This Halloween, I’m planning to swap costumes and candlelit parties for sweatpants and scary movies on the couch. Eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s far from my ideal evening; I’d much rather put on my devil’s horns and let loose for one night.
Looking back to Halloween during the 1918 flu pandemic, it’s clear that people have always been split between two drives during disease outbreaks: to allow themselves to go wild, and to hunker down and protect themselves and their communities. As my colleague Olivia B. Waxman writes, in 1918, some U.S. communities urged residents to skip parties and “jollifications”; elsewhere, people carried on as usual. In Indianapolis, a health official even lifted a ban on public gatherings for the holiday, allowing people to “go ahead and have all the Halloween parties they wanted to,” as the Indianapolis Starwrote at the time. In some places, Halloween 1918 may have even been wilder than usual. In Birmingham, Alabama, for instance, the Birmingham News reported that the community seemed to “[crack] under the strain” of staying at home, with some people even tipping over cars and uprooting gates.
It’s hard to tell whether or not the Halloween revelry of 1918 actually caused a spike in the spread of flu at the time, especially because two other major events brought people to the streets in the following days: Election Day and the end of World War I. But if there’s any lesson that can be taken from the 1918 pandemic, it’s that celebrations can quickly get out of hand, especially when people have cabin fever. And viruses aren’t bound by our social calendar.
The smartest thing to do this year is to continue following public health guidance, and celebrate Halloween from home. At least in 2020, we have one major advantage to keep us from getting bored: Netflix.
Nearly 44.5 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and nearly 1.2 million people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen as compared to 14 days ago, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 28, there were 530,581 new cases and 7,259 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 500,000 confirmed cases:
Across Europe, surging numbers of COVID-19 patients are forcing countries to take drastic steps to relieve pressure on their hospitals. In Croatia, for instance, doctors are being asked to come out of retirement, according to the New York Times. In Belgium, non-essential hospital procedures will be postponed to deal with a surge in infections, per Reuters. And in Poland, soldiers have been deployed to give coronavirus tests, according to the AP. “This is actually terrifying,” Dr. Piotr Suwalski of Poland told the AP on a day when the country announced a 20% day-over-day increase in COVID-19 cases.
As many countries struggle to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan has reached a happy milestone: 200 days without a single instance of locally transmitted COVID-19 as of today, according to Bloomberg. Experts say that the country benefited from measures like closing its borders early, aggressive contact tracing, and universal mask wearing, as well as its experience fighting SARS. The country’s efforts are also having a major payout: its GDP is expected to expand 1.56% this year.
China also had good news today. Officials from the country’s Xinjiang region said that they believe they’ve contained a new COVID-19 outbreak, according to the AP. The province confirmed 23 cases today, but all displayed no symptoms.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 8.8 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 227,685 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over as compared to 14 days ago, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Oct. 27, there were 78,981 new cases and 994 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
In a pair of decisions released yesterday, the Supreme Court refused to block plans in Pennsylvania and North Carolina to give the states more time to receive and process ballots. Pennsylvania’s plan will enable officials to count ballots cast by election day and received within three days of the election, while North Carolina’s elections board gave the state nine days to receive and count ballots. The states extended the period for receiving ballots as a result of the coronavirus pandemic; a record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail this election.
Dr. Anthony Fauci is raising alarms again that the U.S. is facing “a whole lot of pain” from new COVID-19 cases and deaths, warning that the country could be in worse shape next month if it continues on its current path, especially as the weather gets colder. “We are on a very difficult trajectory. We are going in the wrong direction,” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease told CNBC last night. For the last seven days, the U.S. has averaged over 74,000 new cases a day.
As U.S. hospitals battle COVID-19, they’re also facing another threat: cyberattacks. The FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Department of Health and Human Services warned in a joint statement yesterday that they’ve learned of “increased and imminent cybercrime threat to U.S. hospitals and healthcare providers,” including from Trickbot malware that can be used to steal patient data—which can be valuable—and in the process disrupt healthcare services.
Despite the continued threat posed by the coronavirus, the U.S. economy made a significant recovery during the third quarter of 2020. The GDP grew 7.4% over the previous quarter, according to an advance estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis released today. However, as the Wall Street Journal reports, that means the economy is still expected to be about 3.5% smaller than it was last year.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of October 29, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
After a World Series Win, A Dodgers Player Disappoints
Dodgers fans were thrilled to celebrate the team’s first World Series win in 32 years on Tuesday. But for some, the moment was marred by third baseman Justin Turner’s decision to join the on-field celebrations shortly after testing positive for COVID-19. Read more here.
Country Music is Booming
The pandemic in theory should have posed a major threat to the country music industry, grinding tours to a halt and shuttering concert halls and bars. But unexpectedly, the genre has experienced a boom in popularity, with streaming numbers soaring compared to before the outbreak. Read more here.
Polling Places are Shuttering
The pandemic has caused some polling places to close, including in the crucial swing state Iowa. Polling places across the state have had to close or consolidate as a result of the outbreak, with the disruptions affecting an estimated 670,000 Iowans—30% of the state’s voters, according to NPR. Read more here.
Baking Means More Than Cake Right Now
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have turned to baking to stifle the boredom of social distancing. But as author Beth Nguyen writes, she’s learned that baking can be especially meaningful in hard times, and even a source of comfort. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Elijah Wolfson
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