July 25 coronavirus news

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.

South Korea recorded 113 new virus cases on Saturday, the biggest jump in daily new cases since March 31. 

Among the cases, 86 are imported and the other 27 are locally transmitted according to the country's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).

The spike in cases was partially driven by a group of South Korean workers from Iraq who arrived in the country on Friday.

Of the 293 workers, at least 71 have tested positive. Another 211 tested negative and 11 people are still undergoing testing.

The country has 14,092 recorded cases of coronavirus and 298 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The chief minister of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has tested positive for coronavirus.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, the 61-year-old wrote, "My dear countrymen, I was having COVID-19 symptoms and, after a test, my report came back positive. I am following all the guidelines and will quarantine myself based on doctor's advice.”

Chouhan also appealed to colleagues and individuals to take precautions to avoid infection and urged those who had come into contact with him to get tested.

"I appeal to the people of my state to be careful, just a little carelessness invites the coronavirus. I made every effort to avoid the virus but people used to meet me on many subjects," he posted.

Chouhan's diagnosis comes as coronavirus continues to spread rapidly across India, which has recorded more than 1.3 million cases of the virus according to Johns Hopkins University.

Madhya Pradhesh has registered a total of 26,210 cases, including 17,866 recoveries and 791 deaths.