BitGou: Thursday Morning Briefing: AstraZeneca expects COVID vaccine result by year-end if trials resume

What you need to know about the coronavirus today

AstraZeneca awaiting patient diagnosis
Drugmaker AstraZeneca should still know before the end of the year whether its experimental vaccine protects people against COVID-19, chief executive Pascal Soriot said, as long as it can resume trials soon.

The British company suspended late-stage trials this week after an illness in a participant in Britain.

The patient was reportedly suffering from symptoms associated with a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.

Soriot said during an online event that AstraZeneca did not yet know the diagnosis, adding that it was not clear if the volunteer had transverse myelitis and more tests were needed.

He said the diagnosis would be submitted to an independent safety committee and this would usually then tell the company whether trials can be resumed.

Indonesian doctors say health system is buckling
Doctors in Indonesia’s capital said on Thursday the pandemic is “not under control” with Jakarta intensive care units nearing full capacity and the city ordering new lockdown measures to stem a spike in infections.

Jakarta has recorded more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases on average each day this month, with the rising caseload placing considerable strain on hospitals.

Researchers design death risk tool
British scientists have developed a four-level scoring model for predicting the risk of death in patients hospitalized with COVID-19, saying it should help doctors quickly decide on the best care for each patient.

The tool, detailed in research published in the BMJ medical journal, helps doctors put patients into one of four COVID-19 risk groups - from low, to intermediate, high, or very high risk of death.

Tokyo lowers alert level as coronavirus fears ease
Tokyo's government on Thursday dropped its coronavirus alert by one notch from the highest level as cases continue to trend down, opening the path for a loosening of restrictions on night-time activity.

The capital raised the alert to "red" in July on the advice of experts following a rise in infections.

Tokyo's daily cases have gradually declined since hitting a peak of 472 cases in early August, with 276 new cases reported on Thursday.

Speak softly and scatter fewer virus particles
More quiet zones in high-risk indoor spaces, such as hospitals and restaurants, could help to cut coronavirus contagion risks, researchers have said, after a study showed that lowering speaking volume can reduce the spread of the disease.

A reduction of 6 decibels in average speech levels can have the same effect as doubling a room's ventilation, scientists said on Wednesday, in an advance copy of a paper detailing their study.

The World Health Organization changed its guidance in July to acknowledge the possibility of aerosol transmission, such as during choir practice, or in restaurants or fitness classes.

From Breakingviews: Corona Capital - Art, Supermarkets, Travel
Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

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Top Stories

Exclusive: Russian state hackers suspected in targeting Biden campaign firm.
Microsoft recently alerted one of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s main election campaign advisory firms that it had been targeted by suspected Russian state-backed hackers, according to three people briefed on the matter.

The hacking attempts targeted staff at Washington-based SKDKnickerbocker, a campaign strategy and communications firm working with Biden and other prominent Democrats, over the past two months, the sources said.

The Kremlin called reports of Russian state hacking against the Biden campaign firm as 'nonsense'

An unprecedented spate of fierce, wind-driven wildfires in Oregon have all but destroyed five small towns, leaving a potentially high death toll in their wake, the governor said on Wednesday, as initial casualty reports began to surface.

Hundreds of miles away in northern California, three fatalities were confirmed on Wednesday from a lightning-sparked conflagration that raged with renewed intensity this week after firefighters had made significant headway containing it.

Belarus protest leader says she was threatened with expulsion 'alive or in bits'. Belarus opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova said security officers put a bag over her head and threatened to kill her when they tried to forcibly deport her to Ukraine earlier this week, according to a statement filed by her lawyer on Thursday.

A migrant mother saw her disabled son walk into the U.S.
Then he disappeared. The story of how Gustavo disappeared and then reappeared in Guatemala is emblematic of what U.S. immigration rights activists say is an opaque, chaotic new system that President Donald Trump's administration has implemented to expel migrants, including unaccompanied children, during the pandemic.

A store of oil and tires at Beirut port caught fire on Thursday, a military source said, a little more than a month after a massive blast devastated the port and a surrounding residential area of the Lebanese capital.

The fire erupted in the duty free zone of the port, sending a huge column of smoke above the city. The military source said the cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.