An unpublished report prepared for the White House coronavirus task force recommends 18 states — including hard-hit California and Florida — roll back reopening measures.
California announced that schools in most counties, representing 80% of the state’s population, wont re-open for in-person classes in the fall.
Other countries are struggling with spikes as well. Brazil surpassed 2 million cases as the virus rages through Latin America, and India topped 1 million cases on Friday.
Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic has moved here.
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Death row inmate gets temporary reprieve from execution due to Covid-19
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Gov. Bill Lee at a news conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on July 1.
Mark Humphrey/AP
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a temporary reprieve to a death row inmate Friday, citing the Covid-19 pandemic.
Harold Wayne Nichols was convicted of raping and killing Karen Pulley in 1988. Before the reprieve was announced, Nichols was scheduled to be executed on August 4.
Some context: Nichols’ legal team had asked the Tennessee Supreme Court for a stay of execution due to coronavirus. “The pandemic has necessitated numerous restrictions which curb the activities of Mr. Nichols’ legal team,” it said in the petition. However, the state’s high court unanimously denied the request on June 4.
Lee’s order does not state a specific reason why the execution should be delayed as a result of the pandemic.
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Colombia reports record number of Covid-19 deaths for second consecutive day
From CNN's Stefano Pozzebon
Soldiers patrol a neighborhood in Bogota, Colombia, on July 13.
Fernando Vergara/AP
Colombia’s health ministry reported a record 8,934 new coronavirus cases on Friday – taking the country’s total number of infections to 182,140 since the pandemic began.
The ministry reported another 259 related deaths, also a record. Colombia’s death toll now stands at 6,288.
The rising case numbers come as President Ivan Duque resists calls to impose a total lockdown in the country’s most affected areas.
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Ex-Trump economist says White House was warned of potential pandemic disaster in September
From CNN's Chauncey Alcorn
Tomas Philipson in Washington, DC, on February 24.
Melissa Lyttle/Bloomberg/Getty Images/FILE
Former Trump administration economist Tomas Philipson said on Friday that his team alerted the White House about the dangers of a looming pandemic about three months before Covid-19 is believed to have made its way into the United States.
Philipson served three years as acting chairman of the administration’s Council of Economic Advisers before stepping down in June to resume his teaching role at the University of Chicago. Philipson acknowledged testing positive for Covid-19 less than a month before his White House departure, according to The Wall Street Journal.
To note: Previously, President Donald Trump has insisted that no one could have foreseen or prevented the coronavirus outbreak, but Harlow pointed out on Friday that Philipson’s 41-page report was presented to senior White House officials last September.
“You guys told them at the highest levels of the White House last year this could happen,” she said.
Philipson acknowledged the report was presented to Trump or his top officials. “The White House is fully aware of what CEA puts out,” he said.
"Alarming outbreak" of Covid-19 at federal law enforcement training facility
From CNN's Geneva Sands and Bob Ortega
A coronavirus outbreak has spread through a federal law enforcement training facility in South Carolina, prompting the national employees union to call for a halt to training.
At least 23 students and faculty have tested positive at Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, where Customs and Border Protection personnel were training, according to the National Treasury Employees Union.
On Friday, the union – which represents thousands of CBP employees – officially requested that the agency immediately send home any employees in training, as well as test employees for Covid-19 prior to the departure.
Some context: The outbreak comes amid increased concern about exposure for federal frontline employees and a spike in coronavirus cases in the southern United States. As of Thursday, 1,426 CBP employees have tested positive for Covid-19 and eight have died as a result of the virus, according to the agency.
More than half of this Texas prison's 1,798 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus
From Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported on Friday that 1,072 inmates have tested positive for Covid-19 in Seagoville Federal Correctional Institution in Texas.
The facility is a low-security institution with an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp and a detention center. It has a total population of 1,798 inmates, according to its website.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons stated on its website that it began additional testing of asymptomatic inmates to assist in “slowing transmissions within a correctional setting.”
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This expert is optimistic an "effective" coronavirus treatment will be available within 3 months
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
Francis Collins, director of the US National Institutes of Health, wears a protective mask during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing in Washington, DC, on July 2.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg/Getty Images
The director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, said he’s “optimistic” an “effective treatment” for Covid-19 will be available in two to three months.
“There is a lot of progress in therapeutics,” Collins told CNN Friday. “We have two proven drugs – remdesivir and dexamethasone, both proven in rigorous randomized control trials, which is the only way you really know if something works.”
What are they: Remdesivir is an antiviral drug that has been shown to reduce the amount of time people are ill with Covid-19. Dexamethasone is a steroid that may reduce the rate of deaths among seriously ill patients.
What about a vaccine? Collins is also optimistic about the development of a successful vaccine by the end of the year.
“The first vaccine trial, as you probably heard, building on very successful preliminary data, will get started around about July 27 all across the southern part of the country where the virus is spreading and we’re going to find out whether it works by asking 30,000 people to join,” he said.
Collins says if one of the vaccine trials is successful, there will be “tens of millions of doses ready to go by the end of 2020, the end of the calendar year.”
“That’s never been done before at this speed. We’re not compromising on the safety. We’ll be sure that they work, but if it does, we’ll be ready to go … as soon as possible,” he added.
But Collins said he’s worried about what he sees as some Americans’ skepticism of vaccines, adding that it’s important for everyone to get the vaccine when it’s available.
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How Dr. Deborah Birx's political skills made her the most powerful person on the coronavirus task force
From CNN's Vivian Salama, Pamela Brown, Kristen Holmes and Kate Bennett
As the relationship between Dr. Anthony Fauci and President Donald Trump publicly disintegrated over the past few months, Dr. Deborah Birx – Fauci’s former mentee – solidified her standing inside the White House, to the point that sources familiar with the situation say she has essentially taken charge of running the task force day to day.
Birx spearheaded the administration’s recent decision to have hospitals send information on coronavirus patients to a new federal database, a source involved with the process told CNN, bypassing the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency Birx has often complained about to colleagues. She has also been a forceful advocate for the President’s push to reopen schools, forming a working group to create new guidance after the President criticized the CDC’s initial recommendations, calling them “too tough” and “expensive.”
Birx’s forward-facing role as a public health expert masks an ambitious political chameleon, whose staying power in numerous administrations during her three decades in government has come at no small cost to her management style and her notoriety among peers, according to interviews with more than a dozen people who have worked with her, including current and former administration officials.
Birx’s rise inside the Trump administration has surprised many of her former colleagues, given her past as an Obama appointee. It’s also tainted her reputation among some public health experts who view her as having sold out to a chaotic, poorly managed response that has put Trump’s political fortunes over the health and safety of Americans.
Birx did not respond to requests for comment from CNN about her relationship with the President or her motivations for continuing in the role as he continues to push back against the advice of her medical counterparts.
The Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) reported 3,908 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the state on Friday.
The GDPH also reported 28 new coronavirus-related deaths today, as well as 301 additional hospitalizations.
Georgia has reported a total of 135,183 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 3,132 Covid-19-related deaths.
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"We’re certainly not winning" the battle against coronavirus, NIH director says
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, told CNN that the US is “certainly not winning the battle against coronavirus” but could get it under control.
The United States is setting records with daily new cases of coronavirus and inching closer to Dr. Anthony Fauci’s prediction of 100,000 Covid-19 cases a day.
“We shouldn’t feel hopeless here and we know what works,” Collins said. “We know that if we could, as Americans, agree to take those recommendations to heart, that we would keep our masks on when we’re outside, we’d stay more than six feet apart from each other and we would avoid indoor gatherings where there’s a big chance of spread, we wash our hands and all that, then we could implement what we know has worked.”
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Fauci reiterates that a coronavirus vaccine could be available by this winter
From CNN's Andrea Kane
From PBS
The nation’s leading infectious disease expert is “cautiously optimistic” that the country could have a vaccine against the new coronavirus by the end of 2020 or the start of 2021.
Fauci told PBS that the vaccine won’t be available to hundreds of millions of people “on day one,” but it will be available quickly because production of doses will have started for the major vaccine candidates before the trials show they work.
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NIH director says he would refuse to fire Fauci if asked
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health
Dr. Anthony Fauci is a “national treasure” and more knowledgeable about infectious diseases than anybody on the planet, Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health and Fauci’s boss, told CNN on Friday.
Collins’ comments come as members of the Trump administration have spent the past week trying to discredit Fauci, who is director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
Collins said he has no idea why the administration has tried to discredit Fauci.
“I’m not sure I can answer that question, given how important the information he is sharing,” Collins added.
Collins said he’s glad the President said this week that he has a good relationship with the scientist and hopes “we can continue to get things back on an even keel.”
Some context: Trump recently retweeted a comment with the hashtag “Fire Fauci,” causing worry and concern that the administration might attempt to terminate Fauci, who, as a federal civil servant, cannot be fired by the President.
Collins had said before he would not fire Fauci if ordered to do so and he reiterated that sentiment again today on CNN.
“I could not imagine doing something of that sort, no,” Collins said. “I really hope that this kind of circumstance never comes to pass and I’m not sure that it’s a helpful conversation to have, but I certainly would defend the contributions and the remarkable character of Tony Fauci.”
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Brazil reports nearly 35,000 new coronavirus cases
From Márcia Reverdosa and Taylor Barnes
Transport professionals from Sorocaba, Brazil being tested for Covid-19 on Wednesday, July 15.
Cadu Rolim/Fotoarena/Sipa USA/AP Images
Brazil’s health ministry reported 34,177 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 2,046,328.
The health ministry also reported 1,163 new Covid-19 deaths, raising the country’s death toll to 77,851.
The new cases come as the virus migrates to regions in Brazil, particularly its south and interior, which had avoided the worst of the pandemic earlier in the outbreak.
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Miami Beach announces evening curfew for entertainment district
From CNN’s Andy Rose
An employee at the Clevelander bar and restaurant on Ocean Drive stacks chairs after they shut down due to public health concerns caused by COVID-19 on Monday, July 13, 2020, in Miami Beach, Florida.
Lynne Sladky/AP
Nighttime partying at many Miami Beach hot spots is being suspended due to coronavirus.
The city has announced a curfew beginning Saturday for most of its entertainment district, running each night from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. ET.
