July 30 coronavirus news

By Nectar Gan, Adam Renton, Emma Reynolds, Ed Upright, Melissa Macaya and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, July 31, 2020
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7:57 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Coronavirus outbreak linked to 4 Costco stores in California's Bay Area

From CNN's Sarah Moon

A coronavirus outbreak has been confirmed at four Costco locations in the Bay Area, according to a statement from Santa Clara County.

A total of 31 cases have been confirmed within the past two weeks at four Costco stores in Gilroy, Mountain View, San Jose, and Sunnyvale. The number of confirmed infections at each store ranged from four to 13. 

The county began an investigation at these locations after an outbreak was reported at various Costco locations, according to the statement.

“Preliminary results of the investigation indicate that Costco is complying with social distancing and other protocols and that many of the cases have been caused by community transmission and most likely not internal transmission among employees,” the county said.

Clusters of the virus have not been confirmed at any other Costco locations in Santa Clara County, according to the statement.

The county is working closely with Costco to protect the safety of workers and customers at each location.

“This includes assisting Costco in identifying close contacts and advising on appropriate disinfection measures, ensuring that appropriate testing protocols are being followed, as well as measures to prevent workplace transmission,” the county said.

By the numbers: As of Thursday, Santa Clara County has a total of 9,731 confirmed cases and 190 deaths.

7:51 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Lawmakers seen complying with House mask mandate

From CNN's Haley Byrd

House members are complying with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mask mandate during tonight’s votes.

Republicans all appear to be wearing masks, although a couple members, including Rep. Jim Jordan, have worn them incorrectly, under their noses.

Jordan could be seen bumping elbows with another member and greeting colleagues on the floor before leaving after casting his vote.

7:49 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

New restrictions issued in Northern England after rise in coronavirus cases

From CNN's Dan Wright in London

The UK government announced new restrictions in Northern England "to stop the spread of Covid-19."

"This is in response to an increasing trend in the number of cases per 100,000 people in the area," a release from the government read on Thursday.

People in the following areas will not be allowed to "mix with other households (apart from those in their support bubbles) in private homes or gardens" after data showed that "transmission among households is a key infection pathway in the area," the government said.

The new measures apply to the areas of: 

  • The Greater Manchester area
  • Pendle
  • Hyndburn
  • Burnley
  • Rossendale
  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • Bradford, 
  • Calderdale
  • Kirklees
  • Leicester City

The new rules allow people from these neighborhoods to still go to bars and pubs, but "two households should not go to hospitality together."

"The spread is largely due to households meeting and not abiding to social distancing. So from midnight tonight, people from different households will not be allowed to meet each other indoors in these areas," UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in the release.

The UK recorded its highest daily rise in Covid-19 cases in more than a month Thursday, according to data from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

The DHSC reported 846 new coronavirus cases, the highest rise since June 28 when there were 901 new infections. There were also 38 deaths reported Thursday, compared to 36 deaths on June 28, DHSC data shows.

The government also announced lifting of restrictions in other local areas, such as in Oadby and Wigston, and on Aug. 3, restaurants, cafes, bars and hairdressers in Leicester City can reopen. 

The government also urged anyone celebrating Eid al-Adha this weekend to "follow the new rules and protect the ones they love." 

7:39 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Argentina records its deadliest day from Covid-19

From CNN's Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota, Colombia

Argentina reported its highest daily death count from Covid-19 Thursday, according to its health ministry.

The ministry reported 153 new deaths, its highest increase since the outbreak began. Argentina's death toll from the virus is 3,441.

Argentina also reported 5,938 new Covid-19 cases, bringing its total to 185,373.

Some context: Argentina has the sixth highest number of cases in the Latin America region, behind Colombia, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University.

7:41 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Maryland's university system makes Covid-19 testing mandatory on campus

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

Julio Cortez/AP/FILE
Julio Cortez/AP/FILE

The University System of Maryland (USM), which includes 12 institutions and three regional higher education centers, is making Covid-19 testing mandatory for all on-campus students and employees.

Anyone returning in-person to a USM institution now has to be tested for Covid-19 within 14 days prior to arriving and will need to provide university officials with confirmation of a negative test result, according to a release from the university system.

Some of the universities will be conducting this testing on their own as students and employees arrive on campus, while others are beginning the fall semester imminently, within 14 days of the new guidance issued today.

