February 9 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Kara Fox, Christopher Johnson and Rob Picheta, CNN

Updated 6:29 a.m. ET, February 10, 2021
21 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
6:54 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

WHO says an "intermediary host species" is most likely how Covid-19 was introduced to humans

From CNN's Chandler Thornton in Hong Kong

Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization holds up a chart showing possible pathways of transmission of the coronavirus to humans, during a press conference in Wuhan, China, on February 9.
Peter Ben Embarek of the World Health Organization holds up a chart showing possible pathways of transmission of the coronavirus to humans, during a press conference in Wuhan, China, on February 9. Ng Han Guan/AP

World Health Organization expert Peter Ben Embarek said that the team investigating the origins of the coronavirus in Wuhan have identified two scenarios that most likely caused the transmission of Covid-19 to the human population.

"Our initial findings suggest that the introduction through an intermediary host species is the most likely pathway and one way that will require more studies and more specific targeted research," Embarek said during a press conference on Tuesday.

He added that the possibility of transmission through the trade of frozen products was also likely.

Embarek also noted two other hypotheses the team had probed while investigating the origin of the virus.

One hypothesis was a "direct zoonotic spillover," meaning, direct transmission from an animal reservoir to a human. 

"The hypothesis of a direct spillover from an original animal source into the human population is also a possible pathway and is also generating recommendation for future studies," he said.

The fourth hypothesis was the possibility of a laboratory-related incident, but that this was the least likely of the four to be the cause of the virus' introduction to humans.

"Findings suggest that the laboratory hypothesis is extremely unlikely to explain the introduction of the virus to the human population," Embarek said.

6:57 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

WHO expert says first Covid-19 cases from Huanan seafood market were likely infected around early December or late November 2019

From CNN's Chandler Thornton in Hong Kong 

World Health Organization expert Peter Ben Embarek said the first Covid-19 cases from the Huanan seafood market outbreak were probably infected in early December 2019 or late November 2019.

"In terms of time and place, what we know is that some of the first cases that could be linked to the market were detected or had their onset of symptoms in the first two weeks of December -- that indicating that they were probably infected around the start of December or late November," Embarek said in a press conference following the WHO team's investigation in Wuhan on Tuesday.

"But we can't go into more details with the information we have looked at," Embarek added.

Embarek also said his team found evidence of wider circulation of Covid-19 outside of the Huanan seafood market outbreak in December 2019.

"It was not just only the cluster outbreak in Huanan market, but the virus was also circulated outside the market," he said.

Embarek added that the team's picture of the virus' origins prior to the investigation had not changed dramatically, but that they had gleaned more information.

"Did we change dramatically the picture we had beforehand? I don't think so. Did we add details? Absolutely," Embarek said.

7:24 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

China Health official says that experts failed to identify SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife in China 

From CNN's Sandi Sidhu

Liang Wannian speaks during a joint press conference with the World Health Organization team in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday, February 9.
Liang Wannian speaks during a joint press conference with the World Health Organization team in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday, February 9. Ng Han Guan/AP

Viruses genetically related to SARS-CoV-2 have not been identified in different animals including horseshoe bats and pangolins, and all animals tested in Wuhan tested negative for the virus, China's leading health official said Tuesday.

At a joint World Health Organization-China press conference in Wuhan on Tuesday, Liang Wannian, Head of Expert Panel of COVID-19 Response of China National Health Commission (NHC) said that the studies and research have "failed to identify evidence of SARS-CoV-2 related viruses in samples of wildlife in Wuhan and different places in China."

"All animals were negative," Liang said of the animals tested in Wuhan.

Liang said that sampling from the Huanan seafood market indicated that there was "widespread contamination of surfaces" with SARS-CoV-2 at the point that it closed.

He said that the finding was "compatible with the introduction of the virus from infected people or related cold chain products, animals and animal products" and that research into related cold chain products needed further research. 

"According to this research, all of the samples related to animal products or animals were all negative. For the cold chain products and relevant testing, the research is at the ongoing stage," Liang said.