Businesses in the district will be required to close to all in-person customers by 8 p.m. each night, although restaurants can continue to offer delivery services. Curfew in the rest of the city begins at 10 p.m.
The order will be in effect for at least a week. In addition to the curfew, a large portion of Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive is being closed to vehicle traffic throughout the day, with only pedestrians allowed.
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Peru reports nearly 4,000 new coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Taylor Barnes
Peru’s health ministry reported 3,951 new cases of coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 345,537.
The ministry also reported 184 new Covid-19 deaths, raising the country’s death toll to 12,799.
Peru’s outbreak is the second-worst in Latin America and the Caribbean, following that of Brazil.
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There are 36 coronavirus cases linked to a football team practice in Kentucky
From CNN's Hollie Silverman
Governor Andy Beshear
Kentucky Governor's office
There are 36 coronavirus cases linked to a Kentucky football team’s practice in a weight room, Gov. Andy Beshear said during a news conference Friday.
Beshear said 18 players, three coaches and 15 family members have tested positive following the practice.
The governor would not say where the cases occurred.
The state reported the third highest single-day coronavirus case increase on Friday, with 531, Beshear added.
There are now a total 21,605 cases statewide, the governor said.
Eight new deaths were reported Friday for a total of 653 coronavirus deaths statewide, the governor said.
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Miami to drop warning for people failing to adhere to mask mandate
From CNN’s Andy Rose
People in Miami, Florida, will no longer get a warning when they fail to wear a mask in public starting Monday.
Mayor Francis Suarez said the new order will require a fine for the first offense of the city’s mask order. The fine starts at $50 and increases with every additional offense.
At the same time, Suarez said the city does not intend to return to a full stay-at-home order – at least not yet.
“We are consulting with Miami-Dade County and with all the cities,” Suarez said.
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Texas reports a record high 174 new Covid-19 deaths
From CNN's Raja Razek
Medical workers from New York wearing handle test samples at temporary testing site for COVID-19 in Higher Dimensions Church on Friday July 17, in Houston, Texas.
Go Nakamura/Getty Images
Texas reported 174 new Covid-19 related deaths on Friday, a record single day high, surpassing Thursday’s record of 129 deaths in a single day.
The total number of Covid-19 related deaths in the state is now 3,735.
Texas reported 10,256 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 307,572 .
To note: These figures were released by the Texas Health and Human Services, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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Lockdowns should be coordinated across countries and states to slow the spread of Covid-19
From CNN's Jen Christensen
To eliminate the spread of the novel coronavirus, governments should synchronize lockdowns, a new model shows.
The model, published Friday in the journal Science, found that when intermittent lockdowns were synchronized across Europe, half as many lockdowns were needed to end community transmission all across the continent.
Nick Ruktanonchai, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom, ran 1,200 simulations. To create the models, Ruktanonchai and his team used data from mobile phones provided by Vodaphone and Google that can show contact rates between people, in combination with different intervention scenarios.
The details: When the team ran a scenario that synchronized four cycles of three-week long lockdowns in all the countries in Europe, Covid-19 spread was eliminated 90% of the times.
When the lockdowns weren’t synchronized, community spread of the disease was eliminated only 5% of the time. When lockdowns are lifted early or unevenly, people interact and the disease spreads.
The authors argue this information is generalizable to other parts of the world, including the United States. They believe national governments should coordinate pandemic preparedness efforts moving forward.
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Mississippi governor says 11 counties may be added to mask mandate next week
From CNN’s Andy Rose
Gov. Tate Reeves
Pool
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said that unless coronavirus conditions change dramatically over the weekend, the state may add 11 counties to its mask requirement.
Thirteen counties are already under the more restrictive order.
Reeves noted that state figures show an additional thousand Covid-19 cases a day in Mississippi for each of the past two days.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said some hospitals are running out of intensive care space.
“Every resource is exhaustible,” Dobbs said, encouraging everyone to wear a mask in public. “I’m baffled that the simplest of solutions is the one that we refuse to broadly adopt.”
Despite the surge in the state, the governor says he is not yet inclined to require all Mississippi public schools to go to remote learning plans.
“We can’t force every parent to homeschool their kids indefinitely,” said Reeves.
To note: The figures above were released by the Mississippi State Department of Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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Record number of Covid-19 cases reported to World Health Organization over the past 24 hours
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
There were 237,743 new Covid-19 cases reported to the World Health Organization in the last 24 hours, according to a new situation report published Friday.
The total number of cases that have been reported to the WHO from around the globe is now 13,616,593.
The rise in newly reported cases sets another record for cases reported to the WHO within a 24-hour period. The previous record was set on Sunday with 230,370 new cases of Covid-19.
Friday’s report also noted there were 5,682 additional Covid-19 deaths reported to the WHO in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths worldwide to 585,727.
To note: While these numbers are OK to report as an independent news item, CNN relies exclusively on Johns Hopkins University data for its coronavirus case and death counts.
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Curfew issued for Florida's Broward County due to Covid-19
From CNN’s Jamiel Lynch
People gather on the street as they watch fireworks burst during Independence Day celebrations in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on July 4, 2020. Fort Lauderdale is the county seat of Broward County.
Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
In an order issued today, Broward County, Florida, is enacting a curfew for the entire county, including incorporate and unincorporated areas, to help mitigate the spread of Covid-19.
The curfew is effective immediately from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. ET nightly through Aug. 1, the order said.
According to the order, during curfew, no persons shall make use of any street or sidewalk in Broward County.
The order also prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people.
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Major League Baseball player tests positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Jacob Lev
Yasiel Puig, #66 of the Cleveland Indians looks out from the dugout against the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning at Progressive Field on September 22, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio.
David Maxwell/Getty Images
Major League Baseball free agent Yasiel Puig says he has tested positive for Covid-19.
In a statement posted on social media Friday, the Cuban-born outfielder said he was currently asymptomatic and will remain in quarantine.
Some context: On Friday, the MLB and Major League Baseball Players Association released the latest testing results as of July 16, in which six out of 10,548 samples came back positive for Covid-19.
Five of the positive tests were players, and one was a staff member. The MLB season is scheduled to resume on July 23.
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Arkansas governor says the state "can't get cocky" in its fight against Covid-19
From CNN’s Janine Mack
Gov. Asa Hutchinson during a daily coronavirus briefing at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 27, 2020.
Staton Breidenthal/Arkansas Democrat Gazette/AP
Arkansas has reported 31,762 positive cases of coronavirus and 353 deaths, Dr. Nate Smith, Arkansas cabinet secretary for the Department of Health, said during a news conference on Friday.
That total includes an increase of 648 Covid-19 cases since Thursday. There have been 12 deaths reported from June 12 to June 24, Smith said.
Arkansas has conducted 5,861 Covid-19 tests, Smith added.
Former Arkansas governor and US Senator David Pryor, who tested positive for Covid-19, was released from the hospital and is in good health, Hutchinson said.
Note:These figures were released by Arkansas Department of Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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Class action lawsuit filed against veterans nursing home for Covid-19 deaths in Massachusetts
From CNN's Lauren del Valle
An American flag flies at half-mast outside the Holyoke Soldiers' Home on April 29, 2020 in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images
A class action federal lawsuit has been filed on behalf of families who lost loved ones to Covid-19.
The lawsuit is against five staff members primarily charged with the care of these people at a veterans’ home in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit filed Friday comes after a recent investigation revealing substantial missteps in the handling of the virus at the state-run Holyoke Soldiers’ Home.
At least 76 Soldiers’ Home veterans who were Covid-19 positive died in the 11-week period between March 25 and June 12, the lawsuit said.
Massachusett’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services released a statement to CNN Friday.
Gov. Charlie Baker, who commissioned the report, previously called the findings gut-wrenching and hard to read.
“The events that took place in march are horrific and tragic,” Baker said.
The lawsuit demands $176,000,000 in damages to benefit each of the families who lost someone to Covid-19 in the home.
There are no current cases of Covid-19 among staff and residents at the facility, according to state data.
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Most California schools will not reopen for in-person education this fall, governor says
From CNN's Sarah Moon
School buses sit parked in a lot at First Student Charter Bus Rental on July 14, 2020 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The majority of schools in California will not be reopening for in-person education this fall, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a news conference today.
All private and public schools in 33 of California’s 58 counties will be required to close under Newsom’s new guidance. Those 33 counties represent more than 80% of the state’s population.
Newsom on Monday asked these counties — which are on the state’s watch list — to close indoor activities, such as gyms, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, hair salons and barbershops, and indoor malls.
Schools in these counties will need to meet strict criteria in order to reopen, including physical distancing measures and the use of face coverings. Newsom also recommended regular testing and “rigorous distance learning” which includes daily live interaction with teachers and other students.
Under the new guidance, staff and students in 3rd grade and above will be required to wear face coverings in classrooms. Students from Kindergarten through 2nd grade are not required, but encouraged to wear them.
Schools can only reopen for in-person education if the county has been off the monitoring list for 14 consecutive days.
Earlier this week, some of the largest school districts in the state announced they would continue with full distance learning in the fall, instead of returning students to campuses. The decisions by Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento school districts, meant more than 1 million students would not be returning to classrooms in August.
These are the 33 counties on the watch list:
Alameda
Colusa
Contra Costa
Fresno
Glenn
Imperial
Kings
Los Angeles
Madera
Marin
Merced
Monterey
Napa
Orange
Placer
Riverside
Sacramento
San Benito
San Bernardino
San Diego
San Francisco
San Joaquin
San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara
Solano
Sonoma
Stanislaus
Sutter
Tulare
Yolo
Yuba
Ventura
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San Francisco joins California's list of counties to watch after Covid-19 hospitalizations rise
From CNN’s Jenn Selva
San Francisco has joined more than 30 other counties on California’s “watch list” due to a rise in Covid-19 hospitalizations, Mayor London Breed said today.
When a county is added to the state’s “watch list,” officials are required to close all indoor activities. Because of San Francisco’s early stage of reopening, the main difference will be closing all malls and non-essential offices.
Breed said the county will continue to pause its reopening indefinitely.
The mayor also announced a new health order starting July 20, that requires private health care providers to increase testing by providing same-day testing for patients with coronavirus symptoms and those who have had close contact with people confirmed to have Covid-19.
