Confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. topped two million as the virus begins to spread more rapidly in some states that aggressively reopened such as Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and others. While health officials expected cases to rise as states reopened, the focus now is on ensuring that surges don’t boil over into uncontrolled outbreaks.
Biotech company Regeneron announced it has started to test its potential coronavirus drug on humans to evaluate if it can effectively treat and even prevent Covid-19.
This is CNBC’s live blog covering all the latest news on the coronavirus outbreak. This blog will be updated throughout the day as the news breaks.
- Global cases: More than 7.39 million
- Global deaths: At least 417,109
- U.S. cases: More than 2 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 112,924
The data above was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Regeneron begins testing potential treatment and preventative
7:24 a.m. ET — Regeneron announced the start of the first human trial of its antibody cocktail that the company hopes will effectively treat and even prevent Covid-19.
The drug, REGN-COV2, which is a combination of two antibodies, is the latest potential therapy to enter clinical trials. The only drug that has so far proven to effectively treat Covid-19 patients is Gilead Sciences‘s Remdesivir.
“REGN-COV2 could have a major impact on public health by slowing spread of the virus and providing a needed treatment for those already sick – and could be available much sooner than a vaccine,” Dr. George Yancopoulos, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Regeneron, said in a statement. —Will Feuer
WHO warns of increasing ‘hotspots’ in Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya – Health workers carry out coronavirus screening on residents in the Kibera settlement.
Kelvin Juma/SHOFCO
7:00 a.m. ET — Africa will experience a “steady increase” in coronavirus cases until a vaccine is developed, the World Health Organization warned, according to Reuters.
The global health body said that robust public health measures are needed in virus “hotspots” in the continent.
“Until such time as we have access to an effective vaccine, I’m afraid we’ll probably have to live with a steady increase in the region, with some hotspots having to be managed in a number of countries, as is happening now in South Africa, Algeria, Cameroon for example, which require very strong public health measures, social distancing measures to take place,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa regional director, told a briefing in Geneva, Reuters said. —Holly Ellyatt
Read CNBC’s previous coronavirus live coverage here: Russia’s cases top 500,000, Italy’s industrial output plunges in April
