Hv to wait next week to break RM11 as QR announcement should be end of this month

Remdesivir does not improve COVID-19 survival odds, a large World Health Organization (WHO) trial of it and three other treatments has ruled.

More than 11,200 hospitalized COVI-19 patients around the world were treated with remdesivir - an antiviral - lopinavir, hydroxychloroquine, interferon or a placebo for the WHO's massive SOLIDARITY trial, according to the Financial Times.

None of the drugs 'substantially affected' mortality risks, the dismal report found.

It's a blow to hopes that the world is getting better at treating people sickened by the pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than a million people globally, including more than 217,000 in the US.

SOLIDARITY's findings are particularly grim news for the US, where remdesivir is one of just two treatments to have gotten emergency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization.

US government research suggested the drug improved survival odds and shortened recovery times. The antiviral was even used to treat President Trump.

The federal government has already amassed a stockpile of the drug, and regulators revoked emergency approval for another drug found ineffective for treating coronavirus by the WHO trial, hydroxychloroquine, in June.

Germany saw a record daily increase in new coronavirus cases on Thursday, reporting 6,638 new infections, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute, the agency responsible for disease control and prevention.

Germany's previous record daily increase was 6,294 on March 28. The country also reported 33 new deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 9,710.

Merkel also warned that there could be over 19,000 new infections per day if the trends continue. The country's leaders on Wednesday announced new curfews for bars and restaurants in areas deemed hotspots, as well as new restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in public and private settings.

At the meeting, Merkel called on young people to abstain from holding parties to prevent a further increase in cases.

Belgium continues to experience a sharp increase in the number of new COVID-19-related infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

A daily average of 5,421 new coronavirus cases in the last seven days (Oct. 5 to Oct. 11) was confirmed on Thursday by the Sciensano public health institute. This is a 101-percent increase from the previous week, Sciensano noted.

On Oct. 14, 1,777 hospital beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients, compared to 1,050 on Oct. 7 -- an increase of 69 percent. The daily number of deaths was an average 19.9 during the Oct. 5 to Oct. 11 week, an increase of 67 percent.

The Netherlands hit a new record in daily coronavirus cases, passing more than 7,500 infections in 24 hours, data released on Thursday showed.

The number of confirmed cases reached 7,791, the National Institute for Public Health data showed.

The Netherlands went into what the government has called a “partial lockdown” on Thursday in an attempt to slow infections in one of the worst hit countries in Europe’s second COVID-19 wave.

Hospitals in the Netherlands on Thursday (Oct 15) said they would ask their German counterparts to take patients after the number of those hospitalised with the coronavirus doubled in the past week, to 1,526.

"We are about to ask for the transfer of patients to hospitals in Germany again," the head of the Dutch hospital association LNAZ told reporters.

Italy has registered 8,804 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Thursday (Oct 15), the highest daily tally since the start of the country's outbreak and up steeply from 7,332 on Wednesday.

There were also 83 COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, jumping from 43 the day before.

The number of people in intensive care with the virus has risen steadily. It stood at 586 on Thursday, up from 539 the day before and compared with a low of around 40 in the second half of July.

The southern Campania region, around Naples, has decided to shut schools until the end of October after a spike in infections.

Spain's cumulative tally of coronavirus infections rose by over 13,300 on Thursday (Oct 15) to 921,374 in a slight acceleration from the previous few days, as the region of Catalonia was preparing to shut down bars and restaurants to prevent contagion.

Data from the health ministry, which includes new cases and deaths in the past 24 hours and adds to the total retroactively, also showed the death toll rising by 140 to 33,553.

Catalonia, which includes Spain's second-largest city of Barcelona, has ordered bars and restaurants to close for 15 days to try to curb a surge in coronavirus cases and the region's top court on Thursday gave its go-ahead to the new restrictions from 1am on Friday.

The number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in France over the past 24 hours has exceeded 30,000 for the first time, official data shows.

France's public health agency said that a total of 30,621 confirmed cases of Covid-19 had been detected in the past 24 hours, a record daily total.

