Weekly update published on MedShr: 2nd November 2020
Last updated: 2nd November 2020

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Coronavirus COVID-19 Weekly Update 2nd November 2020

This update will be published weekly at 12pm GMT on Mondays and aims to provide clinicians and the public with an overview of the latest data, guidelines, key publications and policy around COVID-19, with links to essential resources and information.

If you are a healthcare professional, please join the discussion on these latest COVID-19 cases on MedShr:

Please post any COVID-19 cases, images or learning points from your clinical practice on MedShr - share key knowledge and experience with a global network of doctors to help improve patient care. Include #COVID19 in your case title.

Please email COVID@medshr.net if you have any data, publications or information you would like to share.

Global Impact of COVID-19 to Date

WHO official data, reported on 1st Nov 2020

Sources: World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University & Medicine

COVID-19 Cumulative Global Cases

WHO official data, reported on 1st Nov 2020

Source: World Health Organization

Total UK COVID-19 Cases

As of 2nd Nov 09:00 (GMT) - Data for 24 hour period, reported on 01-11-20

Source: Public Health England

Public Health England: "An issue was identified overnight on Friday 2 October in the automated process that transfers positive cases data to PHE. It has now been resolved. The cases by publish date for 3 and 4 October include 15,841 additional cases with specimen dates between 25 September and 2 October — they are therefore artificially high for England and the UK." The above image charting the trend in new cases over the past month only includes positive test results recorded daily, not the additional positive cases included in the published daily case number for 3rd and 4th October; for the cumulative case number including this data please see Public Health England.

COVID-19 in the African Region

As of 2nd Nov 09:00 (GMT) - Data for 24 hour period, reported on 01-11-20

Source: World Health Organization

COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

As of 2nd Nov 09:00 (GMT) - Data for 24 hour period, reported on 01-11-20

Source: World Health Organization

Latest Developments in the News:

WHO Weekly Situational Reports: Epidemiological and Operational

Africa

WHO: COVID-19 spurs health innovation in Africa

WHO: 'Flying Doctors' boost Nigeria's COVID-19 testing

WHO: Innovating for health in Niger

WHO: When an Electricity Dam Construction Site was Turned into a COVID-19 Treatment Facility 

BBC: Coronavirus: What's happening to the numbers in Africa? 

BBC: Coronavirus in Africa: Five reasons why Covid-19 has been less deadly than elsewhere

BBC: Coronavirus in Africa tracker

WHO in the African Region: COVID-19

Eastern Mediterranean

WHO: Statement by WHO Director of Programme Management on COVID-19 pandemic (29th Oct 20)

MSF: MSF responds to coronavirus in Jordan's largest refugee camp

BBC: Syria: Inside a refugee camp where Covid is spreading

WHO in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: COVID-19

United Kingdom

BBC: Covid: The new lockdown rules for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 

BBC: Covid-19: Nearly 100,000 catching virus every day - study 

BBC: Covid: PM warns of virus deaths 'twice as bad' as spring 

NICE: NICE, SIGN and RCGP set out further details about the UK guideline on management of the long-term effects of COVID-19

BBC: Covid: Back to intensive care, where I notice one major change 

BMJ: Covid-19: risks to healthcare workers and their families 

UK Government Advice

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK

Global Health

Nature: Why COVID outbreaks look set to worsen this winter  

BBC: Covid: Lockdowns return as Europe confronts second wave 

BBC: Coronavirus: Europe's daily deaths rise by nearly 40% compared with last week - WHO 

Nature: The race to make COVID antibody therapies cheaper and more potent 

BBC: Covid: Antibodies 'fall rapidly after infection'

NIH Director’s Blog: Two Studies Show COVID-19 Antibodies Persist for Months 

BMJ: Face masks, vision, and risk of falls 

BBC: Coronavirus vaccine: When will we have one? 

BBC: Coronavirus: Are Indians more immune to Covid-19? 