“Additionally, private hospitals must provide testing to asymptomatic workers in jobs with risk of exposure,” Breed said. “The delays we’re seeing in testing cannot continue.”
San Francisco Department of Public Health Director Grant Colfax warned that the average age of people hospitalized with Covid-19 symptoms since July 1 is 41 years old.
As of today, San Francisco has reported a total of at least 4,985 confirmed cases and at least 52 deaths.
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Brazil's infection rate has "stabilized" but "concerted action" needed, WHO says
From Mia Alberti
A health worker takes a resident's blood sample at a testing site for COVID-19 amid the new coronavirus pandemic in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, July 17, 2020.
Silvia Izquierdo/AP
The infection rate of Covid-19 in Brazil has stabilized, the World Health Organization said on Friday, a day after Brazil surpassed 2 million cases of the disease.
Ryan said Brazil now has an “opportunity” to “push the disease down” and take control of the pandemic in the country if the government acts swiftly.
“Up to now, in many countries including Brazil, the virus has been in charge, the virus sets the rules. We need to set the rules for the virus and there is an opportunity once those numbers have stabilized to drive transmission downwards and I think that opportunity exists now for Brazil to do that but it’s going to take a very sustained and concerted action,” Ryan said.
Latest numbers: Brazil has registered a total of 2,012,151 cases of Covid-19, according to the latest data released by the country’s Health Ministry on Thursday. The total number of fatalities is 76,688.
Brazil is the second country in the world with most coronavirus cases, after the US.
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House Education committee accuses White House of blocking CDC from testifying next week
From CNN's Jim Acosta and Manu Raju
CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield testifying at a Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 2, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Graeme Jennings/Pool/Getty Images
The House Education Committee accused the White House Friday of blocking US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials from testifying before their committee next week on reopening the nation’s schools.
CNN has reached out to the White House and Vice President’s office for comment.
The committee sent a letter to CDC Director Robert Redfield on July 9 inviting him to testify.
How to reopen schools this fall has become a divisive issue. President Trump, in recent weeks, has repeatedly called for schools to reopen, even as the coronavirus pandemic surges across parts of the country. Meanwhile, teachers, health care professionals and more cautious political leaders are wary of rushing the process.
Florida's governor says he won't close gyms despite surging Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Shawn Nottingham
A 24 Hour Fitness gym is seen on June 15, 2020 in Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he won’t close the state’s gyms, claiming a healthy lifestyle will put people at lower risk for developing severe cases of coronavirus.
Remember: Coronavirus has more severe outcomes on older people, Blacks and Hispanics, and people with underlying health conditions, according to demographic data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But health officials are warning that a rise in younger people testing positive for coronavirus will hit vulnerable populations.
As the number of coronavirus cases climb in Florida, DeSantis today said 21% of the state’s hospital beds remain available. The governor said that number is actually higher than the number of beds available in the state in March of this year.
Additionally, DeSantis said he has been told by the White House that a new shipment of Remdesivir is being expedited to state. He says he hopes the shipment of the coronavirus treatment drug will be delivered by this weekend.
The governor lauded the state’s test capacity, saying Florida is currently testing more than 100,000 people a day.
He went on to say that the state’s positivity rate has stabilized and even declined. DeSantis says the state’s positivity rate is currently at about 12-13%.
Some background: DeSantis’ comments come as the state averages just over 55 cases per 100,000 people, according to an analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. For five consecutive days, Florida has led the nation in coronavirus cases per capita.
Florida took over the top spot from Arizona on Monday. Arizona — which had held the top spot for over a month — dropped to third, behind Louisiana.
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More than 1 million coronavirus tests completed in Massachusetts, governor says
From CNN's Hollie Silverman
A COVID-19 test is administered at the Whittier Street Health Center's mobile test site on. Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Boston, Mass.
Elise Amendola/AP
There were 1.3 million coronavirus tests completed in Massachusetts as of Friday, Gov. Charlie Baker announced during an afternoon news conference today.
There were 143 new positive Covid-19 tests reported for a total of 106,707 cases, according to the governor. The positivity rate is now at 1.7% in Massachusetts.
There are currently 557 people hospitalized, including 77 people in the intensive care unit, Baker said.
Baker said that there are six hospitals using some form of surge capacity in Massachusetts but they aren’t all due to Covid-19.
Governor Charlie Baker speaks at a press conference after a tour of The New England Center for Children on July 13, 2020 in Southborough, Massachusetts.
Nancy LanePool/AFP/Getty Images
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said that he supports local municipalities creating additional restrictions as long as they don’t negate the guidance issued by the state.
During a Friday afternoon news conference, Baker said additional restrictions — such as how Gloucester is limiting beach lots to only residents — are “perfectly appropriate.”
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Robert Durst's trial may be delayed to April 2021 due to Covid-19
From CNN’s Paul Vercammen
Real estate heir Robert Durst looks over during his murder trial on March 10, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.
Alex Gallardo/Pool/Getty Images
A Los Angeles deputy district attorney is proposing the murder trial of Robert Durst, subject of the HBO series, “The Jinx,” be delayed until April 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Judge Mark E. Windham told both sides to return in two weeks to allow the defense team to discuss the proposed delay with Durst and mull over a second prosecution offer.
Lewin also asked the Durst lawyers to consider removing the jury from the proceedings and make it a bench trial where the judge decides the verdict.
“The current trial as a matter of law has been irreparably damaged” with the coronavirus surge, said defense attorney David Chesnoff via teleconference broadcast into the Inglewood courtroom.
The Durst team again asked for a mistrial and a longer adjournment in the proceedings.
The judge denied the mistrial motion but the prosecution’s proposal opens the door to addressing the lengthy adjournment request.
Durst, 77, did not appear in court, remaining in protective custody in the Twin Towers Jail medical unit.
Chesnoff said Durst is elderly and at a high risk to catch Covid-19.
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A combination of community measures are needed to keep Covid-19 under control, WHO official says
From CNN's Naomi Thomas
WHO Health Emergencies Programme head Michael Ryan speaks during a press conference on July 3 at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Fabrice Coffrini/Pool/AFP/Getty Images
So many modes of transmission come into play in close, overcrowded, indoor environments, and people need to understand and manage their risk in these situations, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme.
While the best combination of interventions remains unknown, Ryan said that if individuals and communities are aware of the risks – and authorities take actions to ensure safety in places such as schools, buildings and restaurants – countries can control the virus.
“It’s not one thing,” Ryan said. “It is a combination of measures in which the community, in partnership with each other and in partnership with the authorities, come to a sustainable way of controlling and suppressing the transmission of the virus, and living with the virus in a way that normal human activity can resume in a successful way.”
Science continuing to understand human transmission and how it happens is very important for this, as it will help to ensure how the measures being put into place need to be adapted, he said.
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Lowes and Home Depot shoppers will now have to wear masks
From CNN's Melanie Schuman
Customers walk in the parking lot of the Home Depot in Wappingers Falls, New York, on July 1.
Patrick Oehler/Poughkeepsie Journal/Imagn
Lowes and Home Depot will soon require customers to wear masks in their stores. The mask order begins on Monday at Lowes and Wednesday at Home Depot.
Home Depot said about 85% of its stores already require masks due to local and state regulations. Associates across all stores are required to wear masks, according to a press release.
Associates at Lowes already are required to wear masks.
“As a retailer offering essential goods, we have a responsibility to our associates, customers and small businesses in communities nationwide to help provide a safe shopping experience,” said Marvin R. Ellison, Lowe’s president and CEO. “Throughout this pandemic, our associates have worked tirelessly so customers could get the goods and services they needed for their homes and small businesses. For the safety of everyone in our stores, we ask that customers wear masks, and to make this new standard less restrictive, we will make masks available to those who need them.”
More than 180 employees from two police forces in Florida's Miami-Dade County are quarantined
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
A Miami Beach Police patrol vehicle is parked on April 5 in Miami Beach, Florida.
Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
There are 140 Miami Police (MPD) employees and 41 Miami Beach Police (MBPD) officers currently under quarantine, public information officers from both departments tell CNN.
MPD has 140 employees currently quarantined because they have tested positive, are awaiting test results or came in contact with someone who has coronavirus, according to MPD Public Information Officer Kenia Fallat. Of the 140 employees quarantined, 68 are police officers who have tested positive for coronavirus, Fallat said.
In Miami Beach, there are 41 officers under quarantine, according to Miami Beach Police Public Information Officer Ernesto Rodriguez. This includes 12 officers who have tested positive and 29 officers who have possibly been exposed, Rodriguez tells CNN.
MPD has 1371 full-time sworn positions and more than 400 civilian positions, according to its 2020 operating budget.
Meanwhile, MBPD has 400 sworn officers on its force, Rodriguez says.
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This New York man left the hospital after a 106-day battle with Covid-19
From CNN's Sonia Moghe
A Long Island, New York, man left the hospital Thursday after a 106-day battle with Covid-19, where he had to be intubated three times.
Hafeez Rehman, 43, was taken out of Long Island Jewish Medical Center on a stretcher late Thursday, as hospital workers lined the hallway and cheered, as captured in footage released by the hospital. Rehman headed to a rehabilitation facility where he will continue his treatment.
Fatima Rehman, his sister-in-law, said she and the rest of his family have waited for this day after months of praying.
Northwell Health, which has 23 hospitals in the area, said his stay was the longest Covid-19-related stay the entire health system has seen.
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Social distancing likely needed for a "long period of time," England's chief medical officer says
From CNN’s Zahid Mahmood and Josefine Ohema
People walk past a social distancing sign in London on July 11.
Jacques Feeney/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images
England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told the House of Lords on Friday that social distancing is likely to be necessary for a “long period of time.”
Speaking at the Select Committee on Science and Technology, Whitty said measures like social distancing, washing hands, isolation, contact tracking and face masks were all measures that needed to continue.
Whitty said he would be “very surprised” if in four or five months’ time we still had the same coronavirus strategy as we have today. Adding that the government will still require people to isolate if they have symptoms, wear face masks and have local responses to an outbreak.
“In terms of the wider strategy and how we do the maximum damage to the virus to the minimum damage to our society, that will evolve over time,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated a possible return to normality by “November at the earliest.”
“It is my strong and sincere hope that we will be able to review the outstanding restrictions and allow a more significant return to normality from November at the earliest – possibly in time for Christmas,” Johnson said.