The number of people who died from the virus over the same 24-hour period stood at 88, bringing the total number of deaths in France since the start of the pandemic to 33,125, the agency added.

The UK's coronavirus death toll has jumped by 138 today as strict new lockdown measures are introduced to stem the second wave of the virus.

There have been 18,980 newly recorded cases over the previous 24 hours.

Coronavirus deaths have been above 100 for the last three days underlining the growing threat from the virus. The death toll in all settings now stands at 43,293.

Hospitalisations were up sharply today with 792 new admissions and a total of 562 people on mechanical ventilation beds.

Supermax continues uptrend tomorrow breaking resistance RM11 as major European indexes tumble >2% due to record high coronavirus cases and more lockdowns. Mercator share today up >7%

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA) said it appreciates the “strategic and focused coordination and collaboration” among relevant parties to address the issue of forced labour and child labour raised by the US Department of Labour.

The association said it has taken heed of the inclusion of rubber gloves in the 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labour or Forced Labour report issued by the department’s Bureau of International Labour Affairs.

However, the public and global community must not misread the report, which is retrospective and not punitive in nature, said newly installed MARGMA president Dr Supramaniam Shanmugam. Meanwhile, MARGMA expects the shortage of rubber gloves to prolong into the first quarter of 2022 due to the shortage of both factory workers and latex supply in recent months.

The association has revised its export revenue projection from RM21.8 billion to RM29.8 billion for 2020 based on the performance in 1H20.

The 2H20 export revenue is expected to touch RM18 billion, with the 2021 full-year estimate at RM33.8 billion.

Tomorrow all glove stocks uptrend.Mercator share now up > 8% as Europe countries daily cases reach almost all time record 150,000 cases....

Consolidation at price RM10.54 with high volumes 5.8 million shares indicates strong uptrend tomorrow towards next resistance RM11.00.Tomorrow another new record high of Covid-19 cases worldwide 380,000-400,000 cases especially in Europe on target to break 150,000 daily new cases!!!

The number of daily coronavirus infections in Spain surged Wednesday by nearly 12,000, bringing the total number of cases past 900,000.

The figure is up drastically from just over 7,000 daily cases that was reported Tuesday, but the drop was likely because of under reporting after a national holiday.

Another 209 deaths were reported Wednesday, bringing that number to 33,413.

Catalonia announced stricter measures Wednesday and became the first region in the country to close bars and restaurants since an initial lockdown.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that locals in Paris and eight other cities will have to stick to a curfew from 9:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m.

The restriction, which will come into force on Saturday and last for at least four weeks, will mean residents will not be able to go to restaurants or private homes during these hours.

Macron said on national television: "We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus."

In addition to Paris and the region surrounding it, the new measures also targeted the cities of Grenoble, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.

On Wednesday, health authorities announced more than 9,100 patients were currently in hospital being treated for COVID-19, the highest figure since June 25, leading some experts to suggest the country's medical system is on the verge of being overwhelmed.

Shortly before the curfew was announced, the French government moved to reinstate a public health state of emergency in a bid to curb an uptick in coronavirus infections across the country.

France was facing "a health catastrophe," according to minutes from a Cabinet meeting that took place on Wednesday.

A day before an emergency national “crisis summit” to determine how a second lockdown can be avoided, Switzerland recorded its highest single-day increase in infections, with 2,823 cases recorded on Wednesday – nearly double the figure for the day before.

Poland reported a record 6,526 new infections and 116 deaths, and doctors said the healthcare system was becoming overloaded. The country is ramping up training for nurses and could consider setting up military field hospitals for Covid patients, officials said.

Czech hospitals are converting general wards into Covid units and cancelling non-urgent procedures as the number of hospitalisations reaches six times the peak seen during the first wave of the virus.

Belgium’s Covid crisis centre said intensive care units would reach capacity by mid-November if new cases continued to increase at the current rate, as the country registered 7,360 new cases and an 80% rise in hospitalisations over the past week.

