July 8 coronavirus news

Coronavirus cases, infection rates, and hospitalizations are rising in Los Angeles County, Health Director Barbara Ferrer said today.

The average daily case count is up a staggering 84% in the past month, going from 1,300 in the beginning of June to 2,400 today.

“Our cases are rising, the rate of infection is increasing, and the number of hospitalizations is up,” she added.

Even a small increase in the fatality rate is worrisome, Ferrer said, as deaths tend to lag behind case increases.

Additionally, the intensive care unit at a Southern California hospital has reached full capacity after receiving an influx of coronavirus patients, prompting the medical facility to open a surge space for additional room.

"There is a limit to how much we can serve, and we can't continue on the path we are on right now," Dr. John Fankhauser, CEO at Ventura County Medical Center, said today, adding that the ICU at the facility is now "full."

There are currently 71 coronavirus patients hospitalized in the county’s eight hospitals, and 31 are currently in ICUs, Ventura County Health Director Rigo Vargas said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for reopening schools are the minimum of what the country should be doing to make sure that schools can reopen and stay open, public health expert Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN today.

Jha added that the spread of Covid-19 in the community must be kept under control for schools to open safely – something that is not happening in multiple hotspots around the country.

“We, in those hotspots, can't afford to have indoor gatherings of 10 or more,” Jha said.

Jha said it is “cavalier” to say it would be safe to open schools because the virus does not make children sick as often as it does adults. Kids can and do get sick, and kids can spread the virus to adults, Jha noted.

Jha also disputed remarks made by Vice President Mike Pence and Coronavirus Task Force Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, who said they are seeing encouraging trends in hotspots like Texas, Arizona and Florida.

Jha said he sees the numbers as going up, not down.

“I'm looking at the same data that they are, and I'm not seeing it. I wish they, I hope that they're right,” he said. “But positivity rates in my mind are continuing to go up in Arizona and Texas and Florida. Cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up, and now I think we have very clear evidence that death rates are starting to go up in these in these places as well."

Across the country: Jha said national coronavirus infection numbers do not give a complete view.

He said while infection rates are going down in some places, like New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts, they are spiking in other parts of the country, such as Texas, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi and Nevada.

“If you put both of them together in the same picture, it looks flat,” he said.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that President Trump and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are “very much” on the same page — despite Trump tweeting: “I disagree with the CDC.”

“I would note that the CDC is very much on the same page as the President — which is why you heard the CDC director today underscore these are not prescriptive, these are not requirements and that there will be supplemental guidelines. So they’re on the same page,” McEnany said Wednesday.

Trump tweeted seven hours earlier: “I disagree with @CDCgov on their very tough & expensive guidelines for opening schools. While they want them open, they are asking school to do very impractical things. I will be meeting with them!!!”

Collins also asked McEnany why the President won’t attend task force meetings so he can talk about guidelines and other issues.

"(Trump) is routinely briefed about the coronavirus each and every day that relevant information is brought to him on the big decisions and then he moves forward in the way that’s best for our country," McEnany responded.

CNN has reported that Trump has not attended a coronavirus task force meeting since April.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced new restrictions on bars and restaurants in the city as cases of Covid-19 steadily increase across the city. 

Cantrell said during a news conference today that bars and restaurants will be limited to 25 patrons in total inside and that no bar seating will be allowed.

She also said masks will be required at all times, other than when patrons are eating and drinking. 

The new restrictions go into effect at 6 a.m. on July 11. 

Videos taken on Bourbon Street last weekend showed it crowded with people, many of whom did not have masks on.  

More context: There were 81 new cases reported in Orleans Parish on Wednesday for a total of 8,287 cases, according to the state’s Department of Health.

The city has a 10.03% positivity rate of tests conducted to date. 

Los Angeles County expects to issue guidance on reopening schools within the week, according to Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

Ferrer said she remains hopeful that cases stabilize by the end of July so districts can resume classes in mid-August.

The county plans on reopening schools once the data shows it is safe to do so, she said.

“We would never open any other sectors without looking at our data. You absolutely would not want to open a sector when you thought that the result of reopening would be an explosion of outbreaks within that sector,” Ferrer said.

Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced 41 new cases and two deaths related to Covid-19 Wednesday while denouncing President Trump's remarks about reopening schools.

Asked about Trump’s comments threatening to fine states that don’t reopen schools, Raimondo said, "I just, I think it’s irresponsible, dishonest and reckless."

The governor said $50 million has been allocated to assist school districts in taking necessary precautions due to Covid-19. 

About the state's reopening: Rhode Island beaches were crowded over the July 4 holiday, but no beach parking lots were ever at capacity, according to Raimondo. State officials handed out masks at beach entry points and asked beachgoers to disperse in the event of large groups congregating, she said.

As food and drink establishments have reopened in Rhode Island, state officials have found 10% are not in compliance with social distancing advisories and allow too much crowding. 

Mississippi Health Department Dr. Thomas Dobbs said the state is continuing to work on an outbreak that resulted in several legislators testing positive for coronavirus.

More on this: Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has tested negative for Covid-19, his office announced on Tuesday, while the Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and State House Speaker Philip Gunn have both tested positive. 

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he "instructed the Houston Forst Corporation to exercise its right contractually in canceling State's Republican Convention."

"Today I instructed the Houston Forst Corporation to exercise its right contractually in cancelling the State's Republican Convention that was set to take place next week at GRB. #COVID19," the mayor tweeted. 

Turner said Covid-19 is prevalent in Houston and he must do his part to help combat and mitigate the virus. 

"The public health concern for our first responders, convention workers, and those who would have attended weighed heavily in our decision making. #Houston is in the midst of a global health crisis and we are doing everything in our power to combat #COVID19," Turner tweeted.

California schools will reopen when the data shows it is safe to do so, according to California Gov. Gavin Newsom 

“I’m not worried about the latest tweets,” he said, in a thinly veiled reference to President Trump.

“We need to address safely reopening schools. That to me is non-negotiable," the governor said at a news conference.

Reopening schools will be based on local conditions in the state, but Newsom added that “we must insist upon learning at the beginning of the school year.”

“Given our current data and the ongoing community transmission of this deadly virus, it’s prudent that school districts prepare a distance learning back-up plan that is ready to be implemented in the event that our data shows us this is the safest path forward,” the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said in a statement to CNN.

Anticipating that schools will continue to be a topic of conversation, Newsom implored the public that reopening is contingent on behavior.