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Fauci says CDC is a good source of data after White House rerouted information
From CNN's Amanda Watts
A general view of the Centers for Disease Control headquarters is seen in Atlanta on April 23.
Tami Chappell/AFP/Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci defended the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a good source for Americans to get coronavirus data.
During a US Chamber of Commerce Foundation virtual event on Friday, Fauci was asked about the best source of data about coronavirus for cities, business owners and the American people.
Fauci said CDC provides information about the outbreak for the country as a whole, down to the city level.
“So I would point you to the CDC website, to get the kind of information that I think would be very valuable to you,” he said.
Why this matters: Earlier this week, the US Department of Health and Human Services instructed hospitals to stop providing coronavirus data directly to CDC, saying the agency was posting the information too slowly. Instead, the hospital data was to be rerouted directly to the Trump administration.
Chicago proposes reopening schools this fall with hybrid learning model
From CNN’s Brad Parks and Kay Jones
A preliminary plan that gives the framework for reopening the city’s schools was released on Friday by Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the third-largest school district in the nation with 642 schools and 355,000 students, according to CPS.
CPS is seeing feedback from parents and the community over the next two weeks on the proposal, which includes a hybrid learning model that has most students learning from home and attending school a limited number of days a week, provided its safe to do so based on guidance from public health officials.
Here is how the hybrid learning model would work, according to the release:
About 50% of the student population would attend school in-person on any given day.
Most high school juniors and seniors will do at-home learning full time.
Schools are encouraged to “safely bring in juniors and seniors who need additional academic or social and emotional support, or students who are engaged in specialty programming, such as Career and Technical Education (CTE) programming that can’t be accessed at home.”
There will be pods for approximately 15 students that will minimize exposure to others and help with contact tracing if a pod member contracts Covid-19. Student pods will be placed in rooms with assigned seating and will use the same designated spaces to maintain social distancing as much as possible during the day.
“Through a hybrid 2-1-2 scheduling model, each student pod will spend the same two consecutive days each week learning at school, the same two days learning independently at home, and each Wednesday they will participate in real-time virtual instruction with their classroom teacher,” the model says.
Other safety measures: CPS also outlined daily increased screening and cleaning protocols, including face covering requirements, daily temperature checks and health screenings.
Cloth face coverings will be provided to all students and staff and disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer will be available in all classrooms and throughout school buildings. The district is also hiring approximately 400 additional custodians to bolster cleaning and disinfection protocols.
CPS says that the health and safety of the students and staff is a priority and that it has disinfected over 50,000 rooms and secured sanitation and health resources that are needed to safely reopen in September.
“Our framework is designed to maximize critical instructional time while prioritizing the health and safety of students and staff,” CPS Chief Education Officer, LaTanya D. McDade, said in the release. “As a next step, we are eager to hear and incorporate feedback from families to ensure we have the best possible plan in place to meet the needs of all students.”
Along with the online survey that solicits feedback on the plan, CPS will be holding meetings for parents in both English and Spanish to answer any questions regarding the preliminary framework.
Mayor Lightfoot said earlier this week that she plans on announcing the reopening plan in August.
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Scientists are researching possibility of Covid-19 reinfection, WHO says
From CNN's Gisela Crespo
Scientists and clinicians from all over the world are doing research to see if someone who had Covid-19 can get reinfected, Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead for coronavirus response and head of the emerging diseases and zoonoses unit, said Friday.
“What we don’t know right is how strong that protection is and for how long that protection will last. And we need answers to those questions to be able to determine if someone can be reinfected after that immunity wears off. So this is an area of active, active research for the specific SARS-CoV-2,” she said.
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Reopening schools involves looking at the bigger picture, Fauci says
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Dr. Anthony Fauci speaks during a US Chamber of Commerce Foundation virtual event on July 17.
US Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Anthony Fauci said when it comes to reopening schools, his advice is to “go to 40,000 feet and look at the big picture.”
During a US Chamber of Commerce Foundation virtual event on Friday, Fauci said there are “well-known, downstream, unintended consequences that are ripple effects of keeping children out of school” – notably the impact on children themselves, as well as the logistical impact of caregivers’ inability to go back to work.
Safety is paramount, but Fauci said we need “to have our default position to get the children back to school.”
Fauci said this is where it gets complicated in a “geographically and demographically diverse” country, such as the United States.
“There’ll be parts of the country where the level of virus activity is so low that you don’t have to modify anything at all – just send the children back to school,” he said.
“But clearly if you just look at what’s going on right now, there are parts of the country that have a significant degree of viral activity that make you want to pause,” he added.
Fauci said in those instances, “we may want to modify logistically” by separating desks, having children wear masks or rotating schedules.
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Iowa's governor says schools must prioritize in-person learning
From CNN's Elizabeth Stuart and Shawn Nottingham
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks during a press conference in Van Meter, Iowa, on July 17.
KCCI
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday that it’s critical to bring Iowa’s children back to the classroom, and schools will not be allowed to provide more than half of instruction through remote learning unless she authorizes it because of how the state law is written.
Reynolds said prolonged remote learning exacerbates inequities in education for the state’s most vulnerable children.
“What about that single mom that’s trying to work, provide for their children, and counting on the system to provide a quality education? They can’t afford to simply take a year off,” Reynolds said.
The governor said she is signing a proclamation today that will direct all districts to focus on preparing to safely welcome back students and teachers in-person, and to provide clarity on when a school may move to remote learning.
But across the state, several large districts have already put plans in place that do not include an all in-person return.
What the state’s school districts are doing: Iowa City Community School District’s Board of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday to start the school year on Aug. 24 fully remote, with Oct. 6 as the “first potential date that we would consider for a move to a Hybrid Learning Model,” according to a release.
The Des Moines Public School District, the state’s largest with more than 33,000 students, announced earlier this month its plan for a hybrid schedule with students coming to school a few days a week and learning remotely the other days.
West Des Moines Community Schools’ Board of Education approved a plan this month that allows families to decide if they want their children to return for full in-person classes or full remote learning.
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Business lobbying group renews calls for federal mask standard
From CNN's Cristina Alesci
A top corporate lobbying group renewed calls for a “consistent federal and state guidelines on safety measures, including face coverings.”
The Business Roundtable said it’s been lobbying for those mandates since April, according to a press release Friday. The group, chaired by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, represents the CEOs of America’s biggest companies.
“Rising infection rates around the country are putting public health and our economy at grave risk. Failure to bring the pandemic under control will have devastating, long-term consequences for millions of Americans,” the group said in a statement.
The group recently co-signed a letter with the US Chamber of Commerce and other groups “to support a national mask standard implemented locally.”
Several major companies, including Walmart, have announced measures that will require customers at all of its US stores to wear masks.
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Colorado governor says decision to mandate masks was "pretty obvious"
From CNN's Marika Gerken
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis told CNN he used data to make his decision on implementing a statewide mask mandate for public indoor spaces.
Yesterday, Polis announced residents must wear masks when they are in public indoor spaces and are not able to social distance. The order took effect at midnight.
Watch more:
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Pennsylvania reports more than 1,000 more coronavirus cases
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
There were more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases reported in Pennsylvania, the state’s Department of Health said in a release.
The state added 1,032 additional positive cases of Covid-19, bringing the statewide total to at least 99,478.
There were 19 more deaths reported, bringing the statewide death toll to at least 6,992.
The state’s health department said it is seeing significant increases in the number cases in younger age groups, particularly in 19- to 24-year-olds.
Note: These numbers were released by Pennsylvania state’s public health agency, and they may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database, which is drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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More than 138,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the US
From CNN's Haley Brink
There have been at least 3,592,316 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 138,543 people have died from the virus in the country since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tally.
On Thursday, Johns Hopkins reported 16,159 new cases and 185 newly reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Meanwhile, at least 38 states are seeing an increase in new cases compared to the previous week.
Here’s a look at where cases are increasing:
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"We will ultimately get back to normal," Fauci says
From CNN's Amanda Watts
US Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US will one day “get back to normal.”
“We will ultimately get back to normal,” he added.
Fauci said the US has been “going through this very difficult period for the last five and a half, six months,” but assured people “it will end.”
“Sometimes you get so exasperated and run down by it, that you think is never going to end. It will end. It will end through public health measures and science, I can tell you, will come to our rescue,” he said.
WATCH:
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Spain continues to record high number of new Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Laura Pérez Maestro
A healthcare worker collects a sample at a temporary testing center for coronavirus in Getaria, Spain, on July 15.
Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty Images
Spain recorded 628 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, the highest number since May 8, the Spanish Health Ministry’s data showed on Friday.
The total number of cases in Spain has now reached at least 260,255. The data also shows that more than half of those new cases were registered in the outbreak-hit regions of Catalonia and Aragon.
The country’s Covid-19 death toll rose by 4 in the last 24 hours and 10 in the last 7 days, in line with the past few weeks. A total of 28,420 people have died of Coronavirus in Spain to date.
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Florida reports more than 100 deaths for 4th consecutive day
From CNN's Melissa Alonso
Florida’s health officials reported 11,466 new cases of Covid-19 and 128 new deaths on Friday, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health.
The state has reported more than 100 deaths for four straight days now.
This brings the state’s total cases to at least 327,241, Health Department data shows. The statewide resident death toll is now 4,805, the data shows.
US needs to focus on Covid-19 cases now instead of possible second wave in the fall, Fauci says
From CNN'S Amanda Watts
US Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is speaking live now during a US Chamber of Commerce virtual event, said the United States needs to concentrate on what’s happening right now with coronavirus cases.
Fauci said the US is “essentially still in the first wave.”
“When you’re having up to 70,000 new infections in certain areas of the country, that’s something you need to focus on right now, as opposed to looking at what’s going to happen in September or October,” he said.
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Miami-Dade mayor says county has not exceeded ICU capacity, despite what dashboard shows
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Kay Jones
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez speaks during a roundtable discussion with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Miami-Dade County mayors on July 14 in Miami.
Lynne Sladky)
Miami Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said today that the county has not exceeded the ICU capacity, although the county’s dashboard showed that the capacity is at 107%.
Giménez said in a news conference this morning that the 107% number is of the “normal capacity” but that they have not reached “absolute capacity.”
