August 3 coronavirus news

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that indoor gatherings will be reduced to 25% capacity with a maximum number of 25 people, due to the “upward climb” in the Covid-19 transmission rate. 

Citing a rise in indoor house parties that have been seen all across the state, the governor said, “We cannot be any clearer that indoor gatherings and especially large crowded ones where social distancing isn’t practiced and face masks aren’t worn, they are just not safe.” 

Murphy went on to say until the state sees the rate of increase drop, “the actions of a few knuckleheads leave us no other course.”

According to the governor, the restrictions do not apply to weddings, funerals, memorial services and religious and political activities protected under the First Amendment. 

The governor said he welcomed the “proactive action” taken by Airbnb to suspend and remove the listings of some 35 properties, which received complaints for becoming party houses.

"This is a welcomed step to not only restore some sanity and peace to neighborhoods but to help us curtail the dangerous actions of a few that may put many people and entire communities at risk," Murphy said.

The latest numbers: The rate of transmission stands at 1.48, which has not been that high since early April, the governor said Monday. The daily positivity rate as of July 30 is 1.88%.

There have been 264 news cases of Covid-19 with 10 fatalities over the course of the last three days. 

The state reported 738 Covid-19 hospitalizations, with 144 patients in intensive care units, 34% of patients are on ventilators. 

President Trump said he’s “totally involved” with coronavirus relief negotiations on Capitol Hill despite the fact that he hasn’t been on the Hill for the talks.

Asked why he wasn’t involved with the negotiations, Trump said, “The fact I’m not over there with crazy Nancy? I'm totally involved. Totally involved.”

“We are going to be doing some things that are very good because we don’t think that she— look. What Chuck Schumer wants more than anybody and I would say Nancy Pelosi would be second, they want to bail out cities and states that have done a bad job over a long period time nothing to do with coronavirus or China virus or whatever you want to call it,” he continued. CNN considers the term “China Virus” is derogatory and inaccurate.

“They want bailout money,” Trump claimed. “A trillion dollars in bailout money and people don't want to do that. Because we don't think it's right. The Democrats have run some very bad states and some very, very bad cities and a lot of people don't want to give them a trillion dollars to reward them for doing a bad job. If you look at some of the states, I won't insult anybody by naming those states but you know what they are. They want bailout money. They're not interested in the people they’re not interested in unemployment. They’re not interested in evictions which is a big deal. The evictions. They want to evict a lot of people are going to be evicted but I’m going to stop it.”

The President has routinely blamed Democrats for the status of negotiations, but Republican lawmakers spent several weeks trying to get on the same page. The White House was often out of step with party leadership, particularly in its insistence in a payroll tax cut that saw bipartisan opposition.

 Read the latest on the stimulus negotiations here.

Another football player at a different high school in Indiana has tested positive for Covid-19, according to Dennis Jarrett, director of media and community relations for the Metropolitan School District of Warren Township.

The football player is a student at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Classes at the high school are still scheduled to begin on Thursday, August 6, Jarrett said. 

Note: This is a different school district from the other four incidents of Covid-19 infections in Indiana schools that CNN have previously reported.