Useful Sources for Latest Developments and News

WHO: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic (including links to regional offices)

United Nations: COVID-19 Response

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine: Coronavirus Resource Center

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Médecins Sans Frontières: Response and News Articles

BBC: Covid-19 pandemic: Tracking the global coronavirus outbreak

Financial Times: Coronavirus tracker: the latest figures as countries fight Covid-19 resurgence

Harvard Medical School: Coronavirus Resource Center

Our World in Data: Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19) - Statistics and Research

Educational Resources:

WHO: COVID-19 Course Series

"Real-time training during global emergencies is critical for effective preparedness and response. The COVID-19 channel provides learning resources for health professionals, decision-makers and the public for the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)." (WHO 2020)

MedShr Open: COVID-19 Weekly Article - Risk Stratification & Scoring Systems

Last week's COVID-19 Open Article highlights strategies for resuming and maintaining normal practices during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, focussing on the emerging guidance and scoring systems for risk stratification and assessment.

Latest COVID-19 Publications and Guidelines:

A selection of recent publications and useful clinical guidance from scientific journals:

Editorials, Research Articles and Commentary:

The Lancet Infectious Diseases: What defines an efficacious COVID-19 vaccine? A review of the challenges assessing the clinical efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 

Hodgson SH, Mansatta K, Mallett G, Harris V, Emary KRH, Pollard AJ. What defines an efficacious COVID-19 vaccine? A review of the challenges assessing the clinical efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Oct 27. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30773-8

NEJM: SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody LY-CoV555 in Outpatients with Covid-19 

Chen P, Nirula A, Heller B, Gottlieb RL, Boscia J, Morris J, Huhn G, Cardona J, Mocherla B, Stosor V, Shawa I, Adams AC, Van Naarden J, Custer KL, Shen L, Durante M, Oakley G, Schade AE, Sabo J, Patel DR, Klekotka P, Skovronsky DM; BLAZE-1 Investigators. SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody LY-CoV555 in Outpatients with Covid-19. N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2029849. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33113295.

Cell: Multi-omics resolves a sharp disease-state shift between mild and moderate COVID-19 

Su Y, Chen D, Yuan D, et al. Multi-omics resolves a sharp disease-state shift between mild and moderate COVID-19. Cell. 2020 Oct 28; ISSN 0092-8674. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.037.

Nature Communications: Disease burden and clinical severity of the first pandemic wave of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China

Yang J, Chen X, Deng X, Chen Z, Gong H, Yan H, Wu Q, Shi H, Lai S, Ajelli M, Viboud C, Yu PH. Disease burden and clinical severity of the first pandemic wave of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China. Nat Commun. 2020 Oct 27;11(1):5411. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-19238-2. PMID: 33110070.

BMJ: Risk of hospital admission with coronavirus disease 2019 in healthcare workers and their households: nationwide linkage cohort study 

Shah ASV, Wood R, Gribben C, Caldwell D, Bishop J, Weir A, Kennedy S, Reid M, Smith-Palmer A, Goldberg D, McMenamin J, Fischbacher C, Robertson C, Hutchinson S, McKeigue P, Colhoun H, McAllister DA. Risk of hospital admission with coronavirus disease 2019 in healthcare workers and their households: nationwide linkage cohort study. BMJ. 2020 Oct 28;371:m3582. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m3582. PMID: 33115726.

medRxiv: Declining prevalence of antibody positivity to SARS-CoV-2: a community study of 365,000 adults

Ward W, Cooke C, Atchison C, et al. Declining prevalence of antibody positivity to SARS-CoV-2: a community study of 365,000 adults. medRxiv 2020 preprint].10.26.20219725; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.26.20219725

An interesting comparison to the above study (from previous newsletter):

NEJM: Humoral Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland

Gudbjartsson DF, Norddahl GL, Melsted P, et al. Humoral Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Iceland. N Engl J Med. 2020 Oct 29;383(18):1724-1734. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2026116. Epub 2020 Sep 1. PMID: 32871063; PMCID: PMC7494247.

Public Health Emergency COVID-19 Initiative - PubMed Central

An open collection of COVID-19 and coronavirus-related publications, and the available data supporting them, from over 50 publishers to support the ongoing public health emergency response efforts (PMC).

Other Useful Resources:

Intensive Care Society (UK) Covid-19 Resource Hub

The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust COVID-19 Bulletins - A weekly bulletin detailing the "latest guidelines, research and reports relating to COVID-19"

NHS England: Coronavirus guidance for clinicians and NHS managers

CDC: COVID-19 Science Updates

Weekly Update by Dr Ryan Broll, MedShr Open Editorial Team, Medical Education Fellow