Last week the government introduced a series of restrictions including local curfews, closing bars in Brussels for at least a month and limiting indoor sports activities. Authorities have urged residents to limit social encounters.

France’s health ministry on Wednesday announced 22,950 new coronavirus cases and said 32% of the country’s intensive care beds were occupied by patients with Covid-19. The government restored a national state of health emergency minutes before the president spoke.

Macron said the objective was to reduce the number of new infections per day to between 3,000 and 5,000, and he warned that the country would have to live with the virus until at least next summer.

The US president Donald Trump’s 14-year-old son Barron tested positive for Covid-19 but exhibited no symptoms, after both of his parents contracted the virus, first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday.

“Luckily he is a strong teenager and exhibited no symptoms,” the first lady said in a statement. She said Barron has since tested negative for the virus.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, took issue on Wednesday with President Trump’s repeated claims that 100 million doses of coronavirus vaccine would be ready by the end of the year.

“For a vaccine that is proven safe and effective, it’s not going to be 100 million doses,” Dr. Fauci said in an interview streamed live with the “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell.

Dr. Fauci agreed that there may be millions of vaccine doses ready by January from the six companies now developing them in partnership with the federal government, but he stressed that they must each be vetted before they would be made available to the public. Right now, there are several vaccine candidates whose safety and effectiveness should be known by November or December, Dr. Fauci said.

He said he expected that there would be widespread distribution of a vaccine by the end of April. The federal government’s goal is 700 million doses, he said.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus illness COVID-19 rose above 216,000 on Wednesday, driven by a spike in new cases in the Midwest and Mountain West that are starting to fill hospital beds and squeeze health-care systems.

In the last seven days, 16 states have added more new cases than at any other time since the start of the pandemic, according to the New York Times.

The Dakotas are reporting more new cases on a per capita basis than any state has so far into the outbreak, and in Wisconsin, which houses 10 of the nation’s top 20 metro areas with the highest rates of new cases, a field hospital is being erected at the state’s fairgrounds to add capacity.

States that appeared to have got the pandemic under control earlier this year, mostly in the Northeast, are also now seeing cases rising again.

The U.S. added 54,403 new cases on Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker, and at least 826 people died. In the last week, the U.S. has seen an average of 52,141 cases a day, up 21% from the average two weeks ago.

Germany on Wednesday announced tougher new restrictions on public life as it enters a "decisive" stage in its efforts to combat a surge in coronavirus infections.

The federal and state governments have agreed on "considerable restrictions" on contact between citizens in view of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.

The measures, which include limits on the number of people at private gatherings and a curfew for bars and restaurants in areas deemed hotspots, were agreed following an eight-hour meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the country's 16 state premiers.

"I am convinced that what we do now will be decisive for how we come through this pandemic," Merkel said.

"We are already in a phase of exponential growth, the daily numbers show that," she added.

The meeting was called as the number of daily coronavirus cases in the country hit 5,000 on Wednesday — a level not seen since strict social distancing measures were imposed on Europe's biggest economy in the spring.

Coronavirus infections are surging again in the region of northern Italy where the pandemic first took hold in Europe, renewing pressure on hospitals and health care workers.

At Milan’s San Paolo Hospital, a ward dedicated to COVID-19 patients and outfitted with breathing machines reopened over the weekend, a sign that the city and the surrounding Lombardy region is entering another emergency phase of the pandemic.

“In the last five days, I am seeing many people who are hospitalized who need breathing support,” Settembrese said. “I am reliving the nightmare, with the difference that the virus is less lethal.”

Months after Italy eased one of the globe’s strictest lockdowns, the country on Wednesday posted its highest daily number of new cases with 7,332 — surpassing the previous high of 6,557 that was recorded during the virus’s most deadly phase in March.

Lombardy is again leading the nation in case numbers, an echo of the traumatic spring months when ambulance sirens pierced the silence of stilled cities.

The French government declared a public health state of emergency as the country saw hospitalizations from Covid-19 jump above the 9,100 threshold for the first time since June 25, Reuters reported.

