Minks have been discovered to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A coronavirus outbreak has been declared at a Fraser Valley mink farm after eight people at the site tested positive for COVID-19.

October began with "an explosion" of COVID-19 positive cases despite efforts to tighten and extend restrictions. In the first five days 14 residents on the North Slope and 23 in the Northwest Arctic, upping active caseloads in each borough to 40 and 45, respectively.

A big cruise vessel has anchored up along the banks of the Kola Bay as the number of infected workers in Novatek's Belokamenka project continues to grow. The construction site operated by natural gas company Novatek continues to be the hotbed of COVID-19 cases in the Russian north.

The official

With the number of COVID-19 cases outside of China increasing 13-fold, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a global pandemic on Thursday, urging governments “to take urgent and aggressive action” to stop its spread.