July 21 coronavirus news

Tuesday’s reported deaths from coronavirus have topped 1,000 in the United States for the first time in two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of 9:45 p.m. ET, 1,056 deaths have been reported, along with 62,752 new cases of the virus. On July 7, the death toll was 1,195 -- the only other time in July that threshold has been crossed. Today’s death count will not be finalized for a few more hours.

So far this year, one-quarter of all days (59 out of 202) have seen a death toll from the virus exceeding 1,000.

Colombia's health ministry reported 7,033 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the country's total to 211,038 cases. 

The ministry also reported 239 new fatalities, bringing the nationwide total death toll to 7,166. 

Despite the growing number of cases, Health Minister Fernando Ruiz defended Colombia's strategy not to impose a nationwide lockdown and instead try to isolate the hotspots across the country. 

Speaking on television on Tuesday, Ruiz said, "This approach is much more effective than shutting down the whole country." 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday responded to President Trump's briefing earlier in the day, in which he warned the pandemic would probably get worse before it gets better, saying he had realized his early actions and rhetoric were in error.

"If he had said months ago 'let's wear a mask, let's socially distance' instead of having rallies.... then more people would have followed his lead," Pelosi added. "He is the President of the United States."

In today's briefing that lasted around 30 minutes, Trump again said he believed the virus would disappear and insisted the American response to the pandemic was "much better" than in other places.

But he also offered more realistic projections that his advisers hope will make him appear like a sober-minded leader.

"It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better," Trump said, echoing a prediction he made at the start of April of a "rough" two weeks ahead.

Pelosi suggested that Trump ought to have taken the tone he took today in March, instead of waiting until the virus surged across the country.

"If it's important to wear a mask now, it would have been important to wear it in March instead of telling us that by April, we would all be going to church together," she said. "I wish that were the case."

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Tuesday that fan attendance of approximately 25% of capacity will be allowed at the 2020 Indianapolis 500, and all attendees will be required to wear face coverings.

Race officials originally announced in late June a planned attendance of 50% of capacity, but said Tuesday that policies and procedures put into effect by Indianapolis Motor Speedway led to this new reduced attendance.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Indy 500 organizers were hoping to draw more than 300,000 attendees this year. Twenty-five percent of that total would still make the 2020 Indy 500 the most attended sporting event in the US since the onset of the pandemic.

The race is scheduled for August 23 after being postponed from its original date of May 24.

Race officials plan to unveil a nearly 100-page plan of guidelines and protocols for how the race will be run on July 22.

The University of California, Berkeley will begin fall semester with “fully remote instruction,” the university announced in a statement to its faculty and staff on Tuesday.

Citing trend lines and the increase in coronavirus cases across California and Alameda County, the university said a “dramatic reversal in the public health situation” is unlikely before the semester begins on August 26.

“We continue our preparations to implement hybrid and/or flexible modes of instruction as soon as public health conditions allow,” UC Berkeley said. 

The fully remote option is open for all students, according to the statement. UC Berkeley plans to continue with remote education after Thanksgiving, even if some in-person instruction becomes available.

UC Berkeley is the first among 10 campuses across the state to announce its decision to begin the semester entirely online.

Brazil reported 41,008 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,159,654, the country's health ministry said.

The ministry also registered 1,367 new fatalities due to the virus, raising the total death toll to 81,487.

Earlier Tuesday, the Pan American Health Organization said Covid-19 "is showing no signs of slowing down" in the Americas.

"There have been a total of 7.7 million cases and more than 311,000 deaths reported in the region as of July 20," PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said in Tuesday's briefing.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday said he took a second Covid-19 test since testing positive for the virus on July 7.

He made the statement to a crowd of supporters gathered in front of his presidential residence, video broadcast live on his Facebook page showed.

Wearing a mask and separated from supporters by a small water canal, Bolsonaro said he expects the result to come out soon.

“Tomorrow morning or late afternoon, God willing, it will be negative and I will return to normal. Then on Friday, I will travel to Piaui,” Bolsonaro said referring to a state in the northeast of the country, where he is expected to meet governors.

On July 15, Bolsonaro said he took another coronavirus test that again came out positive. 

This is the fourth consecutive day that the far-right president of Brazil left his residence in the afternoon for a walk outdoors to greet his fans.

During the interaction, a supporter asked if she could have breakfast with Bolsonaro on Wednesday but was reminded by the the his aides that she cannot get close, as the president may still be infected.

President Trump claimed governors are receiving “everything they need” from the federal government and that “tremendous amounts” of critical medical supplies are available for states that need them.

“The governors are working very, very hard and we are supporting them 100%, everything they need they get, and we are taking good care,” Trump said. “We have tremendous supplies and a great supply chain. Whether it's ventilators or gowns or just about anything they need.” 

Facts First: Trump is overselling the federal pandemic response. Some governors have what they need, but others have said the Trump administration is falling short. And even though he says “tremendous supplies” are available, some hospitals and health care workers still don’t have enough protective gear, and experts say Trump’s slow decision-making is partially to blame.

The country is in better shape than a few months ago, but there are still reports of equipment shortages. Some frontline health care workers are still rationing their personal protective gear.

CNN previously reported the Trump administration has not fully utilized the Defense Production Act to spur manufacturing of critical supplies like masks, gowns and gloves. Some efforts are underway, but experts say it’s not enough and that the law was invoked far too late. Because of that, smaller physicians’ offices and assisted-living facilities are currently facing shortages.

Regarding the governors, Trump is exaggerating.

CNN reached out to governors’ offices across the country earlier this month, after Trump made a similar claim about governors having everything they needed. Democratic governors from Washington state, Colorado, Michigan and Illinois said they needed more supplies from the federal government. One Republican governor told CNN that Trump’s comment was accurate.

Trump is a repeat offender on this front. He also said in April that governors were satisfied with the supplies they received, even as governors from both parties said they faced shortages of medical equipment. 

Touting the actions his administration took to address coronavirus, President Trump claimed, "We closed the border to China, we put on the ban.” He later added, “I closed the borders from Europe." 

Facts First: It’s misleading for Trump to say he closed the US border to travel from China and Europe because both policies contained multiple exemptions, including for US citizens and permanent residents; the Europe policy exempted entire countries. Only foreign nationals who had been in China, Europe's Schengen area, the UK or Ireland within the past 14 days were outright banned from entering the US. 

You can read more about Trump’s travel restrictions here.