July 29 coronavirus news

Fifty-six percent of all new Covid-19 cases in Maryland are in people under the age of 40, Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference today.

The positivity rate of Marylanders 35 and older has been declining for more than 12 weeks, but people under the age of 35 are testing positive at a rate 76.8% higher than that of people 35 and older. 

Hospitalizations have increased 28% in the past two weeks. A total of 571 people have been hospitalized, Hogan added. Maryland has 145 intensive care unit beds currently in use and has seen the uptick in acute care beds mostly in younger people.

Note: These numbers were released by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Face masks must be worn in all state government offices and buildings in South Carolina starting Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster announced Wednesday.

During a news conference in Columbia, McMaster told reporters that starting Monday, restaurants will be required to “limit customer service” and have no more than 50% occupancy.

“Restaurant employees and patrons will be required by law to a mask or face coverings” in order to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Tables are required by law to be six feet apart with no more than eight people per table, McMaster said.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 1,666 new confirmed Covid-19 cases and 48 additional deaths on Wednesday. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 85,423 and confirmed deaths to 1,551.

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who was supposed to travel to Texas with President Trump today but tested positive during a pre-flight screening, issued a video statement on Twitter saying, “The reports of my demise are a great deal premature.”

He went on to say that Republican Sen. Rand Paul told him that he should be “immune” in 10 days or so.

“Rand Paul was just texting me that the good news is that in 10 days or so I should be, really well, immune,” he said in the video statement.

CNN has reached out to Paul’s office.

More than 150,000 people have died in the United States from coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

There are at least 150,034 deaths and 4,396,030 cases across the country so far.  

The first death in the US was reported on February 29:

Although the ideal Covid-19 vaccine would completely prevent infection, a shot that reduces severe illness and mortality is still a success, Naor Bar-Zeev, deputy director of the International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins University, said Wednesday.

Herd immunity, which is when enough of a population is immune to an infectious disease that the spread from person to person is unlikely, is not on the cards for the next few years, Bar-Zeev said, as the number of doses available of vaccine will be insufficient to produce it.

“What we want to do is reduce severe disease among the people at highest risk,” he said. “So a vaccine that does that but allows infection to carry on, you know causing a mild cold, fantastic, bring it on, that’s wonderful.”

He also pointed out that herd immunity would require more than just an effective vaccine. It also requires community participation and coverage.

“If 50% of Americans don’t want to be vaccinated, for example, because of hesitancy or safety concerns, then even a 100% effective vaccine won’t achieve herd immunity,” he said.

At least 12 additional New York City bars have had their liquor licenses suspended for “egregious violations” of Covid-19 regulations, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced Wednesday.

So far, 57 businesses have had licenses suspended for these violations, part of the state’s continued crackdown on businesses not enforcing coronavirus guidelines. 

The state police and the liquor board authority have done 1,131 compliance checks so far this week, and have cited 55 violations at establishments, which can carry a fine of up to $10,000 per violation.

Governments and individuals need to put "sustained pressure" on Covid-19 to reduce transmission and exposure, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said on Wednesday.

Asked if countries are seeing a second wave of the virus, Ryan said during a Q&A on social media: "There has been this perception that this disease would behave a little bit like influenza, and it would have a natural peak and then it would disappear for a while, and then it would come back in the Northern Hemisphere in the autumn. I think we've always said that we didn't know that."

Ryan compared the behavior of the virus to a spring, explaining, "When we push the virus down, we suppress transmission. Release pressure, it bounces back up. Now you could call that a second peak, a second wave, you can call it what you like. What it means to me is this [virus] requires sustained pressure to reduce transmission, and it requires sustained commitment to reduce exposure."

The WHO official called on governments to work on suppressing transmission through testing, contact tracing and quarantining, while communities and individuals "need to do everything they can to reduce their exposure to the virus." 

"In countries where we've seen well-managed efforts on the part of governments to suppress transmission. And where we've seen communities empowered to reduce their exposure, we see success," Ryan said.

Rep. Francis Rooney, a retiring Florida Republican, became the first GOP House member to vote by proxy during the pandemic this afternoon.

Rep. Don Beyer, a Virginia Democrat, cast Rooney’s vote on a procedural matter for him.

Some context: Republicans have attacked the proxy voting rules for months, saying members should have to be physically present to vote.

Rooney had previously indicated he could make use of the remote voting provisions when he designated Beyer as his proxy, but he has not actually cast a vote by proxy until now.

Beyer’s communications director wrote that there were “audible gasps in the chamber” when Beyer cast Rooney’s vote for him. 

The last time Rooney voted in the House was in February, according to his House website. 

Penn State University has announced that eight student-athletes of the 466 tested as part of the school’s return to campus protocol have tested positive for Covid-19.

The tests were completed as of July 24, with 66 results still pending.

In addition to the isolation measures, university officials said contact tracing measures have been implemented, which include quarantine and testing for individuals who might have been exposed.