July 1 coronavirus news

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

Updated 0400 GMT (1200 HKT) July 2, 2020
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4:46 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Access to California's state beaches will be restricted over holiday weekend

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

Access to California's state beaches will be restricted for the upcoming holiday weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a news conference today. The beaches themselves will not be closed, but rather parking lots and facilities will be.

This applies to state beaches from Northern California to Southern California, Newsom said.

Closures have already been announced at county beaches in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura.

The measure is part of wider restrictions announced today by Newsom in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the state.

Cases in California continue to skyrocket, reaching 9,740 in a single day —by far the highest recorded in the state since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the California Public Health Department.

Watch:

3:19 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Austin City Limits Music Festival canceled this year

From CNN's Kay Jones

The Austin City Limits Music Festival is canceled for this year, according to a statement on the festival website.

"The health and safety of our fans, artists, partners, staff and the entire Austin community remains our highest priority," the statement read. It will return to Austin in 2021 for the 20th anniversary of the festival. 

"Few events are rooted in – & embody - the soul of this city like ACL Fest & their hard decision for the greater good is applauded," Austin Mayor Steve Fisher tweeted. "While the show won’t go on this year, there are many ways to support local musicians while we all look forward to the 20th Anniversary next year."

The statement says that tickets purchased for this year's festival, which was scheduled to take place over two weekends in October, will be honored next year. Refunds are being offered to the fans who are unable to attend the 2021 dates. 

The 2018 festival brought in $264.6 million, according to an economic impact report commissioned by the festival. The 2019 data has not been released as of July 1. 

ACL Fest attracted 450,000 festival goers in 2018, according to C3 Presents, which puts on the annual festival.

3:31 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Pennsylvania will require people to wear masks whenever they leave their homes

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

People wearing masks walk through the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, on June 26. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new order that requires masks to be worn whenever anyone leaves home.
People wearing masks walk through the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, on June 26. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new order that requires masks to be worn whenever anyone leaves home. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle/Getty Images

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced a new order that requires masks to be worn whenever anyone leaves home, a measure he said is “essential to stopping the recent increase in Covid-19 cases” seen recently in the state.

“Those hot spots can be traced to situations where Pennsylvanians were not wearing masks or practicing social distancing – two practices that must be adhered to if we want to maintain the freedoms we have in place under our reopening," Wolf said.

Some context: The order, signed by Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine, takes effect immediately, and expands on an April order that requires the wearing of masks in businesses.

3:16 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Apple temporarily closing an additional 46 stores due to uptick of coronavirus cases

From CNN's Richard Davis

Apple announced on Wednesday that it will temporarily close an additional 46 stores across the US due to an uptick in coronavirus cases.

In a statement, the tech giant said that "due to current COVID-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas."  

"We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible," the company said. 

Apple announced that it is closing additional stores in: Alabama, California, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Utah. 

Apple reopened dozens of its 271 United States stores last month after shutting them because of coronavirus.

CNN’s Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report. 

3:15 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

California governor closes all indoor activities for counties on "watch list"

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is ordering all indoor activities be halted in counties on the state’s coronavirus "watch list" for increased transmission of the virus. 

Those closures affect 19 counties representing 72% of the state’s population, and include restaurants, museums, zoos, movie theaters, family entertainment, and card rooms.

The governor announced earlier this week that bars, pubs, breweries and wineries that don’t also serve food must close. Restaurants may remain open for take out meals.

These restrictions will remain in place for at least three weeks, Newsom said.

3:24 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

California's Orange County orders closure of bars until further notice

From CNN’s Topher Gauk-Roger

Jim Rafferty, owner of one of Kelly's Korner sports bar in Placentia, California, grabs a beverage for a customer on Saturday, May 16.
Jim Rafferty, owner of one of Kelly's Korner sports bar in Placentia, California, grabs a beverage for a customer on Saturday, May 16. Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

All Orange County bars, pubs, breweries, and brewpubs that do not offer sit-down and dine-in meals are ordered to close effective Thursday due to the rise in coronavirus cases, the OC Health Care Agency announced Wednesday.

The revised order is effective until further notice. For bars, pubs, breweries, and brewpubs that offer sit-down and dine-in meals, alcohol can only be sold in the same transaction as a meal.

They must also follow the state dine-in restaurant guidance and continue to encourage takeout and delivery service whenever possible.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that Orange County had been added to the state Department of Public Health's watchlist due to increasing percentages of positive coronavirus tests.

3:00 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Main TSA checkpoint closed at Atlanta airport because of coronavirus case

From CNN's Greg Wallace

The security checkpoint at the Atlanta airport’s main terminal is currently closed for cleaning after an employee there tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the Transportation Security Administration. 

TSA spokesperson Mark Howell said the Domestic Main checkpoint is expected to reopen either Thursday morning, or possibly later in the day Wednesday, but first must be deep cleaned. 

All passengers are currently being screened at a smaller checkpoint, T North. Another smaller checkpoint at the airport, T South, has been closed due to a construction project. 

Howell said the situation is causing longer lines than usual at the T North checkpoint. 

Because the checkpoint is expected to reopen by Thursday, the situation is not expected to impact holiday travelers this weekend. 

Howell said TSA expects to screen about 27,000 people at the airport on Thursday and Friday, which is about 50% more than it has seen recently. The agency is bringing in more employees to work over the holiday weekend because of the higher volumes. 

Some context: More than 860 TSA employees nationwide have tested positive for the coronavirus, including at least 29 at Atlanta’s airport. 

2:49 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

New York City reports more than 23,000 confirmed and probable Covid-19 deaths

From CNN's Rob Frehse

New York City has 18,497 confirmed coronavirus deaths and 4,607 probable coronavirus deaths as of July 1, according to the most recent data on the city website.

The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 23,104.

There have been 212,412 coronavirus cases in the city and 55,022 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.

The data is from the New York City Health Department and was updated on July 1 at 1 p.m., according to the website.

To note: These figures may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

2:43 p.m. ET, July 1, 2020

Kroger Health gets FDA authorization for Covid-19 test home kit for frontline associates

From CNN's Amanda Watts

Kroger Health was granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for its Covid-19 test home collection kit, the company announced today.

The FDA has previously authorized other Covid-19 test home collection kits. The Kroger kit, in partnership with Gravity Diagnostics, will be available starting this week to “frontline associates across Kroger's Family of Companies.”

Kroger is hoping to expand to other organizations and companies in the coming weeks with a goal of processing up to 60,000 tests per week by the end of July, it said.

How the Kroger kit works: Kroger said the kit will be mailed to an individual’s house if the person qualifies. The kit will include a nasal swab, transport vial, instructions and shipping labels. During a telehealth video chat, a health care professional will guide the individual through the process. The patient will overnight ship the sample and should have results back in 24 to 48 hours, Kroger Health outlined.

The kit will be available in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia initially. It expects to expand to additional states in a few weeks. 

The FDA said in the EUA “it is reasonable to believe that your product may be effective in diagnosing Covid-19 by serving as an appropriate means to collect and transport human specimens so that an authorized laboratory can detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA from the home-collected human specimen, and that the known and potential benefits of your product when used for such use, outweigh the known and potential risks of your product.”  

Since the pandemic began: Kroger has been doing community testing around the country.

Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Health said during this time, “we've observed some individuals do not have access to transportation or live near these community testing locations. To help ease this burden and provide greater accessibility, we will be offering a home testing solution to our associates first followed by other companies and organizations."