Like this newsletter? Tell your friends to sign up here.
Questions? Comments? outbreak-popup@cnn.com

Questions about the coronavirus or vaccines? Ask here.

And follow all our latest updates.

By Christian Edwards and Kara Fox, CNN

CATCH UP ON THE LATEST

Wednesday, October 5

If you were flying in and out of the US this time last year, you would have been faced with a labyrinth of regulations. You would have been expected to be well versed in your destination's Covid-19 rules: Knowing your red zones from ambers, PCRs from RATs, and having your Covid certificates and vaccine passports. But on Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced it will no longer maintain a country-by-country list of travel advisories related to Covid-19, noting that fewer countries are testing or reporting Covid cases themselves.

While many have been traveling freely for some time, the move signals the latest message from the US government: How you approach Covid-19 is on you. Speaking of the decision, CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen says we have entered "a phase in the pandemic where people need to make their own decisions based on their medical circumstances as well as their risk tolerance when it comes to contracting Covid-19."

The CDC will now only post country-specific notices if there is a concerning coronavirus variant or other situation that warrants it. But it still recommends getting tested no more than three days before travelling -- and to not to do so if the result is positive.

The CDC move comes after President Joe Biden's claim that the pandemic is "over," but the US is not yet in the clear. The country could be facing a "twindemic" this fall as Covid-19 and flu are expected to spike simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong is also enjoying the fruits of its new freedoms after loosening some of the world's most stringent travel restrictions more than two years into the pandemic. Last week, Hong Kong's new chief executive John Lee dropped mandatory quarantines for new arrivals in an attempt to revitalize the country's economy, prompting some early signs of success. Some of the world's biggest banks have now committed to participate in a long-awaited summit in Hong Kong, with the city seeking to reaffirm its status as a global financial hub. CEOs from Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC, as well as top executives from UBS, BlackRock and JP Morgan, are on the program, which starts November 2 and includes some 200 attendees.

In other travel-related news, Qatar announced its Covid-19 policy ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which kicks off in November. Participants and fans attending the event will not require proof of vaccination, but will have to present a negative PCR test no more than 48 hours before their flight to the country. Those who test positive for the virus during their stay will have to isolate for five days -- which could lead to some of the sport's biggest stars missing key games, as was the case during the European Championships last year.

But as countries across the world attempt to get back to normal, millions are still struggling with the long term effects of the virus. A new study on the broader effects of Covid found some 5% of global Covid-19 survivors have developed long-lasting taste and smell problems. Researchers found an estimated 15 million people may still have problems perceiving odors, while 12 million may struggle with taste.

The long-term effects of these sensory defects are not trivial: Experiencing food to be flavorless can cause appetite and enjoyment of life to plummet, which past studies show can lead to nutritional deficits, cognitive decline and depression. These senses can keep us safe as well as healthy. Without smell, you might miss telltale signs of fires, natural gas leaks and other dangers.

IN OTHER NEWS

• Our personalities may have changed as a result of the pandemic, according to a new study published last week in the journal PLOS ONE. Psychologists found in the years following the start of the pandemic that extraversion, agreeableness and conscientiousness have all declined -- particularly in young adults, who experience "less stable" personality traits. Lead researcher Professor Angelina Sutin of Florida State University described the pandemic as "an unprecedented opportunity to see how a collective stressful event may impact personality."

• Many people postponed routine medical care because of disruptions caused by the pandemic -- including cancer screenings. Cancer remains one of the major causes of death in the US, second only to heart disease, and experts have stressed the need for people to catch up on any medical appointments they missed due to Covid.

• The United Kingdom's Covid-19 Inquiry began Tuesday. The inquiry's leader, former judge Heather Hallett, said it would "analyze our state of readiness for the pandemic and the response to it ... and to determine whether that level of loss about which we've just been reflecting was inevitable, or whether things could have been done better." The UK has recorded more than 207,000 deaths, among the highest in the world. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his ministers have faced widespread condemnation for their handling of the crisis, which has been criticized as both overly laissez-faire and draconian. Many bereaved families seeking answers suspect the inquiry may be more of a listening exercise than a meaningful interrogation of state failure.

THE LATEST NUMBERS

Global Cases

619,236,461

Global Deaths

6,550,318

US Cases

96,481,737

US Deaths

1,060,428

Source: Johns Hopkins University

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.

How does Covid-19 damage our sense of smell?

At first scientists believed it infected neurons in the nose responsible for transmitting smells from the environment into the brain. Those neurons sit at the very top of each nostril and send out signals to sensory spots in the brain.

But more recent studies found the virus does not attack those neurons at all. Rather, it targets sustentacular cells, also known as "supporting" cells, which provide nourishment and protection to nerve cells from birth. Researchers found that Covid-19 infection damages these cells' ability to regenerate themselves over time, which may cause a loss of smell.

Still, statistics show most people recover their sense of taste and smell, with an August analysis of people who lost smell and taste at least two years ago finding that the majority either fully (38.2%) or partially (54.3%) recovered their ability to smell and taste. That was especially true for people under 40, according to the study.

Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you're facing: +1 347-322-0415.

TODAY'S TOP TIP

Train your senses -- even if they've been damaged by Covid-19.

"If you had a stroke, and it made your arm not work, you would go to physical therapy, you would do rehab," Dr. Zara Patel, a professor of otorhinolaryngology at Stanford University School of Medicine explains.

Patel says there are a number of ways to rehabilitate your senses, including olfactory training, which recommends sniffing essential oils twice a day.

Support and advocacy groups such as AbScent and Fifth Sense have also mobilized to help, offering affirmation and hope, tips on smell training and even recipes to bolster appetite.