There are no ICU beds available in 42 Florida hospitals
From CNN's Randi Kaye and Melissa Alonso
There are currently 42 Florida hospitals that are at zero capacity for intensive care unit beds.
This is down from 56 hospitals reported on Tuesday, according to Florida's Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA).
On Wednesday, 54 hospitals around the state were at 10% capacity or less, according to the AHCA dashboard.
"Hospitals have the ability to convert beds and bring additional ICU beds online in a surge situation when necessary," the AHCA said in a statement to CNN.
Boca Raton Hospital in Palm Beach County normally has 230 adult ICU beds, there are just 11 available; lowering their capacity to 4.56%, according to AHCA.
Miami-Dade County has 992 adult ICU beds in its hospitals but currently 170 are available, 17.14% capacity, AHCA data shows.
"The state has established a field hospital at the Miami Beach Convention Center with over 450 beds to allow for even greater capacity if necessary," the AHCA statement said.
2:04 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
Broward County schools could remain closed despite Florida mandate to reopen in the fall
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt
Despite Florida’s order to reopen schools in “brick and mortar” fashion in the fall, Broward County Schools could remain closed because Broward County is still in phase one of the reopening plan, according to Robert Runcie, Broward County Public Schools Superintendent.
“One other thing to note is that Miami-Dade and Broward have teachers and other employees who live in the neighboring county, which means our fates are interconnected and decisions must ultimately have some alignment across counties,” Runcie told CNN’s Rosa Flores.
Earlier today, school superintendent Alberto Carvalho of Miami-Dade County — which is directly south of Broward County — tweeted his school system would “ONLY proceed with in-person schooling” if Miami-Dade County successfully transitioned to phase two. Miami-Dade is currently in phase one.
1:44 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
New Jersey governor: There are coronavirus "flare ups" due to out-of-state travel
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Gov. Phil Murphy Pool
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state reported 335 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its total to more than 174,000.
The daily positivity rate for tests recorded on Monday is 3.23%, Murphy said, even though the state has been hovering at about 2%. The number of tests counted Monday was very low, which may account for the increase, Murphy said.
The governor added that there have been "a couple flare ups" related to out-of-state travel.
“There’s another increment of risk we’re getting from folks coming in from other states that have exploded and continue to explode," he said.
He added that the system “so far so good has worked spotting some of these flare ups relating to out-of-state travel, as well as some knucklehead behavior in state.”
Remember: New Jersey, along with New York and Connecticut, require travelers coming from at least 19 states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for at least two weeks once they enter the state.
1:38 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are declining in Canada, prime minister says
From CNN’s James Froio
CTV Network
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are declining across the country.
“The situation is stabilizing in Canada because Canadians did their part and followed public health instructions. But we still have to be very careful. Things can change quickly … we still have some hotspots in some parts of the country, including in long-term care facilities and agricultural work settings, so as we continue to gradually reopen the economy, we have to remain vigilant,” Trudeau said.
"Canada has one of the most ambitious and comprehensive plans to counter the economic impacts of this pandemic," he added.
Trudeau said they increased financial support to “vulnerable groups like seniors and students” and those who lost their jobs during the pandemic, as well as provided loans to businesses.
1:27 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
Spain's outbreaks present "a worrying situation," health minister says
From CNN's Laura Pérez Maestro
Healthcare workers gather samples collected at a temporary testing centre for the novel coronavirus in the Spanish Basque city of Ordizia on Wednesday, July 8. Ander Gillenea/AFP/Getty Images
Spanish Health Minister, Salvador Illa, told a Catalan Radio on Wednesday, that the outbreaks in the country present "a worrying situation."
"We know there are outbreaks, all countries that have managed to control the pandemic have them, as it is the situation in Spain. We monitor them with concern and daily," he said.
Spain registered 257 new cases on Wednesday, over half of them linked to outbreaks in Catalonia, Aragon, Galicia and Andalusia.
The total number of cases in the country is at least 252,513. The government's data also shows that four people died from coronavirus in Spain in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths to 28,396.
1:32 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
New Jersey makes changes to allow for more restaurants to have outdoor dining
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Gov. Phil Murphy Pool
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is making changes to allow for more restaurants to have outdoor dining.
The state will be explicitly allowing areas with fixed roofs with at least two open sides, comprising at least 50% of the total wall space, to be considered outdoors “in light of their airflow.”
He reiterated today, “we are just not ready to open up indoor dining.”
1:26 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
United warning 45% of frontline workforce could be furloughed this fall
From CNN’s Pete Muntean
A pilot walks by United Airlines planes as they sit parked at gates at San Francisco International Airport on April 12 in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic, United Airlines is sending warning letters nearly half of its frontline workforce that they could be furloughed when restrictions on a federal bailout expire October 1.
The world's third-largest airline says 36,000 workers — including 15,000 flight attendants, 11,000 customer service and gate agents, 5,550 maintenance employees and 2,250 pilots — are about to receive 60-day mass layoff notices. The reductions are in addition to furloughs of office-based employees the company previously said it would cut.
"The reality is that United simply cannot continue at our current payroll level past October 1 in an environment where travel demand is so depressed," the company said in a message to employees.
The Wednesday announcement paints a grim picture for an air travel recovery only days after United announced it would ramp up its schedule in August.
The airline is operating only a quarter of flights compared to last year and says that planes are, on average, 55% full. United executives say demand for air travel has slipped recently in markets such as New York, where bookings at its Newark hub dropped as Covid cases surged.
United executives told reporters the company has done everything it can to protect employees — urging them to take early retirement and voluntary separation plans and aggressively raising millions in new money — but the airline is still hemorrhaging $40 million each day.
The airline, which reached an agreement this week with the Treasury Department to tap a loan fund, is also not counting on another round of relief to pass Congress.
“We do not feel like we can count on additional federal government support to survive and we have to take steps to protect the company and protect the long-term interest of the company and the prospects for united employees,” a company executive said.
1:09 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
Here are the latest coronavirus updates from New York state
From CNN's Melanie Schuman
People stand in line outside The Shops at Columbus Circle on July 7, Noam Galai/Getty Images
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new details on reopening plans and provided updates on coronavirus case numbers at a briefing today.
Here's what you need to know:
Schools: By July 31, local school districts across the state will have to submit their plans including protocols and how they will reopen. On August 1-7, the state will announce a decision on whether or not those schools reopen.
Malls: Beginning Friday, malls can open in phase four regions so long as they have enhanced HVAC filtration system and measures in place. The Department of Health is asking for malls to install MERV-13 filters or the highest compatible filter for their current system which can filter out coronavirus.
Hospitalizations: There were 841 hospitalizations across New York state as of Tuesday and 97 intubations – the first time the latter number is under 100 and first time this low since March 16. There were 11 deaths on July 7 — nine in hospitals and two in nursing homes.
Testing: In New York City, 1.2% of those tested over the last five days were positive. Cuomo debunked the theory that there are more positive cases across the country because of testing, citing the rise in hospitalizations.
Quarantine list: Nineteen states are on a quarantine list, including the three additions announced Tuesday – Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut issued a travel advisory last month that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days.
One thing to note: The numbers were released by the state Department of Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
1:04 p.m. ET, July 8, 2020
How the US went from zero coronavirus cases to 3 million in 170 days
