New York City will enter phase 3 Monday without indoor dining, governor says
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Diners eat outside of a restaurant on July 1 in New York. Bebeto Matthews/AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York City is still on track to launch into phase three of its Covid-19 reopening Monday.
The governor reiterated that indoor dining will not be a part of this reopening.
“New York City is a crowded, dense urban area and — until recently — was the global epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis," Cuomo said in a news release today. "Out of an abundance of caution and after seeing other states' experiences with indoor dining, we will wait to reopen it as the city moves to phase three tomorrow.”
What the numbers say: New York added 533 cases yesterday, with .84% positivity rate. The state reported eight deaths.
10:42 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Syria records highest daily death count from Covid-19
From Eyad Kourdi in Gaziantep
Beds are seen in a specialized hospital for coronavirus patients in Hasakeh, Syria, in April. Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images
Syria recorded three new deaths from Covid-19 in the highest daily death count for the country, according to the Syrian Health Ministry, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Sunday. This brings the country’s death toll to 13.
The Health Ministry also confirmed 20 additional cases of the coronavirus, SANA reported, bringing the total number of cases in Syria to 358. This doubles the number of daily new cases compared to the previous day.
10:05 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Miami Beach mayor says "too many people" are not taking coronavirus seriously
From CNN's David Wright
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber speaks with CNN on July 5. CNN
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber discussed the accelerating coronavirus outbreak in Florida and the difficulty in containing the outbreak amid mixed messages from leaders in Washington, including President Trump.
Gelber told CNN that the virus is spreading in Miami Beach, “because of this incredible activity.
"Too many people obviously are not taking seriously all these admonishments to socially distance, to wear masks, all those things, some are following, but clearly not enough," the mayor said.
Gelber also had grim warnings about hospital capacity in Miami Beach.
“Our hospital capacity is reducing and it really is sort of a — we see a positive increase and then you go to your hospitalization, and we have doubled our hospitalization, our census has now doubled in last 14 days and then you go to your intensive care and that also doubled and we even have 158 people on ventilators now, and I think two weeks ago 64," the mayor said.
Gelber was sharply critical of Trump’s leadership on coronavirus.
“How do you tell somebody they have to wear a mask and be socially distanced when the President doesn't, and hosts a rally where they're almost celebrating the lack of those simple countermeasures? So really, we're not on the same page," he said.
Some context: Florida reported at least 11,445 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the state's largest increase in one day.
12:18 p.m. ET, July 5, 2020
UK honors National Health Service workers at forefront of battling coronavirus with street art
From CNN's Salma Abdelaziz
Street artist Nathan Bowen is pictured working on an image in London on Friday. Matthew Brealey/CNN
The United Kingdom's National Health Service, known as the NHS, marks its 72nd anniversary Sunday at a poignant and difficult time for perhaps the country's most beloved public institution.
Its doctors, nurses and other medical staff have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic for months, with dozens of their own ranks losing their lives to the illness.
All over the United Kingdom, billboards, posters, and even small crayon drawings have popped up to thank the nearly 1.5 million healthcare workers of the NHS for their service.
In the trendy east London neighborhood of Shoreditch, that gratitude comes in graffiti form. Boarded-up shop windows have been converted into murals dedicated to the public health system.
Street artist Nathan Bowen told CNN he wanted to breathe life into spaces made dead under lockdown, to ease the commute for frontline staff making their way to clinics, hospitals and care homes.
"When people walk past my art, it makes them smile. I want to inspire people. I want people to look at my art and go home and feel like that artwork made my day. It made my travels in the street," Bowen said. "Why should they look at the old plyboard when they could look at artwork?"
On Saturday night key buildings across the UK were lit up in blue, the color of the NHS, and at 5 p.m. BST on Sunday a round of applause is scheduled to honor the sacrifices made by medical staff.
Some history: Established after World War II, the NHS has always been an institution that unifies Britons around a simple idea: public heathcare should be free for all.
Accusations have been leveled against the government that it has failed to secure sufficient personal protective equipment and to protect healthcare workers of ethnic minority backgrounds.
But when Prime Minister Boris Johnson contracted Covid-19, he was admitted to St. Thomas', a public hospital in central London, and later declared that the NHS “saved my life, no question.”
WATCH HERE:
7:40 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Pope Francis urges prompt implementation of UN global ceasefire resolution amid Covid-19 crisis
From CNN's Valentina Di Donato and Richard Roth
Pope Francis waves from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on July 5. Riccardo De Luca/AP
Pope Francis has urged the swift implementation of a UN Security Council resolution that calls for a global ceasefire to help countries already wracked by hostilities to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
The resolution -- the first to pass since the coronavirus pandemic took hold -- was unanimously adopted Wednesday in a virtual vote.
Speaking during his regularly held Sunday Angelus, Francis said: "The request for a global and immediate ceasefire, which would allow the peace and security necessary to provide the urgently needed humanitarian assistance, is commendable.
"I hope that this decision will be implemented effectively and promptly for the good of many people who are suffering. May this Security Council Resolution become a bold first step towards a peaceful future.”
7:21 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
"Crystal clear" that drunk people can't socially distance -- UK police officer
From CNN's Sara Spary and Zahid Mahmood
Police officers are seen walking through heavy crowds in Soho on July 4 in London. Peter Summers/Getty Images
Drunk people can't properly socially distance, a UK police officer warned after finishing a late shift Saturday -- the first day that pubs reopened in England after the coronavirus shutdown.
"A predictably busy night and confirmed what we knew, alcohol and social distancing is not a good combination," tweeted John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation, a staff association for police in England and Wales.
Apter, who was on duty in the southern England city of Southampton, said he and colleagues had dealt with "happy drunks, angry drunks, fights" and antisocial behavior. "What was crystal clear is that drunk people can’t/won’t socially distance," he said.
In a post on Twitter, London's Metropolitan Police urged people to "please be responsible, stay safe and follow social distancing and other guidance that has been put in place" as pubs reopened.
But images taken Saturday night in the central London district of Soho, known for its pubs and bars, showed crowded streets.
Five pubs in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, decided to close early following anti-social behavior, police said, and officers made four arrests following reports of a smashed window and minor assault.
However, Inspector Craig Berry thanked "the majority of the public who have acted responsibly throughout Saturday."
Devon and Cornwall Police, in southwest England, said they had received more than 1,000 calls on Saturday from members of the public, mostly related to "drink related disorder."
And in Essex, southeast England, an officer tweeted to say police had made four arrests.
UK Health Minister Matt Hancock told Sky News' Sophy Ridge that he was pleased overall with how Saturday went.
"From what I have seen, although there are some pictures to the contrary, very, very largely people have acted responsibly and this balanced message is so important. People should enjoy summer safely,” he said Sunday.
“You have seen from Leicester and other places we don’t shirk from bringing in drastic measures if that is what is needed to control the virus. But the overall plan has always been through the lifting of the lockdown to try to lift the national measures -- but be absolutely crystal clear we will tackle local flare-ups when we see them."
6:42 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
City on US-Mexico border too overcrowded to take more Covid-19 patients, governor says
CNN Espanol's Daniel Silva Fernandez and CNN's Maija Ehlinger
The governor of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Francisco Cabeza de Vaca, tweeted Saturday that hospitals run by the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Reynosa, a city bordering the United States, are too "overcrowded to receive more patients" seeking treatment for coronavirus.
Cabeza de Vaca also used his official Twitter account Friday to urge the Mexican government to establish "greater control of the non-essential flow of people" from the United States into Mexico, noting that the coronavirus situation in neighboring Texas had reached a critical point.
Hours later, Cabeza de Vaca wrote that in the absence of a response from central authorities, his government had intensified efforts "to stop non-essential crossings" at bridges that connect the state of Tamaulipas and the US.
On Thursday, Cabeza de Vaca announced that he had tested positive for Covid-19.
In a video released while in isolation, Cabeza de Vaca said: "Unfortunately, we have seen a great increase in the number of infections in the cities of Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo and Matamoros. I think that we are neglecting many of them, we are relaxing... that is why we are taking extraordinary measures to avoid an increase in the number of infections."
5:48 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
New US record of highest single-day coronavirus case total set in Florida
From CNN's Alta Spells
A pedestrian walks down Ocean Drive in Miami July 4. Wilfredo Lee/AP
Florida set a US record for coronavirus cases in a single day Saturday, with a total of 11,458 new cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Florida has now surpassed New York's previous highest single-day total of 11,434, which was recorded on April 15, by JHU.
Florida also reported 18 new deaths Saturday.
There have been 190,052 total coronavirus cases reported in the state and 3,702 total deaths, according to JHU's tally.
Nationwide the United States has recorded at least 2,839,436 cases of coronavirus, including 129,676 deaths, JHU's figures indicate.
4:49 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Teen's coronavirus-themed prom dress made of duct tape is a work of art
From CNN's Kiely Westhoff
In January, 18-year-old Peyton Manker embarked on her journey to make a prom dress entirely out of duct tape for a contest to win a scholarship. After weeks of working on her submission, the Covid-19 outbreak not only canceled her prom but altered the course of her senior year.
Manker was not deterred by the fact that she would not get to wear her dress to prom. Instead, she felt inspired to create a dress that "documents a part of history."
Her coronavirus-themed dress features multiple images depicting life during the pandemic. Her vision for the dress began with wanting to capture her own experience. She represents her unforgettable senior year with a vibrant scene of students attending virtual graduation.
"It wasn't just high schoolers, it wasn't just America, it was the whole world being impacted by the pandemic so I wanted to show that," said Manker, from Sparta, Illinois.
She does so by showing an image of people running away from the giant coronavirus to signify the world trying to avoid catching the disease. Other designs pay tribute to frontline workers and people suffering from mental health issues as a result of the pandemic.