He explained that hospitals have the ability to add hundreds of ICU beds by not having elective surgeries, which allows for the hospitals to convert the recovery rooms into ICU rooms. He also said that the number of beds available is a rolling number.
While the number of hospitalizations were not available during the news conference Friday, Gimenez said that the increase of hospitalizations has somewhat plateaued over the past four days.
“We still have capacity here in Miami Dade County,” Gimenez said.
He did say that the county needs additional medical personnel to staff the additional beds and that Gov. Ron DeSantis is helping with that request.
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Doctors urge Colombian president to impose strict lockdown
From journalist Stefano Pozzebon
Health workers carry out Covid-19 tests in Bogota, Colombia, on July 15.
Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images
Colombian doctors are urging president Iván Duque to impose a strict lockdown in the city of Bogota and the most affected areas of the country after record increases in both Covid-19 cases and related deaths were reported on Thursday.
Dr. Herman Bayona, president of the College of Doctors of Bogota told CNN on Friday: “It’s evident that the virus is spreading faster than our capacity to treat patients and test them. This week has been a remarkable acceleration.”
ICUs occupancy rate is over 90% in Bogota, Bayona added.
Bayona also stressed that thousands of new Covid-19 cases have been reported from regions that so far were lightly affected by the pandemic, signaling Covid-19 is no longer confined in the main two hotspots in Bogota and the Atlantic coast.
The country’s president has so far resisted calls to re-impose lockdowns after they were partially lifted at the beginning of June.
“To think that the only alternative is only a total lockdown clearly cannot be the solution” Duque told a local radio station on Thursday responding to recent criticism.
Some context: Earlier in the week, 14 medical associations published an open letter calling authorities for a total lockdown to be imposed in Colombia’s capital with immediate effect.
Several of Colombia’s largest cities — such as Bogota, Barranquilla and Cartagena — are currently under localized lockdowns imposed by local authorities rather than a centralized plan mandated by the government.
On Thursday evening, Colombia’s Ministry of Health reported a total of 173,206 Covid-19 cases with 8,037 new cases in the last 24 hours. The country death toll reached 6,029 deaths with 215 new deaths.
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Florida's Miami-Dade mayor says county is not near a shutdown yet
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Kay Jones
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez speaks during a news conference on July 7.
Lynne Sladky/AP
The mayor of the city of Miami, Francis Suarez, told CNN on Thursday that the city is a few days away from a possible shutdown. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said today the county is not there yet.
In a press call today, Giménez said that while he doesn’t think Suarez meant that he was thinking of shutting down today or tomorrow, they’ll be discussing the statement later today in a meeting with all of the county mayors.
He said that while the city of Miami is the biggest city in the county, it only represents 15% of the population.
Giménez said that the decision to implement a shut down will be driven by the data.
Latest figures: Miami-Dade, considered Florida’s epicenter of the virus, has seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients being hospitalized (46%), in the number of ICU beds being used (54%) and in the use of ventilators (86%), according to the county’s latest data.
Earlier today, a spokesperson for Giménez said in a statement to CNN’s Rosa Flores that Miami-Dade’s “hospitals have more Covid patients in ICU beds than they have available ICU beds.” The ICU capacity “figure is above 100 percent,” the statement says.
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Stimulus package negotiations are expected next week. Here's what one Trump adviser thinks will be in it.
From CNN's Betsy Klein
Larry Kudlow during a television interview outside the White House on July 17.
Stefani Reynolds/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow took one quick question from reporters this morning after a pre-taped appearance on Fox News, and essentially echoed what he’s said before on provisions for the next stimulus bill.
“There will be unemployment insurance. For some reason some people in the media have said we’re ending it, that’s just not true,” he said of the next stimulus package.
Negotiations are expected to begin in earnest next week when Congress returns.
How next week will play out: A viscerally divided Congress (and White House) facing a roughly three-week deadline to reconcile diametrically opposed visions of what the economy needs to survive the resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senate Republicans are slated to release their plan and actual talks will, for the first time, kick into gear. All sides acknowledge the stakes are enormous. What nobody seems to agree on is how — and when — Congress and the White House will come together on an agreement.
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New York City on track to begin phase 4 of reopening Monday, but there still wont be indoor dining
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
People sit in a white circle and watch others play volleyball in Domino Park in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn on July 16.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
New York City is on track to enter phase four of reopening on Monday with specific modifications, including continuing to stall the restart of indoor dining, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Indoor dining will not resume in phase four as its considered “high risk,” de Blasio said.
Malls and museums will also be “still closed for now,” he added.
Here’s what will open in phase four: Low-risk outdoor entertainment activities, including things like botanical gardens and zoos, can reopen at a reduced capacity of 33%.
Production of movies and TV shows can proceed, the mayor said, and sports can come back but without audiences.
He also announced the city is adding 40 more blocks for restaurants on open streets beginning this weekend.
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The battle over Atlanta's mask mandate is heating up. Here's how we got here.
From CNN’s Carma Hassan
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp prepares to sign House and Senate bills at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia, on July 16.
Mike Stewart/AP
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who filed a lawsuit against the Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her city’s mask mandate, said the city order “cannot be enforced.”
“I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. We will fight to stop reckless actions and put people over pandemic politics,” he added.
Here’s the backstory on the Kemp-Bottoms feud:
Earlier this month: In an executive order dated July 8, Bottoms required “all persons to wear a mask or a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth within the city of Atlanta.”
Wednesday: Kemp issued an executive order that voids masks mandates imposed by some local governments.
Thursday: Bottoms’ office said the “Mayor’s Order remains in effect, as science and data will continue to drive the City’s decisions. Masks save lives.”
Later on Thursday: Kemp announced the lawsuit against Bottoms over the city’s mask mandate, claiming the measure violates his emergency orders. “This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp tweeted. Bottoms quickly, tweeting “3104 Georgians have died and I and my family are amongst the 106k who have tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, I have been sued by @GovKemp for a mask mandate.”
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Union for Miami-Dade's Jackson Health System employees demands hazard pay due to increased Covid-19 exposure
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Dan Shepherd
A union representing about 5,000 Jackson Health System employees in Miami-Dade is demanding hazard pay as Covid-19 hospitalizations continue to grow, according to Rene Sanchez, president of the union AFSCME Local 1363.
In a statement to CNN, Jackson Health System said it “simply cannot afford to provide hazard pay” to employees at this time.
The AFSCME Local 1363 represents licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists, radiology techs, security workers and finance personnel, among others, according to Sanchez.
Sanchez said union members are facing increased exposure to Covid-19 as they see double and triple the amount of patients, increased workloads and decreased staffing. Hospital security specialists are working in new roles like screening patients as they enter the hospitals.
Jackson Health explained its financial situation in a statement: “As we shifted our operations to focus solely on providing the best care to hospitalized Covid patients and others who need emergency, lifesaving care, Jackson leadership made the prudent decision to stop elective procedures, which brings in the most revenue to Jackson. That, along with the high costs associated with overtime, supplies, and emergency staffing, have pushed our health system toward a dire financial crisis, yet no employees have been laid off, furloughed, or had their salaries reduced.”
Sanchez says he went public with this pay issue because as the pandemic continues to surge he worries about the members of the AFSCME Local 1363.
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Lagging test results are hampering US efforts to battle Covid-19
From CNN's Faith Karimi and Steve Almasy
States depend on testing data to make crucial decisions on reopenings and resources. But that data is lagging as testing sites get backed up.
Tests are being done in much larger numbers — a positive development. But the increase is also slowing down results, and officials want to reduce wait times for results.
He wants test results back as fast as possible, but a three-day turnaround is “very reasonable,” he said.
Commercial labs have said they are backed up, with results often taking as long as seven days to turn around. “I’m never going to say that I’m happy with any turnaround time, Giroir added.
Giroir says 700,000 to 800,000 people are being tested each day. That means it’ll be a week before officials know how many of them are infected.
Test results provide important information for contract tracers trying to find people who might be infected. When testing results are delayed more than three days, not even perfect contact tracing can keep the spread of the virus from accelerating, researchers have warned.
Meanwhile, the US shattered another daily coronavirus record yesterday and health officials warned hospitalizations are getting out of control in some areas.
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Georgia's governor says mask mandates are "confusing and unenforceable"
From CNN’s Carma Hassan
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia, on July 16.
Mike Stewart/AP
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he called on local leaders last week, and is calling on them again today to enforce the current executive order instead of “issuing mandates that are confusing and unenforceable.”
Kemp urged local leaders to use their bully pulpit and social platforms to build support for wearing masks.
Some context: Kemp announced Thursday he is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over the city’s mask mandate, claiming the measure violates his emergency orders.
Earlier in the week, Kemp issued an executive order voiding masks mandates imposed by some local governments. The order also extended the state’s public emergency and said face coverings are “strongly encouraged,” but not required.
“This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp tweeted of his lawsuit. “These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth.”
The lawsuit marks a stunning escalation in the brewing feud between Kemp and Bottoms after the Atlanta mayor introduced her mandatory mask ordinance. Under her order, not wearing a mask within Atlanta’s city limits was punishable by a fine and even up to six months in jail.
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New York governor: "Too many leaders" across US are "still playing politics" with Covid-19
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference in New York on July 1.
Byron Smith/Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “too many leaders” in the US are “still playing politics” with the virus – reiterating his message that Covid-19 responds to science and data “not political opinion.”
The latest numbers in the state: There were 10 deaths reported across New York state Thursday, including two in Queens, bringing the state death toll to at least 25,024, the governor’s office said in a release.
New York state added 776 Covid-19 cases, marking a 0.99% positivity rate across the entire state, Cuomo said. The state has reported a total of at least 405,551 confirmed cases.
Patient hospitalizations are down to 765, the lowest since March 18.
New York City reported a 1% positivity in testing for Thursday.
Remember: These numbers were released by New York State’s public health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database, which is drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
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Main floor of Florida's emergency operations center closed after workers contract Covid-19
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Melissa Alonso
The main floor of Florida’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in Tallahassee has been emptied out for cleaning and is closed until Monday after 12 workers tested positive for Covid-19, Jason Mahon, Florida Division of Emergency Management communications director, tells CNN.
