July 25 coronavirus news

Maryland reported 1,288 new cases of Covid-19 – the highest daily count of new cases since May 19, according to data on the state’s Covid-19 website on Saturday.

On May 19, the state reported 1,784 cases per Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

The state has reported a positivity rate of 4.48%, according to its site.

Maryland has a total of 83,054 Covid-19 cases and 3,304 deaths from the virus, the state website said. 

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

The state of Florida has reported 12,115 new cases of Covid-19 and 124 additional deaths on Friday, according to Florida's Department of Health.  

This is the tenth time since the start of the pandemic that the daily deaths surpassed 100 in Florida, according to CNN's tally.   

This brings Florida's total cases to 409,585, according to the department. The statewide death toll is now 5,777, the department added.

Covid-19 hospitalizations fell slightly across New York state as of July 24, according to a tweet from Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Covid-19 hospitalizations fell to 646, which is down from 650 reported the day before.

The state reported a 1.05% infection rate after 71,466 people were tested for Covid-19 and 750 of those people were positive, the tweet said.

The state recorded a total of 10 Covid-19 deaths Friday, according to the tweet.

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

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

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested negative for coronavirus on Saturday, according to a tweet he sent.

"RT-PCR for Sars-Cov 2: negative. Good day to all," Bolsonaro tweeted.

Some context: On Wednesday, the Brazilian president said he tested positive for the third time after announcing on July 7 that he was infected.

Gyms and indoor swimming pools in England reopened on Saturday for the first time since restrictions were imposed in March amid the pandemic.

Facilities reopened with social distancing measures in place, complying with official government guidance that says venues should keep "as many people as possible appropriately distanced from those they do not live with." 

The reopening comes as England continues to ease lockdown measures.

On Friday, face masks in the country became mandatory in shops, supermarkets, banks, post offices, enclosed transport hubs and shopping malls.

The UK has recorded 45,762 coronavirus-related deaths, the third highest fatality toll globally, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Nurses and doctors have gone to creative extremes to reuse the same masks, gloves and scrubs they need to treat contagious coronavirus patients. But if a prototype mask created by researchers proves widely effective, it may be a safer alternative for health care workers.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston have developed the iMASC, a new silicone mask that can be safely reused without fear of contamination. Researchers still need to analyze how effectively it catches viral particles, but it's a promising step toward addressing the critical health care supply shortages.

The iMASC offers a level of protection comparable to N95 respirator masks, its creators say. That's partially because it uses an N95 filter without all the additional material of N95 masks that catches particles.

The masks are based on the shape of a typical N95 mask, too, but they're made with a silicone rubber that can be sterilized after each use. The dual filters that cover the mouth can be replaced after each use, too, the researchers said.

Read more here.

Ninety-one thousand.

Ninety-one thousand lives snatched by an unrelenting pandemic since the first state in the US reopened on April 24.

Ninety-one thousand whose dreams were cut short, plans ended prematurely.

Each one a son or daughter. Someone's uncle. A best friend. A person who left others to grieve, cry and try to carry on.

Read their stories here.

Emirates, the United Arab Emirates flag carrier, has become the world's first airline to offer to cover customers' medical expenses and quarantine costs should they contract Covid-19 during their trip.

The airline will pay medical expenses up to €150,000 ($173,000) and quarantine costs of up to €100 for 14 days, should they be diagnosed with coronavirus during their travel, while away from home.

The cover will be available to all customers, at no extra cost, from now until October 31, 2020. It's valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first leg of their trip, so passengers can continue to have the benefit even if they travel onwards from their Emirates destination.

Read more here.

The US National Hurricane Center and other NOAA agencies are among those essential organizations that are trying to protect their employees from Covid-19 so they can keep working and putting out life-saving information for American families.

The problem isn't so much with normal, day-to-day operations, but rather with big events, when staffing at National Weather Service (NWS) offices can often double or triple what it normally is.

"Normal staff for our office is about 2-4 people depending on the shift, but during big events such as tornado outbreaks and tropical systems our staff could surge to 7-8 people," explains Kyle Thiem, meteorologist at NWS Atlanta office.

Yet adding more people into an enclosed space creates problems in a world with Covid-19. So how do they allow for the added staff while not compromising their safety or the life-saving information they put out?

Read more here.