July 9 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Brett McKeehan, Ivana Kottasová, Ed Upright, Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 0112 GMT (0912 HKT) July 10, 2020
97 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
7:02 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

New Mexico governor says trends are "going in the wrong direction"

From CNN’s Laurie Ure

New Mexico Governor's office
New Mexico Governor's office

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said trends in the state are "going in the wrong direction.”

Speaking at a news conference, Lujan Grisham said that the state had 238 new Covid-19 cases today and six new deaths.

There are currently 154 people in the state in hospitals, with 32 on ventilators. 

The governor said they are starting to see some long lines for testing, but insisted the state is working on it.

The state has reported 14,251 total cases and 533 deaths.

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

6:54 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Indoor dining capacity in Arizona rolled back to 50% as cases spike, governor says

From CNN’s Rosalina Nieves

Indoor dining in Arizona will now be limited to 50% occupancy, Gov. Doug Ducey announced at a news conference on Thursday.

“We have had a brutal June in Arizona,” the governor said, as the state saw a 50% increase in Covid-19 cases. The state reported a total of at least 108,614 Covid-19 cases. 

He emphasized that residents are safer at home and should continue staying at home. 

The governor also said the United States was seeing a decrease in number of daily cases through the month of May but in June, when Arizona’s number began to climb so did the total numbers for the United States.

“It's possible that Arizona was the front of that wave of increases in these cases and the actions that we're taking can lead the way for our state to navigate forward," Ducey said.

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

6:55 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Bolivian interim president becomes third Latin American head of state with Covid-19

From CNN’s Taylor Barnes

Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez waves during a procession in La Paz, Bolivia, on Thursday, June 11.
Bolivia's interim President Jeanine Anez waves during a procession in La Paz, Bolivia, on Thursday, June 11. Juan Karita/AP/FILE

Bolivian Interim President Jeanine Añez announced on her official Twitter account Thursday that she tested positive for novel coronavirus.

Añez mentioned that many of her cabinet members had tested positive recently.

“Given that over the last week many of them [my team members] have tested positive for coronavirus, I also did the test and also was positive,” she said in a video accompanying the tweet. “I will be quarantined for 14 days until I do a new test to see how I am. I feel good, I feel strong, I am going to continue working virtually from my isolation and I want to thank all the Bolivian men and women who are working to help in this health crisis we are having."

In recent days, at least four top Bolivian government officials, including Health Minister María Eidy Roca, tested positive for Covid-19. The other officials positive for novel coronavirus include Minister of the Presidency Yerko Núñez Negrette, Minister of Mines Jorge Fernando Oropeza, and the commander of the armed forces, Gen. Sergio Orellana.

Añez is the third Latin American head of state to test positive for the virus, following Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

6:51 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Houston mayor says Covid-19 is "out of control" in the city

From CNN's Raja Razek

Mayor Sylvester Turne
Mayor Sylvester Turne Pool

Houston, Texas, Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a news conference Thursday that the Covid-19 virus in the city is "out of control."

"The numbers are moving in the wrong direction for us. The Covid-19 virus in the city, quite frankly in the state, it's out of control," Turner said. "What we do today, and over the next few weeks is critical to getting this virus back in a manageable state."

He continued saying the goal is to bring the daily number of cases to below 300. 

"And I say 300, that's the number I am using because it makes it then much more practical for us to engage with our contact tracing," he added. 

Houston reported 412 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to at least 26,012, with approximately 250 deaths. 

Note: These numbers were announced by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

6:56 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Massachusetts man charged after allegedly pulling gun on another man not wearing a mask

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

A Massachusetts man has been arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on another man during an argument over the victim not wearing a face mask inside a store, according to a statement from the Bridgewater Police Department.

The 59-year-old man from East Bridgewater was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct, and disturbing the peace, the statement said.

The details: On July 3, around 5:20 p.m., Bridgewater Police responded to a call from the manager at a Walgreen’s Pharmacy, who reported that two men were arguing inside the store about one of them not wearing a face mask.

The argument continued into the parking lot, where one of the men allegedly pulled a gun from his vehicle and pointed it at the other man, who had not been wearing a face mask in the store. The suspect then got in his vehicle and left the scene, police said.

The victim, a 30-year-old Abington man, was not injured, according to Bridgewater Police.

Police later identified the suspect and arrested him at his home. He then complained of a medical issue and was transported to a local hospital.

According to police, his license to carry a firearm and firearms from his home were seized.

6:39 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Shelter-in-place orders prevented as many as 370,000 coronavirus deaths, study finds

From CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman

When 42 states and Washington, DC, implemented shelter-in-place orders in March and early April to help contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, they may have prevented as many as 370,000 deaths by the middle of May, according to new research.

The study used models to examine Covid-19 death rates and hospitalizations during shelter-in-place-orders and evidence indicated they “helped reduce Covid-19 cases,” authors Wei Lyu and George L. Wehby said.

Not only did lockdowns help reduce coronavirus cases, the study found, but six weeks later, deaths were down by 6%.

“Projections suggest as many as 250,000 - 370,000 deaths possibly averted by May 15 in the 42 states plus the District of Columbia with statewide shelter-in-place orders,” the researchers wrote in the journal Health Affairs. They saw between 750,000 and 840,000 fewer hospitalizations in the 19 states with stay-at-home orders and public hospitalization data.

The lockdowns also helped reduce daily hospitalization rates by almost 8.5% in 19 states with the mandates, the analysis found.

“This evidence suggests that shelter-in-place orders have been effective in reducing the daily growth rates of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations,” the study concluded.

There were 120,000 deaths and 320,000 hospitalizations from Covid-19 by the time the study was peer-reviewed, up from 83,000 deaths and 198,000 coronavirus hospitalizations as of May 15 when the study ended, Lyu and Wehby reported.

Previous studies have also concluded that stay-at-home and shelter-in-place mandates have helped reduce infections and deaths from Covid-19.

6:37 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Connecticut reports 101 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Rob Frehse

Connecticut has 101 new Covid-19 cases and five new deaths due to coronavirus as of this afternoon, according to a statement from Gov. Ned Lamont.

The state now has a total of 47,209 confirmed coronavirus cases and 4,348 deaths. There are 90 people currently hospitalized with Covid-19.

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

6:32 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

Dallas hospital to receive help from medical assistance teams as cases rise 

From CNN's Raja Razek

Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, will be receiving medical assistance teams to help deal with rising hospitalization rates, hospital spokesperson Robert Behrens told CNN on Thursday.

Earlier today, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted that federal partners are sending disaster assistance teams to their region.

"Our federal partners are sending Disaster Medical Assistance Teams to our region to bolster our medical staffing amid the rise in #COVIDー19 hospitalizations. For now, one hospital in the @CityOfDallas will receive staff," the tweet said.

The latest statewide numbers: Texas reported at least 105 Covid-19-related deaths on Thursday, which is the highest single-day increase in coronavirus fatalities. This brings the total number of deaths in the state to approximately 2,918. 

Read Johnson's tweet:

6:28 p.m. ET, July 9, 2020

More than 1,500 people working on contact tracing in North Carolina

From CNN's Pierre Meilhan

North Carolina has hired more than 480 contact tracers, which means there are more than 1,500 people working on contact tracing, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday. 

The agency also tweeted that it launched an initiative to deploy up to 300 new, no-cost testing sites in underserved communities that currently have limited testing options.

As of Thursday, North Carolina had a total of 79,349 Covid-19 cases and at least 1,034 people were hospitalized, the public health agency said. At least 1,461 people have died from the virus in the state.