July 27 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Adam Renton, Amy Woodyatt, Ed Upright, Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 12:02 a.m. ET, July 28, 2020
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11:55 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

Two MLB games postponed due to coronavirus

From CNN's Wayne Sterling

A general view of the field at Marlins Park on Friday, July 17, in Miami.
A general view of the field at Marlins Park on Friday, July 17, in Miami. Mark Brown/Getty Images

Two Major League Baseball (MLB) games scheduled for Monday night have been postponed due to Covid-19, MLB announced in a statement Monday.

The Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins in Miami and the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia have been postponed.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, a number of Miami Marlins players and staff tested positive for the coronavirus while playing in Philadelphia this past weekend. 

Eleven Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for the virus, ESPN reports. The team did not travel back to Miami after the three-game series ended Sunday as they remained overnight for more testing.

MLB said that it will conduct additional testing.

Yankees and Phillies in Philadelphia and Orioles and Marlins in Miami are scheduled to be played Tuesday night.

11:56 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

Germany must keep daily cases "well under 500" to keep coronavirus under control, official says

From Nina Avramova in London and Fred Pleitgen in Berlin

A tester gestures with to driver in a coronavirus drive through testing station in Mamming, southern Germany, after an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus at a farm on Monday, July 27.
A tester gestures with to driver in a coronavirus drive through testing station in Mamming, southern Germany, after an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus at a farm on Monday, July 27. Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

A recent rise in the numbers of coronavirus cases in Germany is a “cause of concern,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Chief of Staff, Helge Braun, during a Monday news conference. 

Braun said in order to tackle the pandemic in the autumn months, cases need to be kept low during the summer period.

"When we come to a higher ground-level of infections during summer, due to our leisure and travel behaviors, or even an increase in the numbers of infections, then it will be even more difficult to keep the situation under control in autumn," Braun said. "That means, from what we have experienced in recent days — with partially over 800 cases a day — we must get to a situation again where we are well under 500. Then we have, I believe, good starting conditions to keep the pandemic under control, also in autumn.”

What the numbers look like now: Germany’s seven-day coronavirus reproductive rate is 1.16, while the four-day r-rate is 1.22, according to the country's center for disease prevention, the Robert-Koch-Institute. The center has called the rise in coronavirus infections “very disturbing” and said it is “monitoring the situation very closely.”

Braun also stressed the mandatory quarantine measures in place. The Robert-Koch-Institute has published a list of risk areas, and people returning from those areas are "obliged to go into quarantine,” Braun said.

"It is very important that all those who are affected, really consistently adhere to these quarantine rules," Braun added.

There is also discussion around implementing mandatory testing for people returning from risk areas, Braun added. State health ministers will discuss mandatory testing on Monday with the German Minister of Health.

11:58 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

Here's how the Democratic National Convention will take place during the Covid-19 pandemic

From CNN's MJ Lee

Signage is displayed during a media walkthrough for the upcoming Democratic National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on Tuesday, January 7.
Signage is displayed during a media walkthrough for the upcoming Democratic National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on Tuesday, January 7. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Democratic National Convention next month will take place over the course of four nights between August 17 and 20, and CNN can now confirm that each night of programming will take place from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

The decision to limit the TV programming to just two hours of prime time each night is one of the starkest signs yet of how unconventional this year’s gathering will be in the age of the coronavirus pandemic compared to previous conventions, typically filled with various events and speakers for many hours each day. POLITICO was first to report the shortened hours of prime time programming for the Democratic convention. 

Given this decision, it goes without saying that speaking slots and various segments simply won’t be as long as they might have been in previous conventions so that they can try to fit as much in — and as many speakers in -- as possible. 

The programming will include both content coming out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as other satellite cities and landmarks across the country — which CNN has previously reported — though the final details, including themes, are still in the process of being finalized.

As CNN has already reported, Joe Biden himself will physically accept the Democratic nomination for president in Milwaukee. The speaking line-up for other prominent figures is also still being finalized — for example, the Obamas will definitely participate, but exactly how and from where they will appear is still unclear. 

People familiar with the convention planning also say that there continue to be active discussions on how to hold the four-night event with proper precautions around Covid-19 — the public health concern will “drive every decision we make,” is how the thinking was described. 

Epidemiologists Larry Brilliant and W. Ian Lipkin are taking lead roles in advising those planning the convention.

12:12 p.m. ET, July 27, 2020

Florida reports nearly 9,000 more coronavirus cases

From CNN's Tina Burnside

Medical workers attend to patients at an Orange County government provided free drive-thru Coronavirus testing location on Monday, July 27, in Orlando.
Medical workers attend to patients at an Orange County government provided free drive-thru Coronavirus testing location on Monday, July 27, in Orlando. Alex Menendez/AP

The state of Florida is reporting 8,892 new cases of Covid-19 and 77 more deaths today, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health. 