The state of emergency gives officials more power to deal with the spread of Covid-19.

French President Emmanuel Macron said curfews from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. in Paris and other major cities will start Saturday and be in place for four weeks, Reuters reported.

New confirmed cases of coronavirus in France reached 22,951 in 24 hours, topping the previous day’s number by about 10,000 cases.

Coronavirus infections soared again across the UK on Wednesday with 19,724 new positive test results recorded.

The UK's official coronavirus death toll increased by 137 newly reported fatalities in the last 24 hours, in a slight dip.

A total 143 were recorded to have died with the virus on Tuesday, when 17,234 new cases were reported.

The toll includes 108 deaths in England, 15 in Scotland, 10 in Wales, and four in Northern Ireland.

It is the second time more than 100 daily deaths have been reported for two days running, as they reach around the same levels as were being recorded in early June.

The figure tallies fatalities across all settings, including hospitals, care homes, and the wider community.

An average of 680 patients a day are being admitted to the UK's hospitals with the virus- similar to the levels seen in June during the national lockdown.

The rolling seven-day hospital admissions average was around 650 patients a day earlier this week, meaning the figure as rising.

Hospital figures show 516 coronavirus patients remain on ventilators, used for the most critical cases.

Iran's health ministry on Wednesday reported 279 deaths from the coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily tally recorded since February, bringing total fatalities to 29,349 in the hardest-hit Middle Eastern country.

Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari told state TV that 4,830 new cases, also a record high, were identified in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of cases to 513,219.

Iran's Health Minister Saeed Namaki told state TV that three days of travel restriction would be imposed from Thursday in five cities, including in Tehran, where the spread of the disease were at its highest level.

Russian hospitals are near capacity with coronavirus patients as new infections break records and authorities attempt to slow the second wave of the virus, a top health official said Tuesday.

“To date, hospital bed occupancy is almost 90%,” Deputy Health Minister Oleg Gridnev was quoted as saying at a conference by Interfax.

Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Wednesday that Russia currently has 176,000 hospital beds for coronavirus patients, with 9,000 reserve beds. He said two-thirds of those infected receive outpatient care.

Russia has seen its daily caseload nearly triple in the past month and set a new record Tuesday for both deaths (244) and infections (13,868), according to official statistics. Overall, Russia has confirmed almost 23,000 deaths and more than 1.3 million cases, the fourth-highest caseload in the world.

The latest surge in Covid-19 infections has prompted a number of hospitals across the country to stop admitting patients with other illnesses.

Mercator share price hit all time trading at 722 (+6.18%).Continuous upward trends every day!!!

KIEV, Oct. 13 -- Over 21,000 hospital beds allocated for COVID-19 patients in Ukraine are currently occupied, the Ukrinform news agency has reported.

"We have a tense situation with beds, with hospitalizations. 865 people were hospitalized over the past day. In total, 21,277 beds are occupied this morning across the whole country," Ukrinform quoted Ukrainian Health Minister Maksym Stepanov as saying on Tuesday.

The general epidemic situation in Ukraine has been worsening over the past few weeks, with an increase in the number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

A total of 270,587 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 5,122 deaths have been reported in Ukraine as of Tuesday, while 116,562 patients have recovered, according to the country's health ministry. Enditem

(CNN)As predicted, the US is now grappling with a new Covid-19 surge -- one that could overwhelm hospitals, kill thousands of Americans a day by January and leave even young survivors with long-term complications.

"We went down to the lowest point lately in early September, around 30,000-35,000 new cases a day. Now we're back up to (about) 50,000 new cases a day. And it's going to continue to rise," Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said Tuesday.
"This is the fall/winter surge that everyone was worried about. And now it's happening. And it's happening especially in the northern Midwest, and the Northern states are getting hit very hard -- Wisconsin, Montana, the Dakotas. But it's going to be nationally soon enough."
Across the country, more than 30 states have reported more Covid-19 cases this past week than they reported the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 13 -- A total of 13,305 COVID-19 cases were reported in Argentina in the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 917,035, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, 386 more deaths were registered, bringing the nationwide tally to 24,572, the ministry said.