He explained that the virus can "persist in conditions found in frozen food, packaging and cold chain products," and that "recent outbreaks in China have been linked to the cold chain."

Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated Liang’s findings on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in animals.

6:03 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Chief Investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial says the South Africa study not surprising

From CNN's Sarah Dean

Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, receives the AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England, on January 4.
Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, receives the AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford Covid-19 vaccine at Churchill Hospital in Oxford, England, on January 4. Steve Parsons/PA Wire/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The results of the South African study, which suggest the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine offers reduced protection from the Covid-19 variant first identified there, are in many ways “exactly what we would have expected," Chief Investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial Professor Andrew Pollard said Tuesday.

I think that is perhaps the clue to the future here: That we are going to see new variants arise and they will spread in the population -- like most of the viruses that cause colds every winter -- but as long as we have enough immunity to prevent the severe disease, hospitalizations and death then we are going to be fine in the future in the pandemic,” Pollard told BBC Radio 4.  

Early data released Sunday suggest two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine provided only "minimal protection" against mild and moderate Covid-19 from the variant first identified in South Africa. The full study, which has not been released, included about 2,000 volunteers who were an average of 31 years old; about half received the vaccine and half received a placebo.

Pollard said the study in South Africa “absolutely confirms what we know about the biology of the virus, it has to transmit between people to survive and it has to mutate to do that and it's done that in South Africa already and that will affect mild disease in people that have been vaccinated."

"The really important point though is that all vaccines - everywhere in the world where they've been tested - are still preventing severe disease and death,” Pollard stressed.

He said the "jury is out" on whether the world needs need new vaccines to counter variants, but that developers are preparing them in case we do.

South African health officials said Sunday they have paused the start of a mass rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to gather data on hospitalization rates and to see how effective the vaccine is in preventing severe disease in people infected with the South African variant.

Pollard said the South African government has "correctly" rethought how it will deploy the vaccine after originally aiming it first at health care workers.

He also highlighted that the South Africa study was a small study that looked at young adults who only get mild infections.

What we anticipated in that setting is the virus would still be able to cause infections that are very mild and that's exactly what we've seen in that study,” Pollard said.

“We are the only people so far who have a study that looks at that variant in a population of young people and it’s telling us about the future of this virus -- that it will find ways to transmit and cause mild infections, colds and so on, in the population,” Pollard said. 

"The really important question is about severe infection and we didn't study that in South Africa because that wasn't the point of the study," he added, noting that "we were specifically asking questions about young adults."

Commenting on the scrutiny the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has received, Pollard said that "it's a bit perplexing to find ourselves in the middle of political debate... we've made a huge effort here at the University of Oxford to be transparent in everything that we do.”

6:49 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

"No substantial circulation of Covid in Wuhan before the late 2019 outbreak," Chinese health official says

From CNN's Sandi Sidhu

A WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference is held at the end of a WHO mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday, February 9.
A WHO-China Joint Study Press Conference is held at the end of a WHO mission to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday, February 9. Ng Han Guan/AP

WHO's international team of experts investigating the origins of Covid-19 have concluded their four-week mission to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

They presented a summary of their findings during a joint press conference with Chinese authorities at a hotel in Wuhan on Tuesday, prior to their departure from China.

Liang Wannian, Head of the Expert Panel of COVID-19 Response of China National Health Commission (NHC) said at the "WHO-China Joint Study" press conference that "the findings indicated that there was no substantial unrecognized circulation of #SARScov2 in Wuhan during the latter part of 2019."

He said that the "first part," or the "Chinese part" of the global tracing research has been completed. 

The international team visited the Huanan seafood market that was linked to early case clusters and the hospital where the first cases were detected. 

They visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology and probed data provided by Chinese authorities from Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control.

The field visits concluded on February 6, and the team have been poring over data with Chinese counterparts.

WHO investigators spent fourteen days in quarantine collaborating with Chinese scientists, reviewing data on Zoom calls and conducted field visits in Wuhan to understand more about the origins of the Covid-19 virus.

