By Ben Westcott, Steve George, Tara John, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN
From CNN’s Kay Jones
Louisiana recorded today its highest daily death total since May 1, according the governor’s office. At least 60 deaths were reported today from Covid-19.
The state also recorded 2,802 new cases today, bringing the total to 99,354.
According to the Department of Health, 1,581 people have been hospitalized in the state and 188 people are on ventilators.
From CNN's Sheena Jones
Connecticut reported 127 new Covid-19 cases today and no new deaths from the virus since yesterday, according to a statement from Gov. Ned Lamont.
The state has a total of 48,223 cases of Covid-19 and 4,406 deaths from the virus, the statement said.
Note: The numbers listed were released by the state of Connecticut and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
From CNN’s Konstantin Toropin
The superintendent of Seattle Public Schools is recommending that the district start the 2020-21 school year remotely, a statement on the school district website said.
“We will follow the remote instruction model until the risk of significant transmission of Covid-19 has decreased enough to resume in-person instruction,” the statement said.
Seattle Public Schools is the largest K-12 school system in Washington state and has an enrollment of more than 50,000 students, according to its website.
“We can't imagine a way to open schools without the risk of significant transmission of Covid-19 based on the current trajectory of infections in King County,” the statement said.
However, the district said that they “will adapt and respond as quickly as possible” as the Covid-19 outbreak evolves.
The school board will vote on the superintendent's recommendation and an associated plan for fall 2020 on August 12.
From Marcia Reverdosa in Sao Paulo
The Brazilian state of São Paulo registered 16,777 new coronavirus cases Wednesday — the second highest daily number since the start of the pandemic. The new cases bring the total number for the state, the most populous in Brazil, to 439,446.
Sao Paulo also reported 361 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 20,532.
The executive coordinator of the São Paulo Contingency Center, João Gabbardo, acknowledged the number of new cases was higher than expected but said there was no cause for alarm.
"If we analyze this week, from Sunday to Wednesday, considering the data from this epidemiological week, and the data from yesterday, we will reach the number of 27,000 confirmed cases," he said.
He added delays in the input of data by laboratories may explain Wednesday's high number. "In the same four days of the previous week, week 29, we had 35,000 confirmed cases," he said.
The highest daily figure in the state was 19,030, recorded on June 19.
From CNN's Homero De La Fuente
The National Football League announced Wednesday that fans who attend games will be required to wear face coverings.
Brian McCarthy, the league’s vice president of communications, tweeted on Wednesday, “For those wondering, yes, it is league-wide: fans at NFL games this season will be required to wear face coverings.”
It is still unclear how many teams will host fans in the upcoming season, as there is currently no league-wide policy on the matter.
Here's what some teams are saying about hosting fans:
The NFL’s regular season is scheduled to kick-off on Sept. 10.
From CNN’s Eileen McMenamin
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb today announced a statewide mask mandate to go into effect on Monday, citing rising Covid-19 numbers both within his state and in surrounding states.
“Face coverings can and will help us blunt this increase. It has in other places around the country and around the world,” he said at a news conference. “And this is time sensitive now. It's that time of the year, after all, when schools are going back. This might be one of the most important reasons.”
“There has been a rise in Covid-19 positivity across the state, from a low of 3.6% just a month ago, to where we find ourselves today with a seven-day average rate of just about 7% — the last couple days it was closer to 8%," the governor said.
Health officials said Indiana has also seen a rise in overall hospitalization rates from 600 a day near the end of June to about 800 a day, currently. The governor said a number of counties “that have never even been a blip on the radar screen for positive tests are, in some cases, reporting regular double digit Covid-19 positive cases.”
Holcomb said that while not wearing a face covering will be a misdemeanor, “mask police will not be patrolling our streets.” He called on residents to “do the right thing” by wearing a mask.
“We have continued to fare better than many other states,” he said. “Now we have to hunker down in a different way. Which is why wearing masks will become the fashion of the day.”
From CNN's Geneva Sands
An ongoing backlog in the federal government's production of green cards and other documents was prompted by budget issues and a hiring freeze at the US agency that handles legal immigration benefits.
In June, US Citizenship and Immigration Services reduced its capacity to print secure documents, such as green cards and employment authorization documents when it ended a contract with an outside company, according to the agency’s ombudsman.
The agency planned to hire federal employees to fill the roles, but a budget shortfall resulted in a hiring freeze and slowed down printing of the cards, the ombudsman said in an announcement Wednesday.
“Currently, there is limited production” at the facilities that produce the cards, a spokesperson from USCIS told CNN in a statement, adding that USCIS is currently producing around 10,000 cards per day.
The Washington Post first reported that the administration scaled back printing of these documents without telling Congress.
The current production backlog is roughly 115,000 green cards and employment authorization documents, according to the spokesperson with the oldest pending card order in the queue from July 6.
Some background: The agency is bracing to furlough more than half of its staff next month — a move that could grind the US immigration system to a halt. USCIS, a fee-funded agency, says it's in the hole after having to close offices and put services on pause during the pandemic. The agency has asked Congress for $1.2 billion.
“Should there be a furlough of USCIS employees on August 3, 2020, card production backlogs will likely increase,” wrote the ombudsman.
In the meantime, legal permanent residents awaiting a card may obtain proof of their status by requesting a stamp of temporary evidence in a valid passport, according to the USCIS ombudsman.
From CNN's Raja Razek
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday that he signed an executive order that requires residents to wear face coverings in indoor businesses and indoor public settings to slow the spread of coronavirus.
"Until there is a widely available vaccine, wearing a mask is one of the best tools we have for limiting the spread of COVID-19 and its harmful impacts," said Minnesota Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm in a statement.
Minnesota Department of Health, along with the Department of Employment and Economic Development, will distribute masks to underserved communities and businesses across the state, according to the statement.
"Individuals with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that makes it unreasonable for the individual to maintain a face covering are exempt from the order," the statement said.
The mandate goes into effect on Saturday.
From CNN Health’s Jen Christensen
US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said he loses sleep over the possibility of another pandemic.
“What keeps me up at night, is not necessarily thinking that it’s going to happen next week, but how do we be proactive,” Hahn said Wednesday during an online conversation with the Paley Center for Media. “How do we prevent something like this from happening, if possible.”
Hahn said he also wants to make sure the FDA is ready when there is another pandemic. A key will be advanced manufacturing and domestic manufacturing to make sure the country has adequate supplies of medical products and a supply that’s under US control.
Hahn said the agency is undergoing a mid-action review to make sense of the lessons the agency has learned from the pandemic. He said he also has been working with the FDA’s leaders to determine how it can sustain some of the innovations they’ve seen during the pandemic.
Hahn said what gives him hope is what he sees from the American people. Doctors, nurses, scientists and pharmacists have done “great things” in response to the pandemic.
“We have challenges, no question about it, but that gives me great hope,” Hahn said.
“I also have great hope because I know … what’s coming down the pike, in terms of therapeutics and vaccines," he added.
He said Americans need to take the pandemic seriously and follow public health guidelines: Wear masks, maintain physical distance, use good hand hygiene.
“We will get beyond this pandemic,” he said. “I know that we’re going to do this together.”
