July 9 coronavirus news

The US Food Drug Administration has issued a warning to Ionogen, LLC, for selling a solution for hands and skin that the company claims kills the virus that causes Covid-19. 

In a letter sent Tuesday, the FDA said the company wrote on its website that the product "Ionopure Skin & Hands" meets the standard for killing coronavirus.

"Which of your products kill COVID-19 (Coronavirus)? The World Health Organization has stated that any chlorine-based solution of at least 500 ppm FAC will kill COVID-19. Ionopure Skin & Hands... meet[s] this standard," the agency said Ionogen claimed on its website.

The FDA said these products have not been approved by the agency and asked the company to review its website, product labels and promotional materials "to ensure that you are not misleadingly representing your products as safe and effective for a Covid-19-related use."

The FDA also said that until the company takes corrective action, it will be on a list of firms and websites that have received warning letters from the FDA "concerning the sale or distribution of Covid-19 related products."

On Thursday, the Ionopure website included the following below the description of the various Ionopure Skin & Hands products: "These statements are not intended to substitute the advice given by a licensed healthcare professional. Ionopure products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition or disease."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he "would not hesitate" sending his own kids to school when the academic year begins. All of his three children are below the age of four and not of school age.

"Educating our kids is absolutely essential, we have put them to the back of the line," he said at a news conference this afternoon in Jacksonville.

When asked about safety precautions for the Republican National Convention, DeSantis supported hosting the convention in an outdoor space, citing safety for all of those in attendance. DeSantis said no plan had officially been submitted to host the convention in an outdoor space. 

On the state of Covid: DeSantis said staffing was proving to be an issue statewide. He alluded to seasonal shortages as part of the reason. Hundreds of contract nurses are expected to be deployed statewide in addition to 100 additional nurses being sent to the Tampa area as well as another 100 nurses to Miami-Dade. 

The governor announced antibody testing in Jacksonville is available for the general public. DeSantis said the state is moving forward contracting with self-swabbing vendors to expedite the test results. Currently, testing results are taking longer than 48 hours. 

US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Thursday described the global race to develop a coronavirus vaccine saying, “It’s a very tight international collaboration here; we're all working towards a common goal.”

Azar explained that the United States currently has four major investments in vaccine candidates that work in three different ways: the Moderna vaccine, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine and the Novavax vaccine.

"And phase two, three clinical trials for many of them will be beginning just later this month, probably,” he added. “I like to say the return on investment for a vaccine is almost infinite in terms of the investment that you would make.”

Azar said that while some trials and the manufacturing will occur in the United States, other countries won’t be shut out.

“We're investing in US manufacturing and US fill-and-finish capacity so that we're not dependent on any movement of product across borders from outside the United States. But in no way would we do anything to preclude development for the rest of the world,” he said. 

Gyms in the Brazilian city of São Paulo will start reopening along with 70 of the city’s municipal parks starting Monday, the city's Mayor Bruno Covas said Thursday.

Two of the city’s biggest parks, Ibirapuera and do Carmo parks, will operate Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time. Other parks will be open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and all parks will be closed on weekends.

The parks will have controlled entry and will operate at 40% capacity, while the gyms can only operate six hours a day at 30% capacity. Masks are required in gyms and parks.

Some context: Last Monday, the city reopened bars, restaurants and beauty salons with restrictions, and extended the hours of operation for street commerce, malls, real estate agencies and car dealerships.

The state of São Paulo has 8,350 new cases of Covid-19 as of Thursday, according to state health secretary data, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 349,715.

The state recorded an additional 330 deaths on Thursday, bringing the state’s death toll to 17,118, more deaths than in all of Peru.

Chelsea Alionar, 37, has been battling coronavirus since March 9.

“This is far and above the toughest thing that I have ever had to go through,” she told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.

Alionar said that she started experiencing symptoms in March, but was unable to get tested or meet testing criteria until April 10. That’s when she tested positive for Covid-19.

She said early symptoms included headaches, a mild fever and cough.

Alionar said she quarantined herself until she was able to get tested and has remained in quarantine except for doctor and hospital visits.

“I have remained quarantined and have really not left my home, except for doctors appointments and a hospital visit just a couple of days ago. I’ve had symptoms of loss of hearing and difficult breathing,” she said.

Alionar added that she also experienced “Covid brain” where she “really can’t recall short-term memory.”

Other symptoms she said she experienced are; dry mouth, adrenaline running throughout her body like she “drank a shot of espresso,” internal shakes, rapid heart rate and insomnia.

“I thought at 120 days, I was past the worst of it,” Alionar said, but said she’s still struggling.

Watch the full interview:

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany could not explain the discrepancy between Vice President Mike Pence and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield on whether there would be a revision on CDC’s guidelines for schools reopening, telling reporters that the administration is on the “same page.” 

Earlier this week, said the CDC would be soon issue a new "set of tools" on the topic of reopening schools. But today, Redfield said that the guidelines would not be revised, although additional reference documents will be provided.

“Our guidelines are our guidelines, but we are going to provide additional reference documents to aid basically communities that are trying to open K-through-12s,” Redfield said on Good Morning America Thursday. “It’s not a revision of the guidelines; it’s just to provide additional information to help schools be able to use the guidance we put forward.” 

When asked about the contradiction to the Pence's comments, McEnany repeated that “the CDC director noted there would be additional guidance. The vice president noted that as well."

McEnany continued: “I think Dr. Redfield was noting he doesn’t plan to rescind the current guidance that’s out there. It will be supplemental guidance, but these are not requirements and not prescriptive. It was the way he characterized the initial guidance — and he said this guidance should not be used as a reason for schools not to reopen. We all have the same goal here. It’s for schools to reopen because the health of the child absolutely depends on it."

When asked whether the White House would provide an additional document with guidance, McEnany said there were “none in the works but doesn’t mean it won’t happen."

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation today suspending elective surgeries in hospitals in all counties located in the 11 trauma service areas (TSA) in the state.  

The suspension already includes hospitals found in Bexar, Cameron, Dallas, Harris, Hidalgo, Nueces, Travis and Webb counties.

Abbott's proclamation adds 105 of the state's 254 counties to the original executive order, bringing the total number of counties to 113 that must suspend elective surgeries.   

Metro Nashville Public Schools will not return to in person learning on August 4 and will instead fully implement virtual learning through “at least” Labor Day, Dr. Adrienne Battle, the director of the Metro Nashville Public Schools, said today. 

Last month, Nashville announced plans to offer parents two choices; a physical or in-person return for families who wanted to pursue that route, as well as the option for families to continue virtual learning.

However, given the latest coronavirus data in the area, officials concluded that schools should not return to the in-person model as scheduled on August 4, Battle said. 

“This is not the way I wanted things to go,” she added.

The US Chamber of Commerce, the nation’s top business lobbying group, called the Trump administration's new policy not allowing foreign students to take online-only courses "ill-conceived," warning that it will have a "chilling effect" on the American economy. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday said international students studying the US will have to leave the country or face deportation if their universities switch to online-only courses. Many schools across the country are beginning to make the decision to transition to online courses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

US Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas J. Donohue said the move would "inflict significant harm" not just on American colleges and universities, but all US businesses.

International graduates from American college and universities "are a critical source of talent for American businesses and the Chamber will consider its legislative and legal options should this policy remain in place," Donahue said in a statement. 

Yesterday, Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued the Trump administration over the new guidance, calling it "cruel" and "reckless."

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report