June 14 coronavirus news

By Julia Hollingsworth, Jenni Marsh, Peter Wilkinson and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 0417 GMT (1217 HKT) June 15, 2020
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9:09 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

Trump's Tulsa campaign rally site has canceled or postponed all other events until the end of July 

From CNN's Austen Bundy 

The venue President Trump is slated to hold his first rally at since states began reopening has canceled or postponed all other events until at least the end of July due to COVID-19 concerns according to its website.

The BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. has a web page listing the 17 events cancelled or postponed "out of an abundance of caution."

Some events originally scheduled for this summer have been rescheduled to more than a year later.

The Associated Press first reported on the BOK Center’s event scheduling moves.

7:58 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

What you need to know about coronavirus today

From CNN's Ivana Kottasová

Ready or not, here comes a big week for reopening. France is lifting travel restrictions, New Jersey will allow outdoor dining, British shops plan on unlocking their doors and Greek museums will welcome visitors again. Here's what's on our radar:

  • US Vice President Mike Pence yesterday touted the country's "steady decline" in coronavirus hospitalizations and fatalities, despite data showing that several states have seen a rise in Covid-19 patients since the Memorial Day holiday.
  • Britain's Prince Harry said Private Joseph Hammond, the 95-year-old Ghanaian man who walked 14 miles to raise money for frontline health workers in Africa, "brought a huge smile" to his face.
  • US trade adviser Peter Navarro says the White House is targeting another stimulus package focused on manufacturing that will be "at least $2 trillion."
  • Summer travel is back. But rather than taking elaborate international vacations, people are renting home shares and taking RVs to explore the wide open road. 
  • C is for covering your face, A is for staying six feet apart, R for remembering to wash your hands, and E means it's everyone's job to help others. The latest CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall tackled issues including summer safety and play dates. 
  • Chile's health minister, Jaime Mañalich, has been sacked following a series of controversies and a spike in coronavirus cases. His departure comes a day after an investigative report revealed a discrepancy between Chile's official numbers and those reported by the health ministry to the World Health Organization.
  • Bruno Covas, the mayor of Brazil's largest city, São Paulo, tested positive for coronavirus yesterday. The state of São Paulo is the epicenter of Brazil's outbreak.

Read today's coronavirus newsletter here:

7:30 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

Peru reports 190 new deaths as coronavirus grips Latin America

From CNNE's Daniel Silva Fernandez 

Doctors prepare to visit a coronavirus patient on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on June 11.
Doctors prepare to visit a coronavirus patient on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, on June 11. Ernesto Benavides/AFP/Getty Images

Peru’s health ministry reported 190 new Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the country’s total to 6,498.

The health ministry also reported 4,383 new confirmed cases, bringing Peru's total number of cases to 225,132.

Peru has the second-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths in Latin America, following Brazil, which has 850,514 -- just behind the US.

Latin America is now the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Peru was one of the first nations in the region to take strict preventative measures, such as stay-at-home orders, curfews and border closings. 

But it also shares some of the weaknesses of its neighbors. Lockdown measures failed to hold. Many of Peru's poor have no choice but to venture outside their homes for work, food or financial transactions, leading to crowding in markets, on public transport and outside banks. 

Peru has historically spent less than the 6% of GDP on public health recommended by PAHO, according to an official at the Pan American Health Organization, despite efforts to dedicate more resources to the sector in recent years. The country spent 3.165% of GDP on public health in 2017, according to the World Bank. 

Peru also has under two hospital beds per 1,000 people, and oxygen is in short supply.

7:27 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

France reports 24 new coronavirus deaths

From CNN's Pierre Buet in Paris

France has recorded 24 new coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to public health agency Santé Publique France. This brings the country’s total deaths from the virus to 29,398.

There have been 156,813 confirmed Covid-19 cases in France, an increase of 526 in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile there are 10,909 patients in hospital and 871 in ICU. 

This comes after an anti-racism demonstration in Paris on Saturday. The Paris Police Authority said there were 26 total arrests at the protest. 

6:29 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

Bats have been blamed for coronavirus. But they aren't enemies

From CNN's Kristen Rogers

Bats have shouldered much of the blame in the quest for the origins of the novel coronavirus. 

In March, researchers published a study that found a 96.2% similarity between the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 and a virus found in a horseshoe bat from China's Yunnan province.

"Ninety-six percent is a different virus; it's a bit like the difference between us and chimpanzees," Peter Daszak, the president of the non-profit EcoHealth Alliance, explains in CNN Special Report "Bats: The Mystery Behind Covid-19."

"It's a different species of virus. But what it tells us is where the virus probably came from. It means that SARS-CoV-2 probably came from bats and probably in Southern China."

Yunnan province is about 1,000 miles from Hubei province, which is where the city of Wuhan saw the early virus outbreaks. A mix of potentially infected wild animals in a wet market could have caused the virus to jump from animals to humans. But zoologists, ecologists and disease experts have said human behaviors — such as destroying natural habitats — might be to blame for the transfer of the disease.

In fact, these flying mammals have a crucial role in our ecosystem — and even help produce tequila.

