India surges past 4 million cases after recording highest single-day rise

A health worker in personal protective equipment (PPE) collects a swab sample from a patient for COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing, on Friday, September 4, in New Delhi, India. Mayank Makhija/NurPhoto/Getty Images

India recorded 86,432 new coronavirus cases on Friday, marking the country's highest single-day jump in infections since the pandemic began, its health ministry said Saturday. 

Friday's figure pushed India's total number of cases past 4 million. The total now stands at 4,023,179 infections -- of which more than 3.1 million have recovered and 846,395 are still active. 

The country's virus-related death toll stands at 69,561.

This is the third consecutive day India has recorded more than 80,000 new cases. Globally, it is the third worst-affected country after the United States and Brazil, which have 6.2 million and 4.09 million cases respectively, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

Bascom Hall, the main administrative building on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Madison.   Shutterstock

Nine fraternities and sororities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been placed under quarantine for at least 14 days due to confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Jake Baggott, executive director of University Health Services, said campus authorities wanted to stop any further spread of the virus among the students and the broader community.

Those who violate the isolation or quarantine orders could face a court order and/or fine of up to $10,000, as well as university sanctions against the student, the release added.

All residents in the other 38 Greek life chapters with live-in houses are also required to be tested for the virus.

Moderna Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Monday, May 25. Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Moderna and Pfizer, the two major pharmaceutical companies developing coronavirus vaccines, are still not enrolling enough minorities in their clinical trials, according to their trial updates.

The recommendation: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN that Phase 3 clinical trials should aim to include minorities at levels that are at least double their representation in the population to better reflect the population most affected by Covid-19. 

That would mean 37% of the study participants would be Latino, and 27% would be Black. 

The reality: As of this week, 16% of Moderna’s study subjects were Latino, and 10% were Black.

And as of August 31, 11% of Pfizer's study subjects were Latino and 8% were Black. 

That doesn’t square with Fauci’s recommendation to aim to enroll those minorities at levels at least double their numbers in the Census. 

Why this matters: Minority enrollment in the trials is important for two reasons:

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.”