Over the past two and a half weeks, 12 people have tested positive, including four positive results yesterday, Mahon said. Employees have been tested twice a week for several weeks, according to Mahon.
The EOC has two buildings, the main EOC and another building. The first floor of the main building has been closed for cleaning, Mahon said.
People in other parts of the building can enter and work in their offices, but they must isolate in their offices, while other people are working from home, according to Mahon.
A total of 200 people have been working in the two buildings which houses several agencies, Mahon said.
The Covid-19 response has not slowed down, Mahon says.
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White House task force report says these 18 states in coronavirus "red zone" should roll back reopening
From CNN's Betsy Klein
People stand in line to enter a restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida, on June 26.
Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images
An unpublished document prepared for the White House coronavirus task force and obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit newsroom, recommends that 18 states in the coronavirus “red zone” for cases should roll back reopening measures amid surging cases.
The “red zone” is defined in the 359-page report as “those core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) and counties that during the last week reported both new cases above 100 per 100,000 population, and a diagnostic test positivity result above 10%.”
The following states are in the red zone for cases:
Alabama
Arkansas
Arizona
California
Florida
Georgia
Iowa
Idaho
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
North Carolina
Nevada
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
The report also says the following 11 states are in the red zone for test positivity: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, Washington. The 11 states in the red zone for test positivity are also in the red zone for cases, with the exception of Washington state.
The report outlines measures counties in the red zone should take. It encourages residents to “wear a mask at all times outside the home and maintain physical distance.” And it recommends that public officials “close bars and gyms” and “limit social gatherings to 10 people or fewer, which would mean rolling back reopening provisions in these places.
Remember: The report comes despite President Trump’s insistence that states reopen and a push to send the nation’s children back to school, even as cases increase.
“Now we’re open, and we want to stay open and we will stay open. We’re not closing. We’ll put out the fires as they come out,” Trump said at a White House event earlier this month.
Devin O’Malley, spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence and the task force, didn’t dispute the document’s authenticity, and said the report showed “encouraging signs” amid the pandemic.
Dr. Deborah Birx also said earlier this month that people living in states with coronavirus surges should return to the White House’s original “phase one” recommendations on gatherings.
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Miami-Dade County's ICUs are at 107% capacity. Here's the latest from Florida's virus epicenter.
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Dan Shepherd
Intensive care units in Miami-Dade County, the epicenter of the virus in Florida, are at 107% bed capacity, according to the latest “Moving to a New Normal Dashboard” released by the county’s government.
In the past 14 days, Miami-Dade County has seen an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients being hospitalized (46%), in the number of ICU beds being used (54%) and in the use of ventilators (86%), according to the latest data released by the county’s government.
There were a total of 472 Covid-19 ICU patients on Thursday and an ICU bed capacity of 440.
Meanwhile, county officials reported a staggering 14-day average Covid-19 positivity rate of 27%.
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Florida has the most Covid-19 cases per capita
From CNN's Brandon Miller
For five consecutive days, Florida has led the nation in coronavirus cases per capita.
Currently, Florida is averaging just over 55 cases per 100,000 people according to analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
Florida took over the top spot from Arizona on Monday. Arizona — which had held the top spot for over a month — has now dropped to third as of today. Currently the top three per capita states, based on the 7-day average of new cases, are:
Florida – 55.24 cases per 100,000 people
Louisiana – 44.30 cases per 100,000 people
Arizona – 43.06 cases per 100,000 people
Here’s a look at the cases across all of Florida’s counties:
CNN’s Rosa Flores reports:
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Georgia's hospitalizations are up 39% over the past week, health official reports
From CNN’s Carma Hassan
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, speaks at a news conference in Atlanta on April 27.
Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
Georgia Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey reported an increase of coronavirus cases across Georgia, “not just in urban Atlanta, but also suburban and rural areas.”
The test positivity rate in the state is on average 13.6% and hospitalizations have increased 39% over the past week, Toomey said.
Toomey said getting children back into schools is important because children not in the classroom suffer from developmental challenges.
She said she and Gov. Brian Kemp met with White House task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx and Director of the US Centers for Disease Control Dr. Robert Redfield. They discussed a wide range of coronavirus-related topics, including getting children back to school.
Toomey said they have crafted guidelines and fully expect some cases of Covid-19 in the classroom, but schools will be given resources and cases would be followed up by the nearly 1,300 contact tracers in the state. A single case of Covid-19 would not shut down schools, Toomey said.
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Atlanta mayor say governor is putting "politics over people" in lawsuit against her
From CNN's Deanna Hackney
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks at a news conference in Atlanta on May 30.
Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/AP
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says that she doesn’t think it is happenstance that the lawsuit brought against her by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp came the day after President Trump visited, and she pointed out that he was violating city law by not wearing a mask.
She said she thinks Kemp “is putting politics over people.”
“It’s interesting even when you look at the decision making of our governor, and I’ll remind you, this is the same governor who didn’t know until well into the pandemic that it could be spread by asymptomatic transmission,” Lance Bottoms said in an interview on the Today show this morning,
“He didn’t go to Emory for guidance he didn’t go to the CDC for guidance. He went to Augusta University which I’m sure is a fine University in our state but it’s certainly not Emory University or the CDC in terms of its expertise with infectious disease control, so he was searching for an answer. He got it. And it’s the same answer and the same playbook that we’ve seen come out of the White House,” she added.
Some context: Kemp filed a lawsuit against Lance Bottoms over Atlanta’s mask mandate, citing the measure violates his emergency orders prohibiting local leaders from adding to the state’s requirements to protect against coronavirus.
Also cited is Lance Bottoms’ request that the city roll back to a phase one level of reopening. In a statement issued earlier this month, Kemp has called this “confusing guidance” for businesses and Atlanta residents.
The mayor says that she will “absolutely” prevail in court.
“At the end of the day, this is about saving lives, over 3,100 people have died in our state 106,000 have tested positive — myself, my husband and one of my children are among the positive. I’m in quarantine as we speak. So I take this very seriously, and I will continue to do everything in my power to protect the people of Atlanta, and the Governor has simply overstepped his bounds in his authority, and we’ll see him in court,” she said.
WATCH:
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Here are the latest updates on the pandemic in the US this morning
It’s Friday morning in the US, and the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging across the country. At least 77,255 new coronavirus cases were reported yesterday, breaking a previous high set two days ago, according to Johns Hopkins University.
If you’re just reading in, here’s what you need to know about the pandemic in the US today:
Morgues are filling up: In Arizona’s Maricopa County, which has the most Covid-19 cases in the state, the medical examiner’s office has secured portable coolers to help store more bodies as morgues fill up, officials said. Texas’ Bexar County — where San Antonio is located — has also secured refrigerated trailers to store bodies, and Cameron and Hidalgo counties are sharing a large refrigerated trailer.
Serious lags in testing: Data is lagging as testing sites get backed up. Tests are being done in much larger numbers — a positive development. But the increase is also slowing down results, and officials want to reduce wait times for results. Commercial labs have said they are backed up, with results often taking as long as seven days to turn around.
Possibly deadly back-to-school decisions: As school districts across the country weigh how to go back to school this fall, some teachers are preparing for the worst. They’re preparing their wills and some are considering quitting.
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Fauci's boss says idea of firing or demoting him is "unimaginable"
From CNN Health’s Naomi Thomas
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), listens during a hearing in Washington, DC, on May 7.
Andrew Harnik/Pool/Getty Images
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), says the idea of firing or demoting Dr. Anthony Fauci is “unimaginable.”
Fauci currently serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of NIH. Collins is Fauci’s boss.
When asked if he would dismiss Fauci if it was ordered by government officials such as the President or the secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, STAT reported that “Collins only laughed” and said, “I think you heard my answer.”
STAT also reported that Collins “touted Fauci’s decades long scientific acumen as a national asset,” and said this was especially critical at this time.
“I have a very good relationship with Dr. Fauci, I’ve had for a long time,” Trump said at the White House during a roundtable event honoring police officers. “I find him to be a very nice person. I don’t always agree with him.”
Under federal law, Trump doesn’t have the power to directly fire Fauci, a career civil servant, and remove him from government. And while Trump could try ordering his political appointees to dismiss the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious, Fauci could appeal, making way for a time-consuming process.
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People who don't wear masks on this California beach may face fines up to $350
From CNN's Stella Chan
People walk on the sand in Manhattan Beach, California, on May 13.
Ashley Landis/AP
People who want to leave their faces uncovered on California’s Manhattan Beach may face citations of up to $350.
Maskless first offenders in the Southern California beach town will be fined $100, followed by $200 and $350 citations for the second and third violations.
The beach town joins West Hollywood, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills, which have also implemented fines for unmasked offenders.
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India resumes international flights despite rising cases
From CNN's Swati Gupta
An airplane takes off from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, India, on July 5.
Samir Jana/Hindustan Times/Getty Images
India will allow scheduled international flights into the country, despite the nation recording more than 1 million coronavirus cases and restricting people in multiple states from leaving their homes in local lockdowns.
During a news conference on Thursday, Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri confirmed the establishment of “air bubbles” between India and the US, France and Germany.
On Friday India registered a record 34,956 new infections in just 24 hours. On the same day, more than 400 million people in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Karantaka’s capital city Bengaluru re-entered lockdown conditions after a spike in cases.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23, with the exception of repatriation flights.
As of July 15, nearly 690,000 Indian nationals have flown home on these flights, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Dutch leader says chances of EU leaders agreeing recovery deal by Sunday “less than 50%”
From CNN's James Frater
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte attends a news conference in Berlin on July 9.
Adam Berry/Getty Images
The chances of European Union leaders agreeing on a coronavirus recovery fund by Sunday are “less than 50%,” Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in Brussels on Friday.
“But let’s be hopeful – you never know,” Rutte added.
In May, the EU proposed a recovery fund worth €750 billion ($854 billion) – with a plan for two thirds of that money to be distributed to countries via grants, and the remainder being offered as loans.
The proposal has caused divisions within the EU, with a group of nations known as the “Frugal Four” – Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark – rejecting the compromise and favoring only loans.
EU leaders met Friday for a summit on the issue. Asked on Friday what compromise would allow for a deal, Rutte said: “That’s one of the questions which we have to answer. But we could still get to a compromise, it is still possible.”
