July 9 coronavirus news

Gov. Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina reported the highest number of hospitalizations in the state and the second highest number of coronavirus cases.  

“We’re continuing to watch with concern as Covid cases and hospitalizations increase,” he said. “And though North Carolina isn’t a surging hotspot like some other states, we could be if we don’t stay strong in our fight.”

As of today, the state has at least 79,349 lab-confirmed cases of the virus, including approximately 2,039 new cases and about 1,034 people in hospitals, according to the governor. At least 1,461 people have died from the virus.

North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the state is in a "critical period."

On reopening schools: The governor said he will announce his plans for reopening schools next week. He said there are currently no plans to conduct pro-active coronavirus testing of K-12 students before they return to schools, but he encouraged the wearing of face masks, social distancing and frequent handwashing to reduce the virus’ spread.

“We have been working on this for quite a while. This is a tough call – how to open up schools is something that every single state, every single governor is struggling with,” he said.

“I think it’s really important that we separate all of the politics here and talk about what’s best for our children. We know that they need to get back in school and do it in a safe way. And that can be a combination of in-person learning and remote learning, depending on the circumstances, depending on the student," he added.

Note: These numbers were released by the North Carolina Department of Public Health, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Some states have opened too quickly, allowing the coronavirus pandemic to come roaring back, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday.

Fauci said that "some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly."

The nation's leading infectious disease doctor said he thought in some respects, Florida and Arizona’s reopening plans have contributed to the uptick in cases in those states.

“Certainly Florida I know, you know, I think jumped over a couple of checkpoints,” Fauci said. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci said people would have to have "blindfolders" and be covering their ears if they didn’t think partisanship has something to do with why it is so hard to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

“You have to be having blindfolders on and covering your ears to think that we don’t live in a very divisive society now, from a political standpoint,” Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Podcast-19, FiveThirtyEight’s weekly podcast on Covid-19.

“I mean, it’s just unfortunate, but it is what it is. And you know, from experience historically, that when you don’t have unanimity in an approach to something, you’re not as effective in how you handle it. So I think you’d have to make the assumption that if there wasn’t such divisiveness, that we would have a more coordinated approach," he said.

Fauci added that some parts of the country are doing “really well” at managing the pandemic, including communities where people follow the public health guidelines and have opened gradually. 

Texas reported 105 Covid-19-related deaths on Thursday, the highest single-day increase in coronavirus fatalities.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the state is now 2,918. 

Texas reported 9,782 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 230,346.

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

The positivity rate in Los Angeles stands at 9%, with about 1.24 million tests having been conducted to date, according to Health Director Barbara Ferrer. Most key metrics are trending upward, she said.

Los Angeles is reporting 50 additional deaths today, which is well above the seven-day average of 24 fatalities. Approximately 1,777 additional coronavirus cases were reported, bringing the county’s total to almost 125,000. 

Hospitalizations are also up slightly today. More than 2,000 patients are in the hospital with Covid-19 –– far more than the average of about 1,400 seen just four weeks ago.

Ferrer addressed what she calls the false narrative that younger people shouldn’t worry as much because they don’t tend to get as sick.

“We are tied together as a community of human beings in what happens here. This isn’t the time for people to say, ‘I’m going to take the risk,’" Ferrer said. “It doesn’t work that way. It’s not just you that’s taking the risk. You’re creating a risk for other people.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has canceled all large events across the city through September 30, according to a statement from his office.

Events that do not conflict with "open streets" or "open restaurant" areas can still apply for a permit, the statement said.

De Blasio said large events means things like street fairs, concerts and parades.

"Things that here in the city can mean not just thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people. It's just not time for that," he told CNN on Thursday.

When asked if people would be able to gather to protest, de Blasio said that was an area of sensitivity.

"We understand at this moment in history, people are talking about the need for historic changes," he said. "This is a historic moment of change. We have to respect that, but also say to people the kinds of gatherings we're used to – the parades, the fairs – we just can't have that while we're focusing on health right now."

At least 1,018 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Illinois, bringing the total to approximately 150,450, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

The state also reported 20 new deaths – bringing the total to at least 7,119. 

Today marked the highest testing day since the pandemic began, with 36,180 tests returned on Thursday. More than 1.8 million tests have been conducted since the start of the pandemic, the health department said.

Additionally, there are about 1,507 people in the hospital and 317 patients in intensive care due to the virus, according to the health department. 

Note: These numbers were released by the Illinois’ public health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed an executive order mandating that people must wear a face covering or mask in public in certain situations.

The order goes into effect Friday at 5 p.m.

According to the governor, the order requires all customers in retail facilities to wear a mask, customers in grocery stores must wear a mask, and customers in most forward facing businesses have to wear a mask if they are indoors.

Additionally, if someone is outside and cannot be six feet away from another person, they also need to wear a mask.

The order will be in effect for 30 days, according to Beshear.

“I want to see how well we can do in 30 days,” the governor added. “Our future and what we can do in the state, how our economy rebounds, how safe people are going to be, the health and the lives of Kentuckians all depends on our ability to wear one of these."

The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention views the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to rebuild a better public health care system.

“In every crisis there is an opportunity,” Dr. Robert Redfield said during a virtual summit hosted by the Hill. “I think this Covid crisis is an opportunity.”

The pandemic provides a chance to “finally make the commitment it needs to make” to prepare the public health system to work better in the US, he said.

The higher hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 among the Native American, Alaska Natives, African American, Hispanic and Latino communities, he said, is not due to anything intrinsic.

“It’s actually a marker of the health disparity that exists in this nation for far too long,” he said. Statistics show these communities suffer more from health issues including diabetes, lung disease, heart and kidney disease and obesity. Poverty also plays a large role in these chronic inequities, he said.

“Clearly, you know, it’s a wake-up call to say are we serious about trying to truly impact health disparities so that there’s equity in health in this nation,” Redfield said.