June 26 coronavirus news

The National Basketball Association and the players union have jointly announced that 16 NBA players have tested positive for coronavirus.

The news comes as the NBA prepares to restart the season on July 30 at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.

Here's what a statement released Friday said:

The United States need to flatten its curve to avoid potential shortages of drugs that have shown potential as treatments for Covid-19, according to experts at the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

Some of the drugs that there are concerns about include dexamethasone and remdesivir.

With dexamethasone, Gandhi said that he has seen an increase in demand for the drug, in part because of this promising data, but he hopes it can be manufactured rapidly since it is a drug that has been around for a long time.

When it comes to remdesivir, Gandhi said this was obtained directly from the manufacturer, which is ramping up production of the drug. Though there is a concern that “the supply room doesn’t keep up with the demand.”

Some hospitals, such as Massachusetts General where Gandhi works, have an adequate supply, as the number of hospitalized patients is decreasing. However, that is not the case everywhere.

“We know how to prevent those cases,” he said. “If we do testing and contact tracing and social distancing, we can bring down those cases so that supply of remdesivir is not outstripped by the demand.”

More than a dozen people who attended a large family party in Northern California later tested positive for the coronavirus, a private gathering that state officials say is just one of many contributing to the record surge in new Covid-19 infections.

The party, which took place earlier this month in Shasta County, near the Oregon border, resulted in 13 family members becoming infected with the virus.

In the days following the party, a man in his 20s tested positive on June 14, followed by 11 more people on June 19 and one more on June 21, according to the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency. Health officials had advised 20 people to self-quarantine after the party.

A majority of the 13 family members who tested positive for the virus were experiencing symptoms, the health agency said, and ranged in age from a teenage girl to a woman in her 60s.

The party is just one of several that has resulted in attendees later testing positive for the virus. At another recent gathering in the county, a graduation party, at least four of the 11 people who attended later tested positive for Covid-19, said Shasta County Health Officer Dr. Karen Ramstrom.

The spread of the illness among family members and friends comes as California sees an increase in the percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus, and a record number of patients being treated in hospitals and intensive care units. 

Mexico’s GDP plummeted during April by 19.9% compared to the same month in 2019, according to data released by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) on Friday.

The reduction of activity in the industrial and service sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic highly impacted the country’s GDP in April when compared to 2019, says the report released by Mexico’s INEGI.  

The main economic sectors affected are:

Mexico reported 6,104 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the second-highest daily case rise reported in the country, bringing the total number of cases to at least 202,951.

Mexico’s Health Ministry also reported 736 new deaths, bringing the country’s death toll due to coronavirus to more than 25,000.

New York City is facing a $9 billion dollar revenue shortfall and is asking the state legislature for $5 billion dollars in state loans — $3 billion for this year and $2 billion for the next, Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a news conference.

The mayor said that the city cut $2.7 billion dollars in April and then another $1 billion this month, but that is still not enough to make up for the shortfalls.

If the budget needs are not met, de Blasio reiterated that 22,000 city workers will face layoffs by October.

“If we can’t find the resources those layoffs have to be in by October 1,” de Blasio added.

The mayor said he hoped state funds could be avoided “if we got the federal stimulus funds we deserve.”

The city will not be raising property taxes to reduce revenue shortfalls, according to de Blasio.

The Florida Department of Health is reporting at least 8,942 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the state total to 122,960, according to data released by the state on Friday. 

Friday's data is the highest single day reporting of coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.

Yesterday, Florida reported 5,004 new cases of coronavirus.

Members of the Texas congressional delegation on both sides of the aisle are asking the Trump administration to reconsider its decision to halt direct funding to several coronavirus testing sites in the Lone Star State, where there has been a surge of Covid-19 cases.

Lawmakers from the state, including Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, say they do not understand why the federal assistance is being pulled as their state sees more and more coronavirus cases.

In a joint letter sent to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor on Thursday, Cornyn and Cruz urged the administration "to grant an extension of the program for the testing sites in Texas," which they said are "critical to Texas' testing capacity."

A transition away from these federally funded sites began in April, but the latest debate over federal funding comes after President Trump on Saturday lamented the rise in coronavirus cases in the US, blaming increased testing.

The federally funded testing program was intended to jump-start initial capabilities in critical areas across the US, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But given Food and Drug Administration approval for individuals to self-administer nasal swab tests at sites, the demand for personal protective equipment and trained health care providers will be reduced, a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement in April, when the administration began its transition away from the program.

A Health and Human Services spokesperson confirmed to CNN that the 13 Community-Based Testing Sites, seven of which are in Texas, would no longer receive direct funding.

What other Texan lawmakers are saying: Speaking to CNN's Jim Sciutto, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat from Texas, said that given the spike in Covid-19 cases, the state "clearly opened too fast and too soon."

Gonzalez noted that Texas reported nearly 6,000 cases yesterday and said his district in the Rio Grande Valley had a 700% increase just in the last 30 days.

Gonzalez decried reductions of federal funding for testing.

“That would be reprehensible to imagine that we would be cutting tests at a time when our pandemic is increasing in leaps and bounds,” Gonzalez said. "I hope that the President follows CDC recommendations, listens to Senator Cruz and Senator Cornyn and the rest of us, assuring that testing is robust, that it is widespread, that it is available. It is the only way we are going to get this under control."

WATCH:

As a part of phase three of reopening in New York City, personal care business and indoor dining at 50% capacity can begin on July 6, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

Personal care businesses include nail salons, massage parlors, spas, tanning, tattoo and piercing and waxing. 

As restaurants resume indoor dining at 50% capacity in phase three, NYC small business commissioner Jonnel Doris said the city will distribute 2.5 million face coverings and connect businesses to purchase items such as sneeze guards and personal protective equipment.

The city will also expand outdoor dining to take place on closed city streets starting July 4.

A number of states are putting their reopening plans on hold as new coronavirus cases continue to rise.

At least 32 states are reporting increases in new cases, and the US is currently averaging more new coronavirus cases per day than at any point in the pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of numbers provided by Johns Hopkins University.

Here's a look at how some states are slowing down their plans to reopen: