June 23 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes, Veronica Rocha and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 12:05 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020
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3:50 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

Louisiana reports more than 1,300 new cases

From CNN's Kay Jones

The New Orleans Health Department, LCMC Health, and LSU Health Sciences offer free coronavirus disease walk-up testing at the Treme Recreation Center in New Orleans on May 12.
The New Orleans Health Department, LCMC Health, and LSU Health Sciences offer free coronavirus disease walk-up testing at the Treme Recreation Center in New Orleans on May 12. Kathleen Flynn/Reuters

The Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) reported 1,356 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the state's total to 51,595. 

There were 17 new deaths reported today, bringing the statewide total to 3,021.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said on Monday that due to the increase of positive cases, the state will stay in phase two for an additional 28 days. 

3:49 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

A Vermont college will require all students to quarantine at home for 14 days before traveling to campus

From CNN's Elizabeth Stuart

Battell Hall stands on the Middlebury College campus in Middlebury, Vermont, on October 14, 2018.
Battell Hall stands on the Middlebury College campus in Middlebury, Vermont, on October 14, 2018. John Greim/LightRocket/Getty Images)

Middlebury College in Vermont will require strict testing and quarantining protocols for students upon arrival to campus as part of its initial decisions for the fall 2020 semester.

All students have to complete a 14-day quarantine at home before traveling to campus for their assigned move in date, according to a letter sent to the Middlebury community on Monday from President Laurie Patton. 

In partnership with Broad Institute, a medical research institution based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, all Middlebury students will go into "room quarantine" and will be tested for Covid-19 twice — once upon arrival to campus and a second time after seven days.

"Meals will be delivered to dorms during the quarantine period. Students will not be able to leave their rooms except to use the bathroom, get their meals from the dorm delivery point, or in case of a medical emergency," said Patton.

If students test negative, they will go from "room quarantine" to "campus quarantine," and can move around campus, while still following all physical distancing and safety protocols in place.

"However, for the health and safety of everyone, students will not be permitted to leave campus during this time," according to the plan.

The small liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, will also adjust its fall calendar to allow for a minimal amount of people coming and going from campus. The fall semester will begin on September 8, fall break will be canceled, and on-campus classes will end before the Thanksgiving holiday, with the final week of class and exams conducted remotely.

"This coming semester at Middlebury must be one of discipline and vigilance, without the same open boundaries and without many of the activities we are used to," said Patton.

Read more about the college's announcement here.  

3:49 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

17 Ohio high school students test positive for Covid-19 after trip to Myrtle Beach

From CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph

People wade in the surf on the morning of May 23 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
People wade in the surf on the morning of May 23 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

At least 17 high school students in Ohio have tested positive for coronavirus after a recent trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Robert Sproul, deputy health commissioner of the Belmont County Health Department, tells CNN.

“We were told that 91 students from the Ohio Valley (West Virginia and Ohio) went to Myrtle Beach and returned to the Valley the weekend of the 13-14. Of that group we are being told 45 were Belmont County residents from multiple school districts. This was not a school sanctioned event,” Sproul said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Belmont Health Department confirms 17 positive cases and two contact positives, but Sproul expects that number to increase as more people who went on the trip and the individuals they were exposed to get tested for the virus.

“We’re worried our numbers are going to be creeping up,” he said, adding none of the students have been hospitalized and all are quarantining at home while health officials conduct contact tracing to identify where the students were and who they were with. Contact tracers check in with coronavirus-positive individuals on a daily basis, he added.

Before this spike in cases, Belmont County had reduced infection rates to zero, Sproul said, attributing the county’s then-success to residents taking state-imposed restrictions seriously.

“Maybe reconsider your destination,” he cautions future travelers. “If you’re going to a hotspot and not taking precautions you’re asking for trouble … it could happen in your town”

12:49 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

London's Imperial College vaccine team delivered the first dose to a human volunteer

From CNN's Mick Krever in London

A team of scientists at Imperial College in London has delivered the first dose of their trial Covid-19 vaccine to a human volunteer, a spokesperson told CNN on Tuesday.

The dose was administered on Friday to a volunteer, Ryan O’Hare told CNN. The vaccine will initially be trialed in 15 volunteers, he said. In the second phase, 300 volunteers will receive the vaccine.

The so-called self-amplifying RNA vaccine uses “bits of genetic code, rather than bits of the virus,” to use muscle cells to “produce copies of a protein found on the outside of the virus.” According to Imperial College, this “trains the immune system to respond to the coronavirus so the body can easily recognize it as a threat in future.”

In April, scientists called for volunteers for the human trial of the coronavirus vaccine.

“We are looking for volunteers to take part in our trial in June — they will be the first volunteers to get the vaccine,” Professor Robin Shattock told BBC radio in April.

12:45 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

Here's the latest coronavirus update from Italy

From CNN’s Nicola Ruotolo in Rome

Pedestrians adopt a safe social distance as they stand in line outside an Apple Inc. store in Turin, Italy, on June 23.
Pedestrians adopt a safe social distance as they stand in line outside an Apple Inc. store in Turin, Italy, on June 23. Federico Bernini/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Italy recorded 18 more coronavirus-related fatalities — the lowest daily increase in deaths among Covid-19 patients since March 1, the country’s Civil Protection Agency said Tuesday.

According to the latest data, the national coronavirus death toll now stands at 34,675.

The total number of active cases has fallen by 1,064, and is now at at 19,573.

Italy also recorded its lowest number of patients in intensive care unites since February with 115 in ICU, 12 less than the previous day. 

The total number of coronavirus cases, including deaths and recoveries, is now at least 238,833.

12:40 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

Former CDC director calls for "credible" and "apolitical" experts to oversee Covid-19 vaccine safety

From CNN's Gisela Crespo

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the US Centers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is seen on a screen as she gives an opening statement during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 23 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the US Centers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is seen on a screen as she gives an opening statement during a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 23 in Washington, DC. Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images

Dr. Julie Gerberding, former director of the US Centers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Tuesday called for "credible" and "apolitical" experts to oversee the safety of a potential Covid-19 vaccine in order to build the public's trust.

There needs to be "transparency about exactly what the safety assessments are," she said, when asked during a Senate Health Committee hearing what specific commitments the Trump administration should make to build public confidence around a coronavirus vaccine. 

Gerberding said scientific organizations including the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC and the US Food and Drug Administration should have oversight of the process. 

She also recommended the National Academy of Medicine to monitor vaccine safety.

"When I, for example, had responsibility for administering the smallpox vaccination program for first responders, it was the National Academy of Medicine that monitored the safety of that program and helped us identify very early that there was a safety signal," Gerberding told the committee.

"Involving the scientific community, credible experts, apolitical in orientation, is really going to be a very important part of building this trust," Gerberding told the committee.

3:49 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

More than 3,000 new Covid-19 cases reported in Florida

Jeff Lange/Akron Beacon Journal/USA Today
Jeff Lange/Akron Beacon Journal/USA Today

The Florida Department of Health is reporting an additional 3,286 cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total to 103,503, according to state data. 

On Monday, Florida reached a milestone, reporting more than 100,000 cases. 

Here's a breakdown of daily new cases reported by the state over the last eight days: 

  • June 16 - 2,783 
  • June 17 - 2,610 
  • June 18 - 3,207 
  • June 19 - 3,822 
  • June 20 - 4,049 
  • June 21 - 3,494 
  • June 22 - 2,926 
  • June 23 - 3,286

More context: Republican officials in Florida are concerned about the recent spike in coronavirus cases in the state, just two months before Jacksonville is set to host part of the Republican National Convention.

"We clearly haven't beat it," Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican, told CNBC on Monday morning. "So I think everybody is concerned when they read about the cases, the number of cases up."

3:49 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

Arizona reports a record high number of new Covid-19 cases

From CNN’s Konstantin Toropin

People get tested for COVID-19 at a drive through testing site hosted by the Puente Movement migrant justice organization on June 20 in Phoenix.
People get tested for COVID-19 at a drive through testing site hosted by the Puente Movement migrant justice organization on June 20 in Phoenix. Matt York/AP

Arizona reported 3,591 new cases of Covid-19 and 42 deaths from the disease over the last 24 hours, a new record high for both new daily cases and deaths since the state started posting data publicly in mid-March.

The state has been battling a surge in Covid-19 cases and had nine days in the last two weeks where there were more than 1,500 new cases being reported by Arizona’s Department of Health Services.

The state has also been reporting that more than 80% of its available intensive care hospital beds have been in use since last week.

Last Wednesday, Gov. Doug Ducey announced that the state would allow local communities to require masks in public if they choose, but would not issue a statewide order.

“We knew that when we lifted the stay-at-home order, we would have an increase in cases,” Ducey said yesterday afternoon.

“The objective has always been that we could slow the virus.”

President Trump is scheduled to speak at a public event at a Phoenix church today. 

3:48 p.m. ET, June 23, 2020

White House adviser says tax rebates and direct mail checks are on the table as part of additional stimulus

From CNN's Jason Hoffman

Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow speaks to reporters outside the White House on May 15 in Washington, DC. 
Director of the United States National Economic Council Larry Kudlow speaks to reporters outside the White House on May 15 in Washington, DC.  Drew Angerer/Getty Images

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that he believes another tax rebate or direct mail checks to Americans “are on the table” as part of an additional stimulus package, but he hopes they would be targeted to those who lost their jobs or are most in need. He stressed that no decisions have been made yet.

Kudlow again said he thinks the discussion on a new stimulus package will begin after the July 4 congressional recess. 

He said “absolutely, definitely” there will not be a second lockdown. He said that while there are some hotspots across the country, case rates are also dropping in many places.

As of this morning, 25 states were seeing an increase in new coronavirus cases over the past week.