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Coronavirus updates: Stimulus talks advance ahead of deadline; Midwest leads in new cases per capita

The coverage on this live blog has ended — but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S. team.

The global tally of coronavirus cases topped 40 million on Monday, as a so-called "second wave" appears to take shape. Outbreaks are bubbling up across the U.S. and Europe, threatening public health measures as colder temperatures set in and the pandemic stretches into its eighth month. European leaders are reimposing stricter lockdown measures to quell cases, while many U.S. leaders, including President Donald Trump, continue to urge reopening the economy.

Here are some of the biggest developments on Monday:

The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:

  • Global cases: More than 40.25 million
  • Global deaths: At least 1.11 million
  • U.S. cases: More than 8.18 million
  • U.S. deaths: At least 219,950

Ireland sets some of Europe's toughest Covid-19 restrictions

Ireland set some of Europe's toughest Covid-19 restrictions, closing non-essential retail, limiting restaurants and pubs to takeout service only and instructing residents not to travel more than five kilometers — 3 miles — from their homes, Reuters reports.

Schools will remain open and essential services like construction are allowed to continue, Prime Minister Micheal Martin said, according to Reuters. The curbs remain in place for six weeks starting midnight Wednesday.

Ireland set a fresh record for daily new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, for the fifth time in nine days. It has the 12th highest rate among the 31 countries monitored by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, according to Reuters. —Sara Salinas

Pelosi, Mnuchin make progress in stimulus talks

Nancy Pelosi and Steven Mnuchin
Reuters

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made progress in stimulus negotiations a day ahead of a soft deadline, according to a tweeted statement from the Speaker's spokesman.

The two spoke for nearly an hour and "continued to narrow their differences," the statement said. Pelosi tasked Democratic House committee chairs with resolving outstanding differences with the White House, and Pelosi and Mnuchin plan to speak again Tuesday.

"The Speaker continues to hope that, by the end of the day Tuesday, we will have clarity on whether we will be able to pass a bill before the election," spokesman Drew Hammill said. —Sara Salinas

Midwest leads in new cases per capita

Stocks sell off as stimulus uncertainty and virus cases grow

Stocks sold off on Monday, as uncertainty around a congressional relief deal — and virus cases around the country — continue to grow.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 400 points, or roughly 1.4%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.65%, and the S&P 500 fell 1.63%. —Sara Salinas

Atlanta Fed President says central bank has 'important role' in addressing racial economic issues

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the central bank has a significant role to play in helping minorities and other lower-income workers, who have been hit hardest by the pandemic.

"The Fed has an important role to play. We must be central to this conversation. And increasingly, I think we are," Bostic said in a speech to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

He outlined several initiatives the Fed has taken and also said the new approach allowing inflation to run hot for a period of time before raising interest rates also will help. —Jeff Cox

Trump says he'll be tested for Covid-19 before Thursday's debate

President Donald Trump, after failing to confirm that he was tested for Covid-19 before the first presidential debate against Democratic challenger Joe Biden, said he will be tested before the second meeting between the men on Thursday.

Both campaigns earlier in the election cycle agreed to debate rules, set by a bipartisan commission, that said the candidates would be tested for the virus before arriving at debate sites.

A debate scheduled for Oct. 15 was canceled after Trump wouldn't agree to a virtual format, a proposed change from the Commission on Presidential Debates in light of the president's coronavirus diagnosis. —Sara Salinas

Trump rails against Dr. Fauci, says Americans are 'tired' of the pandemic

President Donald Trump was critical of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, saying on a campaign call Monday that "every time [Fauci] goes on television there's always a bomb," CNBC's Dan Mangan reports.

"There's a bigger bomb if you fire him," Trump said. "This guy's a disaster."

The number of daily coronavirus cases is climbing in the U.S. with total cases now over 8.1 million and the death toll at 219,880, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"People are tired of Covid," Trump said to campaign staff on the call.

"People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots, all these idiots who got it wrong," Trump said. —Chris Eudaily

WHO says 'we’re in this for the long haul'

Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus takes part to a news conference after a meeting of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee for Pneumonia due to the Novel Coronavirus 2019-nCoV in Geneva, Switzerland, January 22, 2020.
Christopher Black | WHO | Handout via REUTERS

The World Health Organization said the public will have to deal with the coronavirus pandemic "for the long haul" as cases continue to rapidly grow across the globe.

As the northern hemisphere enters the fall and winter seasons, the agency is seeing Covid-19 cases accelerate, particularly in Europe and North America, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a press conference.

"We're in this for the long haul, but there is hope if we make smart choices together," he said. "We can keep cases down, ensure essential health services continue and children can still go to school"

The WHO urged people to wear masks, wash their hands and maintain their distance from others.

"I think everyone is expecting this to be over very, very quickly. This is going to take some time and I think we all need to be mentally prepared," Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead, said at the same press conference. "This is not to scare anyone, but to get ourselves ready." –Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Hospitalizations climb in 37 states

Covid-19 hospitalizations were increasing by 5% or more, based on a weekly average, in 37 states as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by the Covid Tracking Project.

Additionally, Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin and West Virginia all hit record highs in the average of hospitalizations, the data show.

"What's concerning here is that it's only mid-October and there is a long fall and winter," Isaac Bogoch, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the University of Toronto, told CNBC in a phone interview. "We are clearly in the second wave in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere and we really need to have more control of this infection at the community level."

Covid-19 hospitalizations are considered a key measure to determine how severe the outbreak may be. Figures are based on weekly averages to smooth out daily reporting. —Berkeley Lovelace Jr.

Canada extends U.S. travel restrictions to Nov. 21

Canada extended its non-essential travel restrictions with the United States until Nov. 21, according to a tweet from Bill Blair, Canada's minister of public safety and emergency preparedness.

Blair said travel decisions will continue to be based on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe amid the pandemic. —Melodie Warner 

Target gives employee bonuses as pandemic, holiday shopping season collide

Target's hourly employees will get a $200 bonus as the coronavirus pandemic continues and the holiday shopping season picks up.

The retailer said more than 350,000 employees at its stores, distribution centers and contact centers will get the additional pay by early November. It will total more than $70 million.

Grocers and big-box retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Kroger, temporarily increased pay and gave bonuses to hourly workers during the pandemic. The "hero pay" was meant to recognize workers who helped the company replenish shelves during weeks of stockpiling and put their own health at risk.

Target has given other bonuses during the pandemic and temporarily raised its wages by $2 an hour in March. As it phased out those temporary wages, it sped along plans to increase its minimum wage to $15 an hour in early July. —Melissa Repko

Regional trends of U.S. cases through October

U.S. stocks rise at open amid hope for stimulus deal in the next 48 hours

U.S. stocks opened higher as investors hoped for a stimulus deal from Washington, although rising Covid-19 cases dampened sentiment, reports CNBC's Fred Imbert.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100 points, while S&P 500 gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.5%. —Melodie Warner 

CVS hires thousands of pharmacy techs as Covid-19 cases rise

A pharmacist administers a free flu shot vaccine to a customer at a CVS Health Corp. Pharmacy in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.
Marco Bello | Bloomberg | Getty Images

CVS Health plans to hire thousands of pharmacy technicians as Covid-19 cases rise across the country.

The health-care company said it wants to immediately fill 15,000 jobs — with the majority of roles for the pharmacy techs who help dispense medication and administer Covid-19 tests.

CVS has more than 4,000 Covid-19 drive-thru testing sites and has done nearly 5 million tests. 

The expanded workforce could help CVS with the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine, once it's available. Federal officials will need to give authorization to companies, including CVS, for pharmacy technicians to administer the vaccines under the supervision of an immunization-certified pharmacist.

