June 12 coronavirus news

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has issued a new state of emergency Friday, as part of an executive order that also allows the reopening of bowling alleys and lifts restrictions on retail business capacity limits.

Previous limits on retail spaces required no more than five customers every 1,000 square feet, or no more than 20% capacity, whichever was less. That restriction has now been lifted, with no mandated reduced capacity.

The executive order also lifts the previous restriction on gatherings of more than 50 people on public property, since more public employees are returning to work.

This comes during a week when South Carolina has seen a large increase in daily new cases, including Thursday having the single largest daily increase in the state since the pandemic began. 

Brian Symmes, the governor's communications director, said the state acknowledges people have not been properly social distancing. Symmes said the governor has forcefully explained to residents that this is a dangerous and deadly virus, and that people need to take precautions.

But Symmes said that McMaster philosophically does not believe that government putting its thumb on the scales and making broad mandates that are largely unenforceable is the answer. The answer, Symmes said, is educating the public, which the governor and Department of Health and Environmental Control have done consistently.

He added that it is in the best interest of the business from a liability standpoint to follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has paused the lifting of restrictions following spikes in Covid-19 cases over the past two weeks.

The governor said during a news conference Thursday that the increase in cases is “giving them pause.” 

The state will remain in the "yellow" phase of reopening with the exception of one county, Brooke Scheffler, public information officer for Herbert, told CNN in a text Friday. 

She also confirmed that Salt Lake City will remain in the "orange" phase, which is below yellow.

Utah’s state epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn said in the news conference there was a “great spike in the growth rate of cases” after Memorial Day.

 Here are the numbers, according to Dunn:

“There are some parts of the state that are being hit harder than others, and there's localized outbreaks and hotspots, but by and large, we are seeing this increase in cases throughout the state,” Dunn said.

The governor said he “doesn’t want to take a step forward and then take a step backward.” 

Under yellow guidance, there are no economic activities that are categorically prohibited, Herbert explained.

"We've not gone down the road as many other states have done of identifying essential or nonessential businesses and services," he said. "We've had minimal restrictions for in house dining, public schools closing, which are not insignificant in its impact, but we have been listed as the fourth least restrictive state in America and addressing this pandemic, we've not closed down the economy."

Other states and cities — like Oregon and Nashville, Tennessee — have also announced delays in reopening plans due to elevated cases.

Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, Texas — which includes the city of Houston — said the county saw its highest numbers of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations this week. 

Harris County is the third most-populous county in the US. Hidalgo, who serves as its chief executive officer, warned the county “may be approaching the precipice of a disaster” in a press conference yesterday.

Hidalgo said they are seeing the numbers increase as the state has started to reopen over the past few weeks.  

“I’ve always said I think the reopening timeline was a little too fast. I wouldn't have done it that quickly,” she said.

She said that while there is enough hospital space right now, it’s “alarming” that more than 15% of ICU space is being occupied by Covid-19 patients. 

She is working with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office and alerting the state on the latest numbers, she said. 

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Friday is day 104 of the Covid-19 crisis and the numbers are going down, with 42 deaths related to Covid-19 on Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo also said the state has the lowest rate of transmission saying, “the virus is spreading at the lowest rate of transmission in the state of New York of every state in America, that is incredible.” 

He went on to say, “we were the number one state in terms of infection, number one in the nation, number one on the globe, per capita, and now we are the last state in terms of rate of transmission, that is because New Yorkers stepped up, they were smart they were disciplined they did what they had to do and we need to stay there.”

Citing US states that have seen elevated numbers in coronavirus cases, the governor called it a "pivotal moment" in making sure this does not happen to New York.

"This is deja vu," Cuomo said. "They reopen and then the number goes up, which is common sense on one level."

Coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Maryland have fallen by more than 100 over the past 48 hours and “are now at their lowest level in 66 days,” Gov. Larry Hogan announced on Twitter Friday morning.

At least 9,748 people across the state have been tested for Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the statewide total of completed tests to 473,271, he said, adding the statewide positivity rate is now 6.9%.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow sought to calm markets after stocks tumbled Thursday on news of a projected second wave of coronavirus, claiming there “is no second wave.”

After fears about a rise in coronavirus cases, US stocks posted their sharpest selloff in three months. US stocks surged at Friday's opening bell.

But Kudlow appears to contradict himself almost immediately by saying some places are up — although he is quick to say the Trump Administration has it handled. 

Kudlow continued, “What you do have is certain spots are seeing a little bit of a jump up. Some small metropolitan areas are seeing it. CDC and the health people are all over it – they sent some task forces out to deal with that. You know, nowadays, we have better equipment, much more experience, much better testing. I mean the testing itself has jumped up, so you’re going to get a little more positivity from that. But if you look nationally, the important point is the rate of increase of new cases is between 0 and 1 percent. It’s really flattened out, and with respect to fatalities, it’s the same, it’s actually lower than that, it’s like zero to a half a percent.”

What we know about the virus: While new case rates aren’t growing significantly for now, 19 states are experiencing rising cases as of Friday. In many states, hospitalizations are also increasing, an indicator of people seriously ill with Covid-19.

Kudlow also suggested Dr. Deborah Birx – who has been largely silent and away from cameras – may be seen Friday, but it’s unclear how or when.

“If I can calm fears, again I’m not the health expert, Amb. Birx may be out and about later today. Nonetheless, there is no emergency, there is no second wave. I don’t know where that got started on Wall Street,” he said.

Mass transit ridership is up across New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday at the city’s daily news conference.

This comes as the city started phase one of its reopening plan earlier this week.

Subway ridership, as of Wednesday, has been up 25% compared to the Wednesday before, de Blasio said.

Bus ridership is up 23%, compared to that same time, and Staten Island Ferry ridership is up 31%.

Traffic into Manhattan is up 14% during that time period, de Blasio said.

The mayor also noted that daily Covid-19 indicators for the city showed a "good news report."

Citing data from Wednesday, the mayor said:  

US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said he wants people who decide to protest against racial injustice to do so as safely as possible during the pandemic — and he said he understands why the protests are being prioritized.

"If you are going to go out, then we want you to take precautions," Adams added. "We want you to try to stay six feet apart from each other whenever you can. We want you to wear a face covering. We want you to practice good hand hygiene, including carrying hand sanitizer."

Adams also advised to bring as little with you as possible, because if you are carrying a backpack or multiple layers of clothing, for instance, those items would need to be disinfected.

"What I've always said for anyone going out is that if you're going to go out, know your risk and know how to stay safe. It's important for people to know that there are communities where we are seeing upticks and spread and the coronavirus is still here — it is still deadly, it is still contagious," Adams said.

The phase 3 trial of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate developed by University of Oxford is underway, and is expected to include 42,000 people when the Oxford-led trial is combined with a phase 3 trial led by its partner, AstraZeneca.  

In phase 3, Oxford is enrolling 10,000 people in the UK, and AstraZeneca is enrolling 30,000 in the US. On June 2, the Brazilian government approved the inclusion of volunteers in their country, with 2,000 volunteers to be tested there.

The AstraZeneca portion of the phase 3 trial will begin in August, according to the National Institutes of Health, which will be conducting and funding the trials. 

Participants in the phase 3 group will “receive one or two doses” of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate, or another licensed vaccine that will be the control group. 

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