The Dutch PM added that his country did not believe in a grants-based system.
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Hong Kong reports 58 new cases
From CNN's Vanessa Yung
People stand by a harbour in Hong Kong during sunset on July 16.
Anthony Kwan/Getty Images
Hong Kong’s Department of Health reported 58 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, as the city’s health officials continue to grapple with a third wave of cases.
Fifty of the new cases were locally transmitted and 18 are from unknown sources.
The newly confirmed cases involve several clusters including an elderly care facility and family outbreaks.
“There are a lot of cases with unknown sources. We need to pay attention on the situation and there may be a bigger outbreak,” Dr. Chuang Shuk-kwan of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said.
Experts have linked the spike in cases to the easing of social distancing measures – and potentially a mutation that could make the virus more infectious.
The city has a total of 1,713 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.
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Iran reports 2,379 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours
From CNN's Ramin Mostaghim
People walk in a metro station in Tehran, Iran, on July 8.
Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
Iran has recorded 2,379 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 269,440.
Health Ministry spokesman Sima Sadat Lari said Friday that 852 people with the disease have been hospitalized.
Lari said there were 183 additional coronavirus-related deaths in the country, bringing Iran’s death toll to 13,791.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the mandatory wearing of face masks in public earlier this month, after cases rose in recent weeks.
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UK Health Secretary calls for “urgent review” into England’s coronavirus death toll after doubts emerge over data
From CNN's Hilary McGann and Anna Stewart
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock is pictured in London on July 5.
David Nash/Barcroft Media/Getty Images
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has called for an “urgent review” into how England’s health authorities calculate the coronavirus death toll in England, after questions were raised about the quality of the data.
On Thursday, the UK’s Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM), pointed out a “statistical flaw” in how Public Health England (PHE) calculates coronavirus deaths occurring outside hospitals.
“In summary, PHE’s definition of the daily death figures means that everyone who has ever had Covid-19 at any time must die with Covid-19 too,” CEBM’s statement said.
According to the organization, the data is calculated by counting anyone who died that has ever tested positive for coronavirus, without considering how long ago that was, or the cause of death.
The organization suggested that this approach meant there were now approximately 80,000 recovered patients currently out of hospital, who will be monitored by PHE for the daily death statistics.
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Boris Johnson announces further easing of England's lockdown
Boris Johnson has announced major changes to England’s coronavirus restrictions as the country continues to reopen.
From August 1, employers can choose whether or not their employees work from home.
Beauty salons will be able to reopen from August 1 and indoor live performances can also resume if successful pilots have been carried out.
Wedding receptions for up to 30 people will also be permitted from that date but nightclubs remain closed under the updated guidance.
Johnson added that schools, colleges and nurseries would be open to all students from September.
“Throughout this period we will look to allow more close contact between friends and family,” he added, cautioning that the easing of restrictions is conditional on cases continuing to fall.
The Prime Minister also announced sweeping new powers for local authorities as the UK government’s focus turns to local lockdowns as opposed to a national one.
“We can control [the pandemic] through targeted local action,” he said.
“From tomorrow, local authorities will have new powers in their areas, will be able to close specific premises, shut outdoor spaces and cancel events,” Johnson said.
“These powers will enable local authorities to act more quickly in response to outbreaks where speed is paramount,” he added.
New draft regulations for Britain’s central government will also be published next week, proposing that “where justified by the evidence, ministers will be able to close whole sectors, or types of premises in an area, introduce local stay-at-home orders, prevent people entering or leaving defined areas, reduce the maximum size of gatherings beyond national rules, or restrict transport systems serving local areas.”
Johnson also announced £3 billion ($3.7b) in extra funding for the NHS in England to help it prepare for the winter months. Extra health funding will also be granted to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The PM said his government was “hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.”
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Skin rash should be considered Covid-19 symptom, researchers say
Skin rashes and reddish bumps on fingers and toes should be considered a key coronavirus symptom, researchers from King’s College London (KCL) have said.
The skin rashes can occur in the absence of any other symptoms, a new pre-print study led by the university suggests.
Key coronavirus symptoms that are widely accepted include fever, cough and shortness of breath, but a range of other signs have been suggested, including the loss of smell and taste in some patients.
The KCL researchers used data from the Covid-19 Symptom Study app, which is submitted by around 336,000 people in the UK.
They found that 8.8% of people who tested positive for coronavirus reported a skin rash as a symptom, compared with 5.4% of people who tested negative.
The team then set up a separate online survey, gathering information from nearly 12,000 people with skin rashes and suspected or confirmed Covid-19.
They found that 17% of respondents who tested positive for the virus reported a rash as the first symptom of the disease. For 21% of people who reported a rash and had confirmed Covid-19, the rash was their only symptom.
The researchers believe the rashes fall into three distinct categories. The first is a hive-type rash, which can come and go quite quickly over a few hours.
“It can involve any part of the body, and often starts with intense itching of the palms or soles, and can cause swelling of the lips and eyelids. These rashes can present quite early on in the infection, but can also last a long time afterwards,” KCL said in a statement.
The second type of rash is a prickly heat one, in which areas of small red bumps can occur anywhere across the body but particularly on the elbows and knees as well as the back of the hands and feet.
The third type involves red or purple bumps appearing on the fingers and toes.
“This type of rash is most specific to Covid-19, is more common in younger people with the disease, and tends to present later on,” the team said.
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Spain to slaughter 92,700 minks on farm after some test positive for Covid-19
From CNN's Laura Pérez Maestro in Madrid
Spanish authorities have ordered the slaughter of 92,700 minks on a farm in the eastern city of Teruel, after dozens of minks tested positive for coronavirus.
The farm came under scrutiny on May 22, when seven farm workers tested positive for the virus. The General Directorate of Food Quality and Health locked it down, letting no animals or animal by-products enter or leave the farm.
Several rounds of testing: Seven animals were randomly selected, and all tested negative on June 3, the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment of the regional Aragon government said in a statement Thursday.
On June 8, 20 samples were tested again, one of which gave “non-conclusive positive evidence” for the virus.
A third test on June 22 found five positive cases out of 30 animal samples.
Knowing that mink slaughter would cause “serious economic damage to the owner of the farm,” the department ordered a fourth test, for 90 specimens. The results came back on Monday: 78 animals, more than 86% of the total samples, tested positive.
Order for slaughter: After receiving the results, the regional government ordered the Department of Agriculture to slaughter all 92,700 minks on the farm as a preventative measure.
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Boris Johnson to boost health spending by $3.7B ahead of feared second wave
From CNN’s Sarah Dean in London
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, wearing a face mask in London on July 13.
Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Getty Images
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected today to announce more than £3 billion ($3.7 billion) in additional funding for the country’s National Health Service (NHS), ahead of a feared second wave of coronavirus.
“Extensive measures are already being put in place to ready the NHS – both for the risk of a second peak, and to relieve winter pressures on A+E and emergency care,” said a Downing Street statement.
The funding, which will be for the NHS in England only, will be available immediately. It will allow the NHS to continue using additional private hospital capacity, and maintain the emergency field hospitals set up in the first wave of the pandemic until the end of March.
“This will provide additional capacity for Covid patients should it be needed, and allow the NHS to carry out routine treatments and procedures,” Downing Street said.
Press conference planned: Johnson will speak at a press conference later today, where he will unveil the next stage of the government’s Covid-19 recovery strategy “road map.” He is also expected to confirm plans to increase testing capacity to half a million tests a day by the end of October.
“But the Prime Minister is clear that now is not the time for complacency, and we must make sure our NHS is battle ready for winter.”
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Some Arizona patients are fainting from heat while waiting to get tested for Covid-19
In Arizona, scorching summer temperatures are causing additional problems for some residents waiting to get tested for Covid-19.
“There are people who are waiting in-line to get tested and are fainting, literally, while waiting to get a test. And they’re coming to the ER, because ironically, they were waiting for a test and fainted,” said Dr. Murtaza Akhter, an emergency physician with Valleywise Health Medical Center in Phoenix, on Thursday.
Arizona hospitals are struggling to deal with the influx of Covid-19 patients, which Akhter, describes as a “clogged sink with the faucet still running.”
On Thursday, Arizona reported 3,259 new cases and 58 additional deaths. That brings the state’s total to 134,613 cases.
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The US, Brazil and India: The only three countries with more than a million cases
A health worker wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) gear collects a swab sample of a boy at a government free testing centre in Hyderabad, India on July 17.
Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images
Earlier today, India surged past one million cases, becoming the third country in the world to do so, after the United States and Brazil.
In all three countries, the pandemic is wreaking havoc on healthcare systems, economies, and residents’ daily lives.
The United Stateshas the highest number of cases in the world, with more than 3.5 million infections recorded since the pandemic began. There were more than 77,000 new cases today alone.
New daily cases have more than tripled in just a few weeks; the figure had hovered around 25,000 in mid-June.
Hard-hit states are bringing in hundreds of medical staff from other states to help, and hospitals running out of ICU beds. In Arizona and Texas, hard-hit counties have brought in refrigerated trucks as morgues fill up.
In Brazil,cases are surging by tens of thousands every day. The country now has 2,012,151 cases and 76,688 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The administration has come under fire for its handling of the pandemic. President Jair Bolsonaro, who tested positive last week, previously dismissed the virus as just a “little flu.” He has criticized local leaders imposing lockdowns, and implied they were inflating death tolls to make the federal government response look bad.
Meanwhile, the country’s Health Ministry continues to be administered by an active duty military man with no public health experience, appointed as interim Minister two months ago.
In India,the health ministry has reported 1,003,832 total cases and more than 25,600 deaths. It’s also seeing a surge of infections, reporting its highest daily jump in new cases between Thursday and Friday.
Across the country, critically ill virus patients are being turned away from public and private hospitals for lack of beds, staff and equipment, as healthcare infrastructure buckles under the pressure.
The poorest citizens are the hardest hit. About 74 million people live shoulder to shoulder in overcrowded urban slums, where there is little running water or sanitation and social distancing is impossible.
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Trump's outrageous refusal to lead is making the pandemic worse
Analysis from CNN's Stephen Collinson
President Donald Trump speaks during an event on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on July 16.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
The United States just recorded more than 77,000 new cases of Covid-19, the most ever in a single day. But President Donald Trump wants to talk about dishwasher reform.
Trump’s refusal to use his full powers of his office and the government to confront the worst domestic threat since World War II is looking more negligent, callous and politically self-defeating with each virus ravaged day that passes.
Not only is Trump refusing to act in a manner appropriate to the magnitude of the emergency, he is using the country’s loudest megaphone in a way almost guaranteed to make it worse, from presiding over a White House campaign to discredit the lifelong work of Dr. Anthony Fauci – a new front in his war on science and truth – to undermining efforts by local officials to convince people to wear masks to slow the spread of the disease.
Trump’s intransigence is more notable since he’s happy to use presidential power – often in an anti-constitutional way – in pursuit of personal and political gain. For instance, in coercing Ukraine to interfere in the election and in commuting the jail term of his political dirty trickster Roger Stone.
This week, as states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona have set records for coronavirus infections and intensive care units and morgues have filled up, has exposed the willful blindness of a White House that seems bio-sealed from the reality of the pandemic.
Japan reports highest daily jump in new cases since April
From CNN’s Junko Ogura in Tokyo
People walk on the Shibuya crossing in Tokyo on July 12.
Yoshio Tsunoda/AFLO/Shutterstock
Japan reported 623 new cases in the past day, the health ministry announced on Friday – the highest daily jump in new coronavirus cases since April 10.
The new cases include 286 from Tokyo, the highest daily jump in the capital so far.
The prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama, as well as the country’s second-largest city Osaka, also saw their highest number of daily new cases since the country lifted its state of emergency on May 25.
No new deaths were reported across the country, the ministry said.
Japan has a total of 24,185 cases with 998 deaths.
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India's stark wealth divide becomes a matter of life or death during the pandemic
From CNN's Helen Regan and Manveena Suri
Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan gestures during a launch of NDTV Banega Swasth India season 6 in Mumbai, India on August 19, 2019.
Himanshu Bhatt/NurPhoto/Getty Images
When Amitabh Bachchan tested positive for Covid-19 last weekend, the Bollywood legend was immediately admitted to an isolation unit at Mumbai’s top Nanavati Hospital, despite having mild symptoms.
Across India, meanwhile, critically ill virus patients are being turned away from public and private hospitals for lack of beds, staff and equipment, as healthcare systems buckle under the pressure of the escalating pandemic.
Bachchan’s treatment threw into sharp relief India’s stark wealth divide – which the coronavirus pandemic has at times made a matter of life or death.
While more than 270 million people across India were able to climb out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, the country remains one of the world’s most unequal, with the top 10% of the population holding 77% of the total national wealth – and that gap only continues to widen, according to Oxfam.
As well as unequal access to healthcare, for those who live shoulder to shoulder in overcrowded urban slums – about 74 million people – social distancing is impossible. There is little running water or sanitation, putting them at greater risk of contacting the virus.
While India’s rich can buy better healthcare and isolate more easily, with the country’s borders closed and international flights mostly canceled, they too have to stay and face the crisis.
As the pandemic holds up a mirror up to society, experts say India’s rich need to evaluate how the country depends on and treats informal laborers who make up the majority of the country’s workforce.
As Brazil surpasses 2 million coronavirus cases, virus migrates to southern regions
From CNN's Fernanda Wenzel in Porto Alegre, Marcia Reverdosa in São Paulo, and Taylor Barnes in Atlanta
People walk through a crowded street in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, on May 12.
Eduardo Valente/AFP/Getty Images
In Brazil, southern and central-western states that had been spared the worst of the outbreak so far are now seeing coronavirus cases rise rapidly.
Brazil surpassed two million cases on Thursday, and continues to report tens of thousands of new cases a day.
For most of the pandemic, the outbreak has been most severe in Brazil’s populous southeast, coastal northeast and Amazonian regions in the north.
But now the south – including the states of Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul – has seen its new daily cases more than double compared to this time last month.
These three states have reported more than a hundred total deaths in recent days. A month ago, that number was only a few dozen.
The population in Brazil’s south may also be more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. “The South’s population is more elderly than in the rest of Brazil, and elderly people are at greater risk for Covid-19,” said Xavier.
In Mato Grosso, 92% of public healthcare ICU beds are occupied, according to the local government.
In Rio Grande do Sul, 75% of ICU beds are occupied, and the number of confirmed cases grew 132% in the past month, according to the state government.
In Minas Gerais, a southeastern state, the number of cases has quadrupled in just one month, going from 21,728 in June to 82,010 in July.
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UN aid chief to wealthy nations: "Failure to act now will leave the virus free to circle round the globe"
United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock speaks in an interview with Xinhua at the UN headquarters in New York on February 13.
Li Muzi/Xinhua/Getty Images
The United Nations’ top official in charge of humanitarian aid has criticized the world’s wealthy industrialized nations for their “short sighted” response to the Covid-19 pandemic, warning that their failure to support the developing world could exacerbate the effects of the global health crisis for tens of millions of people.
While the virus has upended life in parts of Europe and North America, it has also continued to spread unchecked in many parts of the developing world, including in parts of Latin America and now Africa.
Catastrophic consequences: At this current rate, the pandemic and economic crisis could “push 265 million people to the point of starvation by the end of the year” and cause the first increase in global poverty in 30 years, the UN warned.
“Failure to act now will leave the virus free to circle round the globe, undo decades of development and create a generation’s worth of tragic and exportable problems,” said Lowcock.
Call for action: Lowcock is calling upon the Group of 20 (G20) nations, representing the world’s major economies, to donate $10.3 billion dollars to support 63 vulnerable countries across the world. As of July 12, only $1.64 billion worth of assistance had been received, the UN said.
The US reported more than 77,000 new cases today -- the highest daily jump so far
The United States reported 77,255 new cases on Thursday – the highest single-day jump since the pandemic began, and triple what the daily figures had been just weeks ago.
There were also 943 new deaths reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
These new figures raise the country’s total to at least 3,576,157cases and 138,358 deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Follow our live tracker of US cases here:
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Australia’s Victoria state reports biggest daily jump in cases
From CNN’s Sol Han in Seoul and Angus Watson in Sydney
A general view of a housing complex during lockdown due to Covid-19 in Melbourne, Australia on July 17.
Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
The Australian state of Victoria reported 428 new coronavirus cases in the past day – its highest daily increase for second consecutive day, Premier Daniel Andrews announced Friday.
Of those, 57 cases were connected to known outbreaks and one from quarantine. The rest are are still under investigation, he said.
Three additional deaths from the virus were also reported in the state.
Melbourne under lockdown: Melbourne, the capital of Victoria and the country’s second most populous city, went back under lockdown last week as the state struggled to contain the surge in cases.
The lockdown will last six weeks, with police and army police roadblocks to clamp down on people who do not need to be outside. Residents can still go out for essential reasons like buying groceries or seeking medical treatment.
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India surpasses 1 million coronavirus cases
From CNN's Swati Gupta in New Delhi
A health worker places a swab sample into a test tube at a Covid-19 testing centre in Srinagar, India on July 16.
Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images
India has recorded more than one million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, as the world’s second most populous country struggles to contain a growing healthcare crisis.
India is only the third country globally, after the United States and Brazil, to hit a million Covid-19 infections, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.
The country reported 34,956 new cases in the past 24 hours, said the country’s health ministry on Friday – the highest daily jump yet.
That raises the country’s total to 1,003,832 coronavirus cases and more than 25,600 deaths.
More than 630,000 patients have so far recovered from the virus, the ministry said.
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Nicaragua's president has been absent for more than a month as Covid-19 sweeps Latin America
From CNN’s Natalie Gallón in Mexico City and Mario Medrano in Managua
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega attends a meeting in Panama City on April 10, 2015.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has not been seen in public for more than a month, as the virus continues to sweep across Latin America.
Ortega’s last public appearance was on June 10 at a virtual conference regarding the post-pandemic economy with member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our America (ALBA).
There was a similar lengthy period of absence at the start of the pandemic, when Ortega spent more than 40 days out of the public eye. The government offered no explanation for that absence.
The government has reported nearly 100 deaths related to the novel coronavirus and 3,147 confirmed cases as of Thursday, though skepticism regarding the transparency of the data provided by the Ortega administration lingers, especially since the government controls all test information. The country’s population is estimated to be around 6.5 million, according to 2018 figures provided by the World Bank.
According to research from Nicaragua’s Covid-19 Citizen Observatory, an interdisciplinary monitoring group working to “fill the void of information about Covid-19 in Nicaragua,” at least 2,225 people have died from the virus. Confirmed cases in the country have reached at least 7,893, according to the group.
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China reports 10 new symptomatic cases
From CNN's Shanshan Wang in Beijing
China recorded 10 new symptomatic coronavirus cases on Thursday, the country’s National Health Commission announced Friday.
Of these 10, nine were considered as imported cases registered across Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Guangxi, Shaanxi and Shanghai.
The commission also reported five new asymptomatic cases, which are counted separately in China.
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Coronavirus vaccine participant recounts his experience after suffering side effects
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and John Bonifield
Ian Haydon
CNN/FILE
Ian Haydon, a participant in Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine trial, told CNN he suffered some serious side effects after receiving a high dose of the vaccine.
The effects included a high fever and nausea after receiving a 250 microgram dose, Haydon said on Thursday night.
Some background: CNN reported this week that a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the biotechnology company Moderna in partnership with the National Institutes of Health has been found to induce immune responses in all of the volunteers who received it in a Phase 1 study.
These early results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Tuesday, showed that the vaccine worked to trigger an immune response with mild side effects — fatigue, chills, headache, muscle pain, pain at the injection site — becoming the first US vaccine candidate to publish results in a peer-reviewed medical journal
The vaccine is expected to begin later this month a large Phase 3 trial — the final trial stage before regulators consider whether to make the vaccine available.
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Colombia tops 173,000 coronavirus cases and 6,000 deaths
From CNN's Abel Alvarado in Atlanta
A healthcare worker carries Covid-19 tests in Bogota, Colombia on July 15.
Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities in Colombia reported 8,037 new coronavirus cases on Thursday and 251 deaths.
The new numbers bring the total number of cases for the country to 173,206 and the number of deaths to 6,029.
More than 76,000 people have so far recovered from the virus, according to government data.
