June 29 coronavirus news

Florida beaches from Palm Beach to Key West will be closed for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Here are the counties that have announced closures:

Monroe County  

Monroe County, along with all municipalities in the Florida Keys, will be closing beaches beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, through the morning of Tuesday, July 7, according to Monroe County Public Information Officer Kristen Livengood.

The city of Key West said in a statement that its beach closure is being done “to avoid large crowds gathering during this Covid-19 pandemic. The closure dovetails with that of Monroe County’s beaches to help send a clear message of safety.”

In that statement, Key West city officials added that masks will be required inside establishments, though they can be removed – once people are seated – to eat in a complying restaurant. Masks are also required outdoors when people are unable to remain six feet from others, such as walking down a crowded sidewalk.

Miami-Dade County 

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez says all beaches and parks in the county will close this Friday, through Tuesday, July 7. He warned the closure could be extended if conditions don't improve and people don't follow rules designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Broward County

Deputy County Administrator Monica Cepero issued an Emergency Order 20-19, which officially closes the beaches from 12:01 a.m. on Friday through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. The order also clearly identifies the entities authorized to enforce the closure and sets forth consequences for non-compliance, including civil and criminal penalties.

Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner told CNN on Sunday that he will also be issuing an order to close beaches under his jurisdiction.

"In consultation with our county administrator, we will be issuing an order tomorrow, tomorrow morning, that will close the Palm Beach County beaches throughout the entirety of the county for the holiday weekend," Kerner said.

"It is an unfortunate result, but public health remains the focus of the elected leaders of Palm Beach County," Kerner added. "Unfortunately, this Fourth of July will not be spent at the beach."

Kerner’s office tells CNN the closures will be from Friday until Sunday.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday the state “must hit pause” on the resumption of indoor dining, which was set to resume Thursday.

The state does not want to experience spikes similar to what has been happening across the US. The governor said it brings him “no joy” to do this.

The “national situation compounded by instances of knucklehead behavior here at home are requiring us to hit pause on the restart of indoor dining for the foreseeable future," Murphy said.

The governor mentioned some instances in which establishments across the state have seen “overcrowding” and a “complete disregard for social distancing” and “very few, if any, face coverings.”

“Compliance is not a polite suggestion, it is required," Murphy said.

The governor also said shopping malls opened Monday to limited capacity as the state prepares for the reopening of outdoor amusement centers as well on Thursday along with indoor recreational facilities and museums and libraries.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said he does not want to issue a mask mandate right now.

Speaking at a news conference, Scott said enforcement has proven difficult in states that have made masks mandatory. He said he instead wanted to focus on education and guidance to get more people wearing face coverings and maintain physical distancing.

What the numbers say: The state has 1,208 total cases of Covid-19 and 56 deaths to date. There have been six new cases of Covid-19 in Vermont since yesterday, according to the state's online Covid-19 dashboard. 

Both the governor and Dr. Mark Levine of the state health department said they are confident in Vermont's current approach to containing and mitigating coronavirus.

Chile reported a total of 4,017 new cases of Covid-19 Monday, according to figures published by the country’s Ministry of Health on Monday.

The total number of infections since the start of the pandemic stands at 275,999, with 34,270 of those being active cases, the ministry’s figures show.

The 66 new deaths were reported Monday, according to the statistics.

Speaking at the government’s daily coronavirus briefing, Chile’s Health Minister Enrique Paris said the country is “maintaining a trend of emerging improvement.” In recent days, he has praised the “sacrifices” made by Chileans, saying their efforts are starting to show. 

Chile has the third highest number of Covid-19 cases in Latin America.

Major League Baseball revealed Monday a sampling of the unique on-field rules and procedures teams will adhere to starting this week. Players and staff are required to report to their teams this Wednesday.

Here are some of the guidelines:

New non-traditional rules will be in place when the season starts including the addition of a designated hitter in the National League and placing a runner on second base at the start of each teams’ extra-inning frame.

Cirque du Soleil, the Montreal-based entertainment company and one of the largest circus companies in the world, has announced it will file for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the US, according to a statement on the company’s website.

As part of their restructuring plans, the troupe plans to fire about 3,480 previously furloughed employees following the halt in revenue caused by the government-mandated shutdowns in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The company says it currently employs “4,000 people, including 1,300 artists, who originate from nearly 50 countries” on its official website.

Cirque du Soleil has also received $300 million in new funding in an effort to "support a successful restart, provide relief for Cirque du Soleil's affected employees and partners, and assume certain of the company's outstanding liabilities," the statement said.

The company also hopes to raise at least $20 million from its largest backers through a "stalking horse" bid.

A combination of two HIV drugs did not help hospitalized patients better recover from coronavirus infections, UK researchers reported Monday. 

The combination of lopinavir and ritonavir is being tested by several groups, but preliminary results from a large, ongoing UK study called the Recovery trial found the antiviral drugs did not help patients hospitalized for treatment for Covid-19.

How the study worked: The Recovery trial team had randomly assigned about 1,600 patients to get the combination, and compared them to 3,400 patients who got the usual care alone.

“There was no significant difference in the primary endpoint of 28-day mortality,” the team wrote on the Recovery website. About 22% of patients who got the two drugs died, compared to 21% of those who did not.

“There was also no evidence of beneficial effects on the risk of progression to mechanical ventilation or length of hospital stay,” the team added.

“Today, the trial Steering Committee concluded that there is no beneficial effect of lopinavir-ritonavir in patients hospitalized with Covid-19 and closed randomization to that treatment arm," they said.

What the study found: The results held among different subgroups of patients.

The same study has found that hydroxychloroquine did not help coronavirus patients and found that the steroid dexamethasone did help. 

Jacksonville, Florida, will not be closing its beaches for the Fourth of July holiday, Nikki Kimbleton, the city's spokesperson, announced on Monday. 

Kimbleton said the city will still hold their annual Fourth of July fireworks display this year. The city will offer six different locations for people to watch the fireworks so that social distancing guidelines will remain in place. 

What happened today: The city announced earlier today that it will adopt a mandatory face mask requirement for public and indoor locations.

CNN’s Miguel Marquez was granted rare access into a hospital in Houston that has been treating Covid-19 patients. 

Texas is among at least 10 states that are seeing a 50% or more rise in coronavirus cases compared to the previous week. Cases in Texas have jumped from about 2,000 a day to 5,000 a day.

If the current Texas trajectory continues, officials fear Houston could be the hardest-hit city in the US with numbers rivaling those in Brazil.

Here’s what the CNN team saw: