirus-lockdowns-lead-to-fewer-premature-births

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On Sunday, the U.S. reported the fewest new Covid-19 cases in weeks.

Nearly 48,850 new Covid-19 cases were reported on August 2, according to New York Times data; the last day new cases were below 49,000 was almost a month, earlier on July 5.

Florida, one of the hardest-hit states, experienced its fewest number of new reported cases on Sunday, with 7,104 diagnoses and 62 deaths, the smallest daily increase in three weeks, according to NBC 6.

The spread of Covid-19 is reportedly slowing in hard-hit Texas as well—a partial result of Gov. Greg Abbott’s public mask mandate, reports the Texas Tribune.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2020/08/03/us-sees-smallest-number-of-daily-new-covid-19-cases-in-weeks/#492d8a1e6a95

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Indian drugmaker Wockhardt Ltd will supply millions of doses of multiple COVID-19 vaccines, including that being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, under a deal with the UK government announced on Monday.

Shares of Wockhardt jumped 10% after the news in a downcast Mumbai market. [.BO]

The company has reserved fill-and-finish capacity - the final manufacturing step of putting vaccines into vials or syringes and packaging them - as part of the agreement, it said.

This is the latest step by the UK to secure supplies and production of COVID-19 vaccines after striking four deals with drugmakers to buy their potential shots.

“Fill finish is a critical step in the process to get the vaccine in a form to be given to patients. The agreement with Wockhardt will boost our capability to ensure that,” Kate Bingham, chair of UK Vaccines Task Force, said in a statement.

The UK government has also reserved one fill-and-finish production line at a Wockhardt subsidiary in Wrexham, Wales for its exclusive use for the next 18 months to secure supply. It is expected to start the Wexham line in September.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccine-india/indias-wockhardt-strikes-deal-to-supply-covid-19-vaccines-to-uk-idUSKBN24Z113

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A hospital research team in the southern city of Lyon has come up with an instant breath test to tell whether someone has coronavirus or not. The discovery could pave the way for new coronavirus testing beyond throat and nose swabs.

It may be too early to say whether testing a person's breath for Covid-19 will be a game changer in France's efforts to tackle the pandemic, but for some researchers, it is a step in the right direction.

"We're pretty confident we're on the right track," Christian George, director of the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS) at the la Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon told Reuters.

"Two months ago, we still knew very little about this disease, and now, we are starting to get information that is becoming clearer by the day," he noted.

That information is given out by a new breathalyser: a grey machine, the size of a refrigerator, that identifies chemical compounds in exhaled air.

The contraption is currently being tested on patients at the la Croix-Rousse hospital.

Patients are required to blow into a tube and in a matter of seconds they are told if they have Covid-19 or not.

George and his team have tested dozens of people in three months, 20 of whom had the virus.

Unlike the uncomfortable standard PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, the new breathalyser is not invasive and provides an immediate result.

https://www.rfi.fr/en/science-and-technology/20200802-french-researchers-invent-breath-test-spot-covid-19-air-we-breathe

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New 90-minute tests that can detect coronavirus and flu will be rolled out in care homes and laboratories from next week.

The "on-the-spot" swab and DNA tests will help distinguish between Covid-19 and other seasonal illnesses, the government said.

The health secretary said this would be "hugely beneficial" over the winter.

Currently, three quarters of test results are returned within 24 hours and a quarter can take up to two days.

The announcement comes as the government pushed back a July target to regularly test care home staff and residents, saying the number of testing kits had become more limited.

Almost half a million of the new rapid swab tests, called LamPORE, will be available from next week in adult care settings and laboratories, with millions more due to be rolled out later in the year.

Additionally, thousands of DNA test machines, which have already been used in eight London hospitals and can analyse nose swabs, will be rolled out across NHS hospitals from September.

Around 5,000 machines will provide 5.8 million tests in the coming months, the Department for Health said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53632043

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Russian health authorities are preparing to start a mass vaccination campaign against coronavirus in October, the health minister has said.

Russian media quoted Mikhail Murashko as saying that doctors and teachers would be the first to receive the vaccine.

Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said Russia's first potential vaccine would be approved by regulators this month.

However, some experts are concerned at Russia's fast-track approach.

On Friday, the leading infectious disease expert in the US, Dr Anthony Fauci, said he hoped that Russia - and China - were "actually testing the vaccine" before administering them to anyone.

Dr Fauci has said that the US should have a "safe and effective" vaccine by the end of this year.

"I do not believe that there will be vaccines so far ahead of us that we will have to depend on other countries to get us vaccines," he told US lawmakers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53621708

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A total of 18 new confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported in Scotland in the past 24 hours.

The figures also showed there have been no confirmed deaths from the virus for the 16th day in a row.

It comes after 30 new Covid-19 cases were reported on Friday - the highest daily increase for eight weeks.

Nicola Sturgeon has said the Scottish government was paying "close attention" to the figures amid fears of a new spike in infections.

The tally of 18 new cases on Saturday accounts for 0.5% of newly tested individuals, according to the Scottish government.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53622005

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