Read the full story here:

5:35 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

Coronavirus cases surge in some US states as Texas sees record day of hospitalizations

From CNN's Faith Karimi

The number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have gone up in some states, a bleak reminder that the pandemic that's infected more than 2 million people is not over. 

More than 115,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

As of Saturday, coronavirus cases were still increasing in 18 states -- several of which saw record or near-record highs. In 17 states, the numbers were trending downward, and numbers remained steady in 13 states.

Texas saw more than 2,200 people hospitalized with coronavirus Saturday, bypassing a record high the previous day, CNN affiliate KTVT reported. North Carolina set a record with 823 hospitalizations Saturday.

The states where numbers surged: Oregon, Nevada, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Alabama and South Carolina recorded an increase of over 50% in the past week as compared to the previous one. 

The increase in coronavirus cases in several states is not necessarily a second spike, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious diseases. "However, when you start to see increases in hospitalization, that's a surefire situation that you've got to pay close attention to," he said Friday.

Read the full story here:

5:17 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

UK "urgently" reviewing 2-meter social distancing rule

From CNN's Simon Cullen

A man pulls luggage past a social distancing sign on the door of Sports Direct on Oxford Street on June 12, in London.
A man pulls luggage past a social distancing sign on the door of Sports Direct on Oxford Street on June 12, in London. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

The UK is “urgently” reviewing the two-meter social distancing rule put in place to control the spread of coronavirus, said the country’s chief finance minister Rishi Sunak.

“We keep everything under review – all the guidance – as we evolve through the crisis. That review will involve the scientists, the economists, and others,” the Chancellor told Sky News.

Sunak said the rule had had a significant impact on businesses, and easing it could make the difference between three-quarters of pubs remaining closed to just one-third.

“Now that we have made good progress in suppressing the virus, we’re at a different stage of this epidemic than they were at the beginning and that enables us to take a fresh look at this,” he said. “Many other countries around the world use a different rule. And indeed we’ve seen a couple of countries recently … move from two meters to something less as well."

“But it’s important that we look at it comprehensively in the round and that’s what we will do urgently.”

From Monday, the UK will further ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions by allowing the reopening of all retail stores and some outdoor attractions, including zoos and amusement parks.

Single-adult households will be allowed to form a "support bubble" with one other household, and places of worship can reopen.

The new rules have caused confusion, however, with people questioning why they cannot visit grandparents or send their children to school, but can go shopping and ride rollercoasters.

2:48 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

Some families have been kept apart by coronavirus. These families are still waiting to meet

From CNN's Emma Reynolds

Across the world, families who were on the brink of adopting a child have had their futures together postponed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Adoption systems in many countries have been hit hard. Social distancing restrictions have meant the closure of courtrooms and clinics, while travel bans have made connecting with a surrogate or transferring a child between households far more difficult.

Most international adoptions have been put on hold after countries closed their borders and canceled visa applications, according to agencies who spoke to CNN. 

Dwight Burton and Monik Kadarmanto, who live near Portland, in the US state of Oregon, began the adoption process in September 2018, and were matched with a three-year-old boy living at an orphanage in China just before Christmas. 

The couple applied to US immigration in early January for final approval to fly to Changchun, in Jilin province, northeast China. Several weeks later, just as they were expecting it to come through, their adoption agency canceled travel to China, and the US State Department issued advice against travel there.

The Chinese government has now closed its borders to prevent further waves of coronavirus and the couple is in limbo, waiting for news on when they may be able to bring their adopted son home. They say it has been hard to get updates on him, with the orphanage in lockdown without administrative staff.

"There's so much uncertainty and I think that's the toughest part about all of this," said Kadarmanto, 40. "There's nothing easy about adoption, there's a lot of just every step, you know, kind of not getting our hopes up too much."

Read the full story here.

2:31 a.m. ET, June 14, 2020

All patients with a fever in Beijing will be tested for Covid-19

From CNN's Alexandra Lin in Hong Kong

Paramilitary police officers wear face masks and goggles as they stand guard at an entrance to the closed Xinfadi market in Beijing on June 13.
Paramilitary police officers wear face masks and goggles as they stand guard at an entrance to the closed Xinfadi market in Beijing on June 13. Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images

Anyone with a fever seeking treatment at any Beijing medical facility will be tested for Covid-19, a spokesperson for the Beijing health commission said Sunday. 

Medical facilities will be required to conduct nucleic acid tests, antibody tests, blood tests and CT scans on these patients.

The measures were announced after Beijing’s health commission confirmed 43 cases linked to Xinfadi market, the largest agricultural market in Beijing. The new cases broke the city’s 56-day record of no new coronavirus cases.

Residential communities, restaurants and other places linked to the market will be required to conduct screenings on personnel, food and their environment, according to city officials. All employees of Xinfadi market, as well as residents of the local neighborhood, will be tested and put under medical observation.

Wu Zunyou, the top epidemiologist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the outbreak was likely linked to contaminated seafood or meat, according to the state-run news agency Xinhua.

Because Beijing has not had a locally transmitted case in over 50 days, the virus should theoretically not exist there, Zunyou says.