Former Cook Islands prime minister dies in New Zealand of Covid-19

Dr. Joseph Williams Pasifika Medical Association

New Zealand has reported a second Covid-19 death linked to a cluster in Auckland.

"The Ministry can confirm that the former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Dr Joseph Williams QSO passed away last night in Auckland City Hospital," the country's Ministry of Health said in a press release on Saturday.

"Dr Williams, who was in his 80s, was also a widely regarded member of health services in both New Zealand and the Cook Islands."

The release said Williams had been admitted to hospital on August 13, and passed away Friday evening.

Two deaths in two days: Only yesterday, the country reported its first Covid-19 death in more than three months -- a man in his 50s, who was linked to the Auckland cluster.

The country's coronavirus death toll now stands at 24.

A nurse administers a Covid-19 vaccination as part of a vaccine study at Research Centers of America on August 7 in Hollywood, Florida.  Joe Raedle/Getty Images

US states should be ready to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by November 1 “just in case” one is ready, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said in an ABC News interview Friday.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked state public health officials to prepare to distribute a coronavirus vaccine by late October or early November. 

Adams said the guidance is “just in case” a vaccine is approved by that time -- reiterating comments by public health officials that such an event is possible but not probable.

He added that data from Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials has been positive, and independent safety boards ensure the vaccine only moves forward if "there is good evidence" of its efficacy.

“The most telling thing I can say to people is that when there is a Covid vaccine available, I and my family will be in line to get it,” Adams said. “I think it will be safe, I think it will be effective and I think it will help us end this outbreak.”

A city health agent holds a positive Covid-19 rapid test on September 3 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Bruna Prado/Getty Images

Brazil’s health ministry reported 51,194 new Covid-19 cases and an additional 907 virus-related deaths on Friday, taking the country’s total number of cases to 4,092,832.

The country's death toll from the virus is now 125,521.

Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the world, behind only the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks with CNN on Friday, September 4. CNN

Correct use of masks would help the country prevent the “scary” number of predicted Covid-19 deaths, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN today.

A model often cited by top health officials now predicts more than 410,000 people will die of coronavirus in the US by January 1 – which would mean another 224,000 Americans lost in just the next four months.

Fauci said people should keep in mind that models depend on the assumptions that go into them, but such a high number of deaths is possible.

Fauci stressed that “one of the things we can do is a more uniform utilization of masks.”