The WHO team members are expected to depart from China on Tuesday and Wednesday.

4:22 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

40 hospitals across Washington state may have received counterfeit N95 masks, officials say

From CNN's Deanna Hackney and Amir Vera

Hospitals across Washington state thought they were receiving authentic N95 masks -- but it turns out that hundreds of thousands may be counterfeit, officials say.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a fraud alert Friday to the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), stating that 40 hospitals across the state may have received fake masks as part of a shipment of 2 million masks that arrived in December.

The hospital association alerted the 40 hospitals, but many of the masks had already been used, WSHA President and CEO Cassie Sauer told CNN Monday.

"They look and feel and fit and smell just like a 3M Mask," Sauer said.

The masks were purchased by hospitals and by WSHA to distribute to its members, according to the association. More than $1 million was spent on the purchase.

N95 masks are considered the gold standard in personal protective equipment because they block 95% of large and small particles utilizing a unique electrostatic filter.

Read the full story:

3:56 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

It's very risky for states to ease Covid-19 restrictions now, experts warn

From CNN's Christina Maxouris

Experts warned the US could be in the calm before the storm ahead of another possible surge in Covid-19 cases fueled by variants, and urged local and state leaders not to ditch their safety measures and restrictions.

"We're ... seeing what happens in other countries when these variants take over," emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN Monday night. "There is (an) explosive surge, even when the countries are basically in shutdown."

Wen, who is a former Baltimore City Health Commissioner, added that the US faces "something really potentially catastrophic, and we should be doubling down on the measures that we know to work."

More than 690 cases of Covid-19 variants first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the US, according to CDC data updated Sunday.

Wen's comments follow several state leaders' announcements on easing of Covid-19 safety measures.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum announced last month the statewide mask mandate would be allowed to expire, telling CNN last week he was not concerned Covid-19 numbers would go up. In Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds recently signed an executive order ending all mask requirements, gathering restrictions and other public health emergency mandates, while encouraging residents to follow recommended safety guidelines.

And New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday New York City indoor dining can reopen at 25% capacity on February 12.

Read the full story:

3:33 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Germany edges closer to coronavirus goal — but variants pose a new threat

From CNN's Claudia Otto in Berlin

A medical assistant prepares a rapid antigen Covid-19 test at the Koeln Messe trade fair grounds on February 8 in Cologne, Germany.
A medical assistant prepares a rapid antigen Covid-19 test at the Koeln Messe trade fair grounds on February 8 in Cologne, Germany. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Germany's seven-day Covid-19 case incidence rate has dropped below 100 for the first time in three months, according to its infectious disease agency -- a key metric in the country's fight against the pandemic.

That means in the past week, the Robert Koch Institute only reported 72.8 infections per 100,000 residents.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has consistently told the public the goal is to push infections under the rate of 50 cases per 100,000 residents, in order to start reopening the country. 

The RKI's latest data shows 3,379 new Covid-19 cases and 481 additional deaths. 

The downward trend is promising: However, government spokesman Steffen Seibert warned on Monday that the country's second wave was not yet over.

New mutations pose a worrying threat, particularly the variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.351, which have increased in recent weeks. Nearly 6% of all German cases are of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the UK, according to RKI.

3:29 a.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Iran begins rolling out Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

From CNN's Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran

In this photo released by Imam Khomeini Airport City, Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines are being unloaded at the Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on February 4.
In this photo released by Imam Khomeini Airport City, Russian-made Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines are being unloaded at the Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on February 4. Saeed Kaari/IKAC/AP

Iran has started its rollout of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine on Tuesday, according to a live broadcast on state television.  

Nurses and doctors working in intensive care units will be among the first inoculated, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency, citing Health Minister Saeed Namaki.

Iran has been the hardest-hit country in the Middle East in total Covid-19 cases and deaths. On Monday, the country reported 7,321 new infections, bringing the national total to 1,473,756 cases since the pandemic began.

Restrictions are still in place around the country to prevent a larger outbreak of cases.