Anyone who tests positive for Covid-19 prior to arrival will not be allowed on campus, and will only be allowed back after a required period of isolation has been met, per public health guidelines, the release said.

“Since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis, the safety of our students and employees has guided the University System of Maryland’s planning and decision-making. The uncertainty surrounding Covid spread and impact demands that our plans be flexible enough to respond to disease risk in real time, changing as Covid conditions and safety guidelines change,” the university system said.
7:08 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

San Diego gym that defied shutdown order linked to Covid-19 outbreak

From CNN’s Jenn Selva

A San Diego gym that was shut down after operating in defiance of the county’s health order to close last week has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus.

According to the San Diego Health and Human Services Department, The Gym in Pacific Beach defied health orders and remained open despite an order to close indoor operations to prevent spread of coronavirus. The business was sent a letter last Thursday and told to close immediately, but it didn’t shut until days later on Monday, county health officials said. 

While it wasn’t clear how many cases were linked to the gym, county health officials said an outbreak is considered three or more cases from different households stemming from a specific location. 

According to San Diego Health Officer Wilma Wooten, any business or entity that violates the order faces a misdemeanor and a fine of $1,000 dollars.

County officials said they need to step up contact tracing efforts and crack down on egregious violators. They’ve issued multiple letters to local businesses, including gyms and restaurants.

The facility did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment.

San Diego County has reported a total of 28,287 Covid-19 cases and 552 deaths.

 

7:09 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Hawaii reports record high number of cases for second day in a row

From CNN’s Andy Rose

At least 124 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Hawaii on Thursday.

That's a 14% increase over the previous record high set Wednesday and is the state’s fifth record day in the past week.

Government officials in Hawaii are considering rolling back part of their reopening plans to respond to the surge. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Wednesday he wanted to close all bars on the island of Oahu for three weeks because some recent Covid-19 clusters have been traced to bars.

The proposal is awaiting Gov. David Ige's approval.

6:59 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Trump calls for extension of unemployment benefits as Congress debates next stimulus bill

From CNN's Allison Malloy

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump said he supports a “temporary extension of unemployment benefits” and slammed Democrats as negotiations on a relief bill remain deadlocked. 

Asked what the White House is willing to put on the table to move negotiations Trump said, “It’s a great question. I can’t tell you though because that wouldn’t be very smart for me from a negotiating standpoint but we’ll be putting certain things on the table.”

Trump added that he wants to “get money to people” saying that it wasn’t the fault of American workers but “China’s fault.”  

“We’re asking Congress to pass additional legislation to support Americans in need. First we want a temporary extension of expanded unemployment benefits. This will provide a critical bridge for Americans who lost their jobs to the pandemic,” Trump said of the bill. 

Trump also slammed what he called “Democratic obstruction” which he said he was “surprised” by but said he wanted Democrats’ help to temporarily stop evictions. 

“We want to get money to people. It wasn’t their fault. And we want to get money to people and it has to be substantial. It’s not their fault what happened. The fact is, people don’t like saying it- they know it’s true- it’s China’s fault. Okay? It’s not their fault. It’s not the worker who lost his job. It’s China’s fault. And that’s the way it is,” Trump said. 

Watch here:

6:47 p.m. ET, July 30, 2020

Key coronavirus model projects 230,822 deaths in US by November

From CNN’s Haley Brink

The University of Washington now projects there will be 230,822 US deaths from Covid-19 by November, based on the current scenario.   

On July 22, the university’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) forecasted 219,864 total deaths from the virus by November. 

The latest update reflects an increase of about 11,000 deaths due to an increase in infections and the refusal by some people to wear masks, to practice social distancing, and to perform other measures to mitigate the transmission of the virus.

If the US universally adopted wearing masks, the number of deaths by November would drop to nearly 198,831, the model projected. The use of masks is up but not as high as it should be across the nations. However, there has been a rise in mask wearing across states and locations with increased cases and deaths, the IHME said.

"If 95% of Americans wore masks each time they left their homes, infection rates would drop, hospitalizations would drop, and forecast deaths would drop,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at IHME. "Unfortunately, people let down their guard until media report the risk of increased infections."

Some context: So far, according to Johns Hopkins University, more than 4.47 million Americans have been diagnosed with coronavirus infections and at least 151,674 have died. 

"We would like for Americans to keep their guard up to reduce the transmission of the virus. We do not have an effective drug and vaccines are on their way, so prevention is key." Mokdad told CNN.