Honduran President is being treated for pneumonia after coronavirus diagnosis
From CNN's Natalie Gallón in Mexico City and Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota, Colombia
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez wears a face mask in Tegucigalpa, Honduras on June 15. Orlando Sierra/AFP/Getty Images
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández is being treated for pneumonia after having "slight leaks in the lungs."
The President is "stable, in good spirits and receiving medication," according to Francis Contreras, a spokesman for the Honduran Health Regulation Agency.
President Hernández said Wednesday he and his wife had tested positive for Covid-19.
Honduran First Lady, Ana García de Hernández, is stable and without symptoms, according to Chancellor and Commissioner for the pandemic, Lisandro Rosales.
Hernández is the first president in the world to announce he has tested positive for the virus.
12:23 a.m. ET, June 18, 2020
US reports more than 25,500 new Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Joe Sutton
A medical worker prepares to administer a Covid-19 virus test at a drive-thru care testing site at the Derry Medical Center on Wednesday, June 17, in Derry, New Hampshire. Charles Krupa/AP
At least 25,583 new Covid-19 cases and 755 deaths were reported in the United States on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The national totals now stand at 2,163,290 cases, including at least 117,717 virus-related fatalities, according to JHU.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
Washington state revises number of Covid-19 deaths after finding inaccuracies
The Washington Department of Health has revised the state’s number of Covid-19 deaths and the number of negative tests, the agency said.
Health officials said they removed seven deaths from its tally as these cases tested positive for Covid-19 but the virus did not cause their deaths.
The department said it "is working on changes to provide more context to death reporting and report death counts that reflect deaths where COVID-19 caused or contributed to the death."
"Beginning June 17, we will be removing deaths from our daily counts where COVID-19 did not cause or contribute to the death. We will continue to update death counts as additional information on cause of death is received," the agency said.
On Wednesday, the department removed seven deaths -- three of which were homicides, two were suicides and two were overdoses.
The state agency also said it overreported the number of people who have only tested negative for Covid-19 by 13% since April 21.
"Data have been updated to remove the antibody testing results," the DOH said in a statement.
As of Wednesday, Washington counted 26,784 coronavrius cases and 1,226 deaths, according to the DOH.
11:12 p.m. ET, June 17, 2020
China reports 24 new locally transmitted coronavirus cases
From CNN’s Shawn Deng in Beijing
China recorded 24 locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, according to the country's National Health Commission
Beijing has 21 new cases, Hebei has two, and there is one case in Tianjin.
Officials in Beijing are racing to contain a new cluster of infections linked to an outbreak at Xinfadi, the city's largest wholesale food market.
The new Beijing cases bring the total number of infections linked to the cluster to 158.
Authorities in Beijing have imposed a soft lockdown on the entire city.
Top experts are missing from public updates because "they tell the truth," says ex-White House medical adviser
From CNN Health’s Shelby Lin Erdman
The top government health experts in the United States have been mostly missing from public discussions and updates on the coronavirus pandemic for weeks now.
Former White House medical team adviser under George W. Bush, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, said it’s because “they tell the truth.”
White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, the director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, and top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci have given few updates on the US’ Covid-19 response and given few interviews on the state of the pandemic.
“Because they’re doctors and, by nature, they tell the truth. And the truth is that the pandemic is still very, very active in the United States and that we're not getting back to normal and there are difficult things that the public has to do,” Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Reiner said that the experts’ opinions on the state of the pandemic go against messaging by the Trump administration.
“The vice president in his op-ed yesterday spoke about that he'd not only marshaled the whole government, but a whole-of-America response to this, but he really hasn't,” Reiner said.
“If he was doing that, if the administration was doing that, they would ask the American people to do something very difficult, which is to protect each other. And the way we protect each other is through social distancing and wearing masks and it's hard to do, and, and it's decidedly abnormal, but that’s how we put this pandemic down.”
1:06 a.m. ET, June 18, 2020
Mexico nears 20,000 deaths from Covid-19
From CNN's Matt Rivers and Natalie Gallón in Mexico City
A health worker makes door-to-door visits to carry out Covid-19 tests in Mexico City, on June 16. Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images
Mexico is closing in on 20,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to its health ministry Wednesday.
The ministry reported 770 new deaths from the virus, bringing the country's death toll to 19,080.
Mexico also recorded 4,930 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 159,793.
12:04 a.m. ET, June 18, 2020
Chile tops 220,000 coronavirus infections after reporting more than 30,000 backlogged cases
From CNN's Christopher Ulloa in Santiago, Chile and Matt Rivers and Natalie Gallón in Mexico City
People wearing face masks ride the subway on June 16, in Santiago, Chile. Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images
Chile’s health ministry reported an additional 31,000 Covid-19 cases Wednesday that had not previously been counted after the government discovered a backlog of positive test results dating back to March.
The ministry also reported 4,757 newly confirmed cases Wednesday, bringing the country’s total to 220,628.
Authorities have tightened lockdown measures in the greater Santiago area, the country’s capital with more than 6 million residents.
Residents will only be allowed out of their homes twice a week now, down from the previous five, and only under strict conditions.
People found violating quarantine measures can now face up to five years in prison for doing so.
Chile also reported an additional 232 deaths on Wednesday, raising the country’s total to 3,615.