This brings the state's total cases to at least 432,747, according to the state department of health. The statewide resident death toll is now at least 5,931.

A look at the latest numbers:

11:26 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

San Diego is allowing gyms and churches to reopen outdoors to keep people employed, mayor says

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

CNN
CNN

San Diego, California, Mayor Kevin Faulconer signed an executive order to allow local gyms, churches and salons to expand their businesses outdoors into private parking lots. 

“It's all about how to keep our economy going but do it safely, and to try to be innovative and creative,” he told CNN. “As we have allowed restaurants to move out into the sidewalk and to the streets, parking lots, the same thing with gyms and other businesses. It's about a lifeline that can keep folks employed, to keep businesses operating safely and try to do everything we can to obviously work through this pandemic.”

Faulconer added that San Diego has seen its cases beginning to flatten over last week, however, they need more tests.

As the $600 in federal unemployment benefits expire this week, the mayor said it is important for mayors to “provide the opportunity for businesses to be innovative and creative and do things they normally hadn’t done outdoors” to get people employed.

In response to Rep. Karen Bass’ claim that California reopened too quickly, Faulconer emphasized on a local approach.

“We're a big state, and one of the things we've been advocating is follow what's happening on the local level with our local county public health officials,” he said. “You reopen safely but you do it based upon the facts on the ground locally.”

11:18 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

Military coronavirus cases increase by more than 1,000

From CNN's Ryan Browne

The number of coronavirus cases among members of the US military increased by 1,647 over the weekend, an increase of nearly 7% from Friday's data.

There are currently 25,590 active cases among US military personnel. 

The number of military cases currently requiring hospitalization remains relatively low, at 465, an increase of nine from Friday. 

Cases among Defense Department civilians, dependents and defense contractors also increased over the weekend.

11:15 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

New York City mayor calls for the courts to reopen

From CNN's Sheena Jones

NYC MEDIA
NYC MEDIA

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is calling for courts to reopen across the city, the mayor said Monday during his daily Covid-19 news conference.

The mayor said coronavirus has allowed for an uptick in crimes and it is time to restart all pieces of the justice system.

“We are all in this together,” de Blasio said, but now is the time to come together and rebuild, it’s a massive backlog when it comes to dealing with violent crimes, he said.

11:09 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

In May, every US state was on the path to reopening. Now, experts say some places may need to rollback.

People wait in line to get tested for Covid-19 at a testing site in Atlanta on July 11.
People wait in line to get tested for Covid-19 at a testing site in Atlanta on July 11. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Many states and communities began loosening coronavirus pandemic restrictions in the late spring and early summer — but as cases surge across the US, there are calls for a second lockdown.

More than 150 prominent medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and other experts have signed a letter urging leaders to shut the country down and start over to contain the rampant spread of the virus.

"The best thing for the nation is not to reopen as quickly as possible, it's to save as many lives as possible," they wrote in the letter, which was sent last week to the Trump administration, leading members of Congress and state governors.

The letter came just after an unpublished document prepared for the White House coronavirus task force recommended that 18 states in the coronavirus "red zone" for cases should roll back reopening measures amid surging cases.

Those states were Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

And Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier this month that some states reopened too quickly, allowing the coronavirus pandemic to come roaring back,

"There are some times when despite the guidelines and the recommendations to open up carefully and prudently, some states skipped over those and just opened up too quickly," Fauci said.

How we got here: Georgia was among the first states to reopen, allowing hair and nail salons, gyms, bowling alleys, tattoo studios and massage therapists to reopen their doors in late April. Around the same time, some businesses in Alaska and Oklahoma were allowed to reopen.

By mid-May, all 50 states were at least somewhere along the road to a full reopening. But even as more communities loosened their coronavirus restrictions, experts warned that the effects of those reopenings wouldn't be clear for weeks.

11:05 a.m. ET, July 27, 2020

New York City's infection rate has dropped to 1%, mayor says

From CNN's Sheena Jones

People visit Domino Park in Brookyln, New York, on July 26.
People visit Domino Park in Brookyln, New York, on July 26. Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

New York City continues to meet the threshold to keep the city open and has dropped the city’s infection rate to 1%, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Here are NYC's key indicators for Monday, July 27:

  • 1% of people tested for Covid-19 have tested positive, according to De Blasio’s office, that number is down from the 2% previously reported. 
  • At least 54 people were admitted to the hospital suspected to have Covid-19 which is below the threshold to reopen. 
  • There are at least 286 people in ICUs being treated for Covid-19. 

One thing to note: The numbers listed were released by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.