AP National News

The Latest: US average daily virus cases rising to 74,000

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by Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The seven-day rolling average for daily new coronavirus cases in the U.S. rose over the past two weeks from 52,350 to more than 74,180.

That’s according to data through Wednesday from Johns Hopkins University, marking a return to levels not seen since the summer surge. The rolling average for daily new deaths rose over the past two weeks from 724 to 787.

Positive test rates have been rising in 45 states, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Fifteen states have positive test rates of 10% or higher, considered an indicator of widespread transmission.

Health and Human Services

Election 2020 Today: Biden in Iowa, Trump packs in thousands

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by Associated Press

Here’s what’s happening Friday in Election 2020, four days until Election Day:

ON THE TRAIL: President Donald Trump will be in Michigan and Wisconsin; Democratic challenger Joe Biden will travel to Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin; Vice President Mike Pence will be in Arizona; Biden’s running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, will travel to Texas.

HOW TO VOTE: AP’s state-by-state interactive has details on how to vote in this election.

TODAY’S TOP STORIES:

BIDEN RETURNS TO IOWA: When Biden was last in Iowa, his campaign was on the verge of collapse and he was soundly trounced in the

The Latest: Germany reports new daily record of 18,681 cases

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by Associated Press

BERLIN — German authorities have added almost all Austria and Italy to the list of high-risk areas for COVID-19.

Travelers returning to Germany from countries or regions on the list, which is updated weekly, have to go into 14-day quarantine and take a test for the coronavirus.

Those with negative test results can end their quarantines.

Critics have pointed out that the threshold of 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week, which is the main criteria for determining which countries appear on the list, has now been passed in much of Germany itself.

Germany’s disease control agency

The Latest: Hong Kong raid leads to 100K counterfeit masks

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by Associated Press

HONG KONG — Customs agents in the southern Chinese city of Hong Kong have seized 100,000 counterfeit face masks and arrested one person in what the government called the largest operation of its kind on record.

The masks were set to be shipped overseas and had a market value of almost $400,000, the government’s Information Services Department reported Friday.

The masks were seized at a storehouse in Hong Kong on Wednesday after agents received a tip-off, the department said, leading to a further raid on a trading company where a 71-year-old manager was arrested

“Initial investigations

The Latest: Coronavirus deaths in Hungary hit all-time high

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by Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary— The number of coronavirus-related deaths in Hungary rose to an all-time high on Friday, prompting the government to tighten oversight over compliance with regulations to stem the spread of infections.

Hungarian health authorities reported that 65 patients died over the past 24 hours, while the number of confirmed new cases jumped to 3,286 from 2,194 on Thursday.

The government has not announced new restrictive measures despite the steep rise in infections but Prime Minister Viktor Orban stressed Friday that authorities will hand out fines to everyone failing to wear a mask

The Latest: India’s downward trend in new cases continues

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by Associated Press

NEW DELHI — India has reported 48,648 new coronavirus cases, continuing a downward trend in infections even as the country’s caseload has crossed 8 million and is only behind the U.S.

The Health Ministry also reported 563 new fatalities in the past 24 hours, raising the overall death toll to 121,090 on Friday.

The slowdown in the pandemic in India has now lasted more than a month and the country has reported fewer than 60,000 cases for nearly two weeks. According to the Health Ministry, India has 594,386 active cases, which suggests that more people are recovering than those who are testing

The Latest: Japan’s coronavirus cases top 100,000

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by Associated Press

TOKYO — Japan’s coronavirus cases has topped 100,000, nine months after a first case was found in mid-January, according to the health ministry figures released Friday.

The country confirmed 808 new cases on Thursday, bringing the cumulative COVID-19 cases to 100,334, including 712 cases found on a cruise ship earlier this year, according to the ministry figures.

About one-third of the cases come from Tokyo, where 221 cases were confirmed Thursday, bringing a prefectural total to 30,677, with 453 deaths. Nationwide, Japan has more than 1,700 deaths.

Experts say Japan has so far managed to

The Latest: Oregon sets single-day new COVID-19 case record

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by Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. — Oregon set another dismal record on Thursday with 575 new confirmed or presumptive cases of COVID-19, the most ever reported in a day since the outbreak began.

The state also reported two new deaths, bringing the total to 673. The Oregon Health Authority says the new cases indicate widespread community transmission and are mostly linked to small clusters and outbreaks around the state.

Health officials are asking Oregonians not to trick-or-treat this year because of the risk of virus transmission.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— WHO says Europe

The Latest: Funds set for EU cross-borders patient transfers

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by Associated Press

BRUSSELS — The president of the European Commission said it will make 220 million euros available to help EU member states organize the cross-borders transfer of COVID-19 patients.

Speaking Thursday after a video conference of EU’s 27 leaders, Ursula von der Leyen urged European countries to better cooperate in their fight against the deadly virus, which has killed more than 210,000 people across the continent.

Confronted to a massive surge of infections, many EU countries have reintroduced partial lockdowns as they try to avoid reaching a saturation point in their hospitals. Belgium, for