COVID-19: New lockdowns as vaccine trials stumble

As Europe imposed new restrictions to try to stall a surging second wave of the novel coronavirus, hopes for vaccines to rapidly provide relief suffered a blow with the suspension of two clinical trials in the United States. China rushed to test an entire city of nine million within days after a minor coronavirus outbreak in the sprawling country and Europe struggled to tackle a new surge of infections. The virus is still spreading rapidly worldwide, with over one million deaths and 37 million infections. Many nations that suppressed their first outbreaks now face a second wave. Hopes for a rapid vaccine rollout suffered a setback as US pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly said on Tuesday it had suspended the Phase 3 trial of its antibody treatment over an unspecified incident, the second in less than 24 hours after Johnson Johnson ran into a similar problem. In Europe, the Netherlands imposed a “partial lockdown” to curb one of the region’s worst coronavirus surges, with all bars, cafes and restaurants to close and non-medical face coverings mandatory in all indoor spaces for people aged over 13. In the United Kingdom, Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer called for a two-to-three-week “circuit break” lockdown to slow the rates, saying the government had “lost control” of the outbreak having ignored stringent measures suggested by scientific experts on September 21. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">