By Helen Regan and Steve George, CNN
From CNN's Shawn Nottingham
Officials in West Virginia are monitoring a Covid-19 cluster tied to a Lewisburg-area church, according to Gov. Jim Justice.
Justice said at least 28 people associated with Graystone Baptist Church have tested positive.
The National Guard arrived to decontaminate the church on Sunday, and additional testing has also been added in the area, according to Justice.
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
The World Health Organization called a coronavirus cluster of more than 100 cases in Beijing a “significant event.”
Speaking during a briefing on Monday, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said, “In China, when you spend over 50 days without having any significant local transmission the cluster like this is a concern, and it needs to be investigated and controlled.”
“In that sense, it is big news. Within the grand scheme of things around the number of cases per day around the world, it's not, but it is significant event,” Ryan said.
“We're always concerned for clusters,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, a WHO infectious disease epidemiologist.
Van Kerkhove said every single case needs to be addressed, “but clusters are a special condition, because in any country we need to understand why is there the clustering?”
Ryan said now is the time to investigate what’s driving the new infections. “It's important for us to hypothesize. It's important for us to make models about what might be happening. But the answer is lay in careful, careful, systematic, exhaustive investigation of disease clusters, to really look at what is happening in these situations," he said.
“If we get that, we will build up a much better picture of the public health advice we need to give our communities — on what behaviors to avoid, and what places to avoid, and what circumstances to avoid,” Ryan added.
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed on Monday that the United States is still among WHO's member states.
"Yes, the United States is still a member of the — a member state — of the World Health Organization," Tedros said when asked about the relationship during a briefing in Geneva on Monday.
Why this matters: President Trump announced plans in May to terminate the United States' relationship with WHO, including pulling funding.
Last week, Tedros said during a media briefing that WHO's relationship with the United States is "not about the money" but rather "working together" on efforts to improve public health.
From CNN’s Amanda Watts
The World Health Organization said today that “influenza surveillance has either been suspended or is declining in many countries” during the global coronavirus pandemic – and that could have dangerous repercussions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that flu season has already begun in the Southern Hemisphere, and “co-circulation of Covid-19 and influenza can worsen the impact on health care systems that are already overwhelmed.”
“We cannot lose sight of other significant public health issues, including influenza. Influenza affects every country every year, and takes its own deadly toll,” Tedros said during a briefing in Geneva. "These decreases are due to a combination of issues, including the repurposing of staff and supplies, overburdened laboratories and transport restrictions.”
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, said there must be a "balance to ensure that we're also able to track influenza property during that same period."
"We're now entering a period in the world, where we have to be able to track both Covid-19 and influenza," he added.
From CNN's Jacqueline Howard and Arman Azad
The US Food and Drug Administration has revoked its emergency use authorization for the drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19.
After reviewing the current research available on the drugs, the FDA determined that the drugs do not meet "the statutory criteria" for emergency use authorization as they are unlikely to be effective in treating Covid-19 based on the latest scientific evidence, the agency noted on its website on Monday.
"FDA has concluded that, based on this new information and other information discussed in the attached memorandum, it is no longer reasonable to believe that oral formulations of HCQ and CQ may be effective in treating COVID-19, nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks," FDA chief scientist Denise Hinton wrote in a letter to Gary Disbrow of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) on Monday.
"Accordingly, FDA revokes the EUA for emergency use of HCQ and CQ to treat COVID-19," Hinton wrote in the letter. "As of the date of this letter, the oral formulations of HCQ and CQ are no longer authorized by FDA to treat COVID-19."
The FDA's emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine was narrow in scope, applying only to hospitalized Covid-19 patients and only to drugs donated to the Strategic National Stockpile.
In an open letter published late last month, FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn appeared to defend the agency's decision to issue the authorization.
"This decision was based on evaluation of the EUA criteria and the scientific evidence available at that time. We continue to look at the data on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine and we will make future determinations on these products based on available evidence including ongoing clinical studies," Hahn said in the letter last month.
The emergency use authorization, or EUA, made it easier for pills donated to the national stockpile to be distributed to coronavirus patients.
Hahn added in the letter that "we also knew it was important to help ensure a stable supply of the drugs for patients with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis given the increased demand."
In an interview with CNN last month, Hahn also defended his agency's handling of hydroxychloroquine. He acknowledged the political climate surrounding the drug, but said, "I stand by our decisions because I think they are rooted in science and data, and we'll continue to reevaluate."
From CNN's Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber told CNN Monday that he would consider reinstating restrictions or imposing new rules, like requiring people to wear masks all the time, not just inside, if Covid-19 cases continue to rise.
“We need to be cautious,” the mayor told CNN, especially since the impact of the protests have not been fully revealed.
“If we get to the point where the virus is overwhelming our health care system, and it's pretty clear that we're not able to control it through all the measures we put in, where people aren’t listening to them, then of course we will have to reverse ourselves,” he said. “Which is why we're telling people now follow these instructions.”
Gelber went on to say that he concerned about the number of Covid-19-related hospitalizations, which he said have increased slightly in his city.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported Monday the lowest number of hospitalizations since the Covid crisis started in the state -- “amen,” the governor said.
He also said the state hit the lowest number of deaths on the three-day average since this has started.
“We’d love to see that number at zero,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that New York may never get to it because, at this point, it's contingent on doctors determining the cause of death amid possible other co-morbidities.
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Based on new data, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo modified rules for regions in phase 3 of Covid-19 reopening, allowing gatherings of up to 25 people, which is up from 10.
Western New York will enter Phase 3 on Tuesday, he said.
With regards to Covid-19 recovery, Cuomo said, “New York is on the right track.”
From CNN’s Mick Krever, Max Foster and Luis Graham-Yooll in Reykjavik
Iceland began a cautious process of reopening to international travelers on Monday.
Starting Monday, passengers arriving in Iceland will be able to be tested for Covid-19 on arrival, as an alternative to the previously mandatory 14-day quarantine. Children born in 2005 or later will be exempt from testing.
How this works: A CNN team traveling to Keflavík International Airport on Monday filled out a short electronic form before departing for Iceland. On arrival, the team presented an associated barcode, and were brought to one of around ten curtained testing booths.
A medical assistant took two samples, one from the throat and one from the nose, and sent them off for evaluation.
The entire process took less than five minutes. Until July, the test will be free to passengers; thereafter, it will cost 15,000 Krona, or around $110.
The CNN team was able to depart the airport immediately. The government advises that those arriving do not need to quarantine while they await results, but “should take preventive measures to protect themselves and others from infection.” The Icelandic government has promised results within a day. Those testing negative will receive a text message; a positive result will get a phone call and 14 days of quarantine.
The numbers: Thanks in part to an early and extremely aggressive system of track and trace, Iceland has been able to keep total deaths from Covid-19 to just ten, according to the Icelandic Directorate of Health. Masks are nearly entirely absent in downtown Reykjavik, and restaurants are open as normal. As of Monday, there were just four patients positive for the virus. Nearly 2,000 have recovered.
Tourism has become incredibly important to the Icelandic economy; it grew from just 4.8% of GDP in 2007 to 8.6% in 2017. Prime Minsiter Katrín Jakobsdóttir, speaking with Christiane Amanpour last month, said that “obviously the economic crisis is going to be deep,” but that she hoped the border measures might alleviate some of the pain.