Of the new cases, 4,666 were confirmed in the province of Buenos Aires.

Currently, 4,294 patients are being hospitalized for the disease in intensive care units.

BUSAN: More than 50 patients and workers at a nursing hospital in Busan have been diagnosed with Covid-19, municipal authorities said Wednesday, in the southern port city's latest coronavirus cluster, Yonhap news agency reported.

The authorities said 43 patients of the Busan nursing hospital, located in the city's Mandeok neighbourhood, and its nine staff members tested positive for the new coronavirus. One of the infected patients has already died, they added.

The mass virus infections have come to light after an assistant nurse in her 50s was confirmed to be infected Tuesday, prompting the authorities to conduct the coronavirus tests for all 262 patients and staff.

The hospital, named Haeddeurak, was immediately put under cohort isolation, they said.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hartalega Holdings Bhd is confident of sustained strong demand for its gloves with capacity having booked up till end of 2021, according to Kenanga Research.

The firm "strongly" reiterated its positive view on Hartalega's prospects for the next few quarters following a meeting with its investor relations staff recently.

Kenanga Research said Hartalega had reassured that the lagged impact from average selling price (ASP) hike would be felt in the second half of financial year 2021 (FY21).

The firm highlighted that industry ASP had risen for September to November delivery, suggesting that the robust demand would continue over the next few quarters.

In line with higher industry ASP, Hartalega is expected to raise ASP by 30 per cent and 40 per cent in the second quarter of FY21 (Q2FY21) and third quarter of FY21 respectively.

"We expect a hike in raw material prices and potential tight supply in formers due to supply constraints forming a potential potent combination for higher ASPs," the firm said today.

Kenanga Research expects Hartalega's Q2FY21 net profit, due to be released by end-October, to be higher quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.

This will be in tandem with solid sector growth due to higher volume from new capacity expansions of Hartalega's Plant 6 and 7 and better margins due to higher ASP and operating efficiencies from new plants.

"While we raised our FY21/FY22 net profit by 45 per cent/106 per cent to account for higher ASP assumptions, our target price is unchanged as we lowered our target price earnings ratio rating to -0.5SD (standard deviation) below five-year mean (compared to above mean previously) to reflect a moderation in earnings growth towards more sustainable levels beyond FY22."

Nevertheless, there remains ample upside to its target price of RM26.22, said Kenanga Research, which reiterated its "outperform" call on Hartalega.

Profit after tax financial year 2021 at least RM4 billions (EPS RM1.50).If target price RM15 forward PE is 10 only.Supermax is the most undervalue glove stocks in the world!!!

WASHINGTON: Two late-stage Covid-19 medical trials have been paused in the space of 24 hours over potential safety concerns, the latest setbacks to scientists in the long fight against the pandemic.

US pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly on Tuesday suspended its Phase 3 trial of its lab-produced antibody treatment in hospitalised patients over an unspecified incident.

A day earlier, the American pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson temporarily halted its Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial due to an unexplained illness in a study participant.

Russia has set a new record for coronavirus deaths and cases, nearing 14,000 infections for the third time in a week, according to the national coronavirus information center.

Russia confirmed 13,868 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,326,178 and setting a new record for daily infections.

The information center also confirmed 244 deaths caused by Covid-19, the highest count since the start of the pandemic.

Russia’s previous highest number of fatalities stood at 232 people on May 29.

Nearly 23,000 people have died from Covid-19, a figure that Russia’s state statistics agency that publishes monthly data says is at least half the real number of fatalities.

Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s Covid-19 outbreak with 4,618 new confirmed infections, has also recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases since mid-May.

An average of almost 4,500 additional people per day tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) in Belgium over the past week, and the number of hospitalisations and deaths also rose sharply, according to Sciensano’s latest figures on Tuesday.

Over the 7-day period from 3 to 9 October, an average of 4,449.1 new people tested positive, which is an increase of 79% compared to the week before, meaning the number of new infections continues to rise sharply.

Over the past two weeks, 422.6 infections were confirmed per 100,000 inhabitants, an increase of 133% compared to the two weeks before.

Since the start of the pandemic, a total of over 3.7 million tests have been carried out. Of those tests, about 39,900 were taken over the past week, with a positivity rate of 11.1%.

Additionally, 136.4 new hospitalisations per day were recorded on average between 6 and 12 October, up from 108.7 per day the week before.

In total, 1,472 coronavirus patients are currently in hospital, which is 141 more than yesterday. Of those patients, 267 are in intensive care, 24 more than yesterday. Patients on a ventilator number 126 – 17 more than yesterday.

The number of newly notified positive coronavirus tests in the Netherlands soared by a further 7,393 cases in the 24 hours to Tuesday 10am, health officials said.

There were nearly 44,000 newly registered cases of coronavirus in the past week, a 60% rise on the week earlier period, according to the public health institute RIVM’s weekly update.

In total, 150 deaths were reported, compared with 89 in the previous seven day period, while the number of people being treated in intensive care rose from 121 to 192. Hospital admissions were up 40% on the week and the positive test rate rose from 10.4% to 13.8%.

‘The virus is continuing to spread without let up,’ the RIVM said. ‘There is no effect to be seen from the national measures taken on September 29 and there is no stabilisation in the number of positive tests.’

The government is due to announce a new get tough approach to combating the virus on Tuesday evening which may include a total closure of cafes, bars and restaurants.

In the last 24 hours the number of positives cases has increased by 5,901 units with 41 deaths. Yesterday there were 4,619 new cases, with 39 deaths.

In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, the victims in Italy have been 36,246.

With today's increase, the number of current positives cases rises to 87.193.No region in Italy today registers zero new covid-19 cases.

112,544 swabs have been carried out in the last 24 hours. Patients in intensive care have increased by another 62 units, bringing the total to 514.

The Regions that in the last 24 hours have registered the highest number in patients hospitalized are Lazio (896) and Campania (694).

The regions with the highest number of new cases are instead Lombardy (1080), Campania (635), Piedmont (585) and Lazio (579).

France has most people in hospital since June.There are almost 9,000 people in hospital in France with COVID-19. Authorities say this is the most since June.There are also around 1,600 people in ICU, the most since May. This comes as France recorded 12,993 cases on Tuesday.France's seven-day rolling average is currently over 17,000 cases.

The UK has today recorded more than 100 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours for the first time in four months, as the second wave continues to gather pace.

Another 17,234 positive tests have also been reported, according to the latest figures, which show 143 more people have died with Covid-19 since yesterday day. That brings the UK’s death toll to 43,018, and the total number of cases to 634,920.

Government figures show that some 4,367 patients were in hospital on Sunday, with 507 on ventilator beds on Monday. The seven-day rolling average for patients admitted to hospitals stood at 655 on Friday.

Public Health England (PHE) branded the rising number of deaths ‘hugely concerning’. Dr Yvonne Doyle, PHE medical director, said: ‘The trend in Covid-related deaths is starting to rise quickly, which is hugely concerning.

Mercator Medical share closed all time high 680 (+12.96%) due to increasing Covid-19 cases in US and Europe.

A 25-year-old man in the U.S. state of Nevada has contracted the coronavirus on two separate occasions, a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal showed, with the patient becoming seriously ill following the second infection.

It is the first confirmed case of a U.S. patient becoming re-infected with Covid-19, and the fifth known case reported worldwide.

The resident of Washoe County, who had no known immune disorders or history of significant underlying conditions, required hospital treatment on testing positive for Covid-19 for the second time.

He has now recovered, though the case raises further questions about the prospect of developing protective immunity against the coronavirus.

Russia has set a new record for coronavirus deaths and cases, nearing 14,000 infections for the third time in a week, according to the national coronavirus information center.

Russia confirmed 13,868 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing its official number of cases to 1,326,178 and setting a new record for daily infections.

The information center also confirmed 244 deaths caused by Covid-19, the highest count since the start of the pandemic.

Russia’s previous highest number of fatalities stood at 232 people on May 29.

Nearly 23,000 people have died from Covid-19, a figure that Russia’s state statistics agency that publishes monthly data says is at least half the real number of fatalities.

Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s Covid-19 outbreak with 4,618 new confirmed infections, has also recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases since mid-May.

Russia has seen its daily caseload double over the past month. Officials in around 35 out of 85 regions have instituted various restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of the infection.

King advised Anwar to abide by, respect legal process as enshrined in Federal Constitution — Istana Negara

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah mengesahkan bahawa Ketua Pembangkang Anwar Ibrahim dalam majlis menghadap pagi tadi telah mengemukakan jumlah ahli-ahli Dewan Rakyat yang didakwa memberi sokongan kepada dirinya.

Walaubagaimanapun, kata Datuk Pengelola Bijaya Diraja Istana Negara, Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, presiden PKR itu tidak mengemukakan senarai nama mereka.

“Dalam sesi yang berlangsung selama lebih kurang 25 minit ini, Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim telah mengemukakan jumlah Ahli-ahli Dewan Rakyat yang didakwa memberi sokongan kepada beliau.

“Walaubagaimanapun, beliau tidak mengemukakan senarai nama Ahli-ahli Dewan Rakyat untuk mengukuhkan dakwaan tersebut.

"Sehubungan dengan itu, Al-Sultan Abdullah telah menasihati Dato’ Seri Anwar bin Ibrahim untuk akur dan menghormati proses-proses perundangan seperti yang termaktub dalam Perlembagaan Persekutuan,” kata Ahmad Fadil.

WASHINGTON: Johnson & Johnson said on Monday (Tuesday in Malaysia) it had temporarily halted its Covid-19 vaccine trial because one of its participants had become sick.

"We have temporarily paused further dosing in all our Covid-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials, including the Phase 3 ENSEMBLE trial, due to an unexplained illness in a study participant," the company said in a statement.

The pause means the online enrollment system has been closed for the 60,000-patient clinical trial while the independent patient safety committee is convened. - AFP

Supermax bonus treasury shares 1:45 will be announced next month company AGM mid-November

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, hopes the latest data on a rising number of Covid-19 cases and projections of possibly many more deaths "jolt" the American public into reality, he told CNN's Jake Tapper on Monday.

Dozens of states are seeing an upward trend of new Covid-19 cases -- and the pandemic could get worse, as the latest forecast of a widely-used model projects another 181,000 deaths in the United States by February.

"I hope these numbers ... jolt the American public into the realization that we really cannot let this happen -- because it's on a trajectory of getting worse and worse. And that's the worst possible thing that can happen as we get into the cooler months," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

As of Monday, 31 states have reported more new Covid-19 cases this past week compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And nine states reported record-high Covid-19 hospitalizations on Sunday, according to the Covid Tracking Project: Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

"These are extremely alarming trends, and there should be warning bells going off around the country," emergency medicine physician Dr. Leana Wen said.

"Some will say, 'Well look, we are having increasing numbers of cases because we're testing more.' But we also know that in more than 15 states, the test positivity rate is over 10% -- which means that we're not doing nearly enough testing."

Nearly 14,000 more people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK, as millions are placed under new lockdown restrictions.

A further 13,972 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus had been recorded in the UK as of 9am Monday, the Department of Health said. It brings the total number of cases in the UK to 617,688.

The Government also said a further 50 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 42,875.

Figures show there were 3,665 Covid-19 patients in hospital in England as of Monday, up from 2,593 a week ago, while 426 of these were in ventilation beds, up from 331 a week ago.

A total of 515 patients with confirmed Covid-19 were admitted to hospitals in England on Saturday — the most recent daily figure available — compared with 386 a week earlier.