National COVID-19 cases surpassed 7 million this weekend, while the global death toll nears 1 million, reports The Washington Post.
As of Sept. 27, at least 21 states have reported a 10 percent increase or higher in new COVID-19 cases compared to the week prior, according to CNN's analysis of data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University. Cases remained stable in 18 states and were decreasing by more than 10 percent from a week prior in 11 states.
Five updates:
1. Less than 10 percent of adults in the U.S. have COVID-19 antibodies, a study published in The Lancet found. The finding is based on blood plasma samples from 28,503 adults receiving dialysis at about 1,300 U.S. dialysis centers in July. About 9 percent of people with antibodies had been diagnosed with COVID-19, researchers found.
2. Two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans would support a national mask mandate, according to a Sept. 22-24 poll conducted by The New York Times and Loudonville, N.Y.-based Siena College. Of 950 total respondents, 63 percent said they would support new lockdowns to fight a second COVID-19 surge.
3. New York's daily COVID-19 cases surpassed 1,000 for the first time since June, with 1,005 new cases reported Sept. 26, reports The Wall Street Journal. The uptick comes as local areas continue to reopen, with New York City public schools serving grades kindergarten through eight set to reopen for in-person learning Sept. 29. As of Sept. 25, 1 percent of the tests statewide were positive, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
4. COVID-19 test positivity rates are surging in some Midwestern states, with South Dakota reporting a positivity rate of 25.5 percent; Idaho at 21.2 percent; Wisconsin at 18.5 percent and Iowa at 16.4 percent. Data points are seven-day moving averages updated Sept. 28 from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
5. Children have a different immune response to COVID-19 than adults, which may offer them more protection against the virus, according to a study published in Science Translational Medicine. Researchers compared immune responses in 60 adults and 65 kids and young adults hospitalized at New York City-based Montefiore Medical Center between March 13 and May 17. They found children had higher levels of two immune molecules — interleukin 17A and interferon gamma. "We think that is protecting these younger children, particularly from severe respiratory disease, because that’s really the major difference between the adults and the kids,” lead author Betsy Herold, MD, a pediatric infectious disease expert at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, told The New York Times.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 7,116,455
Deaths: 204,762
Recovered: 2,766,280
Counts reflect data available as of 8:30 a.m. CDT Sept. 28.