CVS has advocated for the change, saying pharmacy technicians could help expedite the vaccine's widespread distribution. —Melissa Repko

Gottlieb on the pandemic: 'The hardest part is probably ahead'

Scott Gottlieb says 'hardest part' of coronavirus pandemic lies ahead for U.S.
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Scott Gottlieb says 'hardest part' of coronavirus pandemic lies ahead for U.S.

Rising Covid-19 cases across the nation indicate the U.S. is "entering a pretty difficult period," Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday.

The former FDA chief in the Trump administration said, "We're probably in the 7th inning of the acute phase of this pandemic right now, but the hardest part is probably ahead."

With infection surges in the U.S. and Europe, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world topped 40 million on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

"There's really no backstop here," Gottlieb said in a "Squawk Box" interview, stressing that treatments and a possible vaccine won't be widely available anytime soon. —Kevin Stankiewicz

Disclosure: Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC contributor and is a member of the boards of Pfizer, genetic testing start-up Tempus and biotech company Illumina. Pfizer has a manufacturing agreement with Gilead for remdesivir. Gottlieb also serves as co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings′ and Royal Caribbean's "Healthy Sail Panel." 

U.S. airport screenings top 1 million people for first time since March, but still down 60%

A sign reminding passengers to stay 6 feet apart is seen at a screening checkpoint at Orlando International Airport. The Transportation Security Administration has rolled out new guidelines for the screening of air passengers designed to decrease the chances that its officers are exposed to the coronavirus.
Paul Hennessy | SOPA Images | Getty Images

The Transportation Security Administration screened more than 1 million people on Sunday, the first time topping that level since mid-March, a positive sign that more people are choosing to fly, but demand is still far off of last year's levels.

Executives at Delta and United last week said they were seeing some encouraging booking trends in recent weeks but that a full recovery, with business travel recovering last, would take years. Sunday's seven-month high in TSA data is down more than 60% from last year.

While both carriers have sharply reduced their cash burn, the modest recovery prompted both to estimate they won't break even until next year.

American and Southwest report third-quarter results on Thursday. —Leslie Josephs

Global coronavirus cases hit 40 million

Medical staff members transport a patient infected with Covid-19 at the intensive care unit of the Lariboisiere Hospital of the AP-HP (Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris) in Paris, on October 14, 2020.
Lucas Barioulet | AFP | Getty Images

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 40 million on Monday, according to a global tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The grim milestone comes as various parts of Europe and the U.S. struggle to deal with an alarming surge in infections.

In Europe, the dreaded "second wave" began in August following the relaxation of national lockdowns implemented in spring. Governments in the region have scrambled to contain a dramatic surge in cases by re-introducing restrictive measures on public life and the hospitality sector, including the closure or limited opening of pubs, bars and restaurants, restricting social gatherings and even resorting to curfews.

In the U.S., daily new cases continue to rise in more than half of states as debate rages over the effectiveness of public safety measures touted by the country's top health experts. —Holly Ellyatt

Twitter removed misleading tweet by Trump's coronavirus advisor Dr. Scott Atlas

Dr. Scott Atlas speaks to reporters during a news conference held by U.S. President Donald Trump in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, September 16, 2020.
Leah Millis | Reuters

Twitter on Sunday removed a "misleading" tweet about masks by Dr. Scott Atlas, a top coronavirus advisor to President Donald Trump, Reuters reports.

Atlas tweeted, "Masks work? NO," continuing the Trump administration's habit of sending mixed messages on the importance of wearing face-coverings.

Twitter said it removed the tweet because it violated the social media giant's misleading information policy on Covid-19, according to Reuters.

Last week, at a town hall event, Trump was asked about his stance on masks. The president replied, "I'm good with masks," though he wrongly added, "but just the other day they came out with a statement that 85% of the people that wear masks catch it."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday tweeted that "the interpretation that more mask-wearers are getting infected compared to non-mask wearers is incorrect." —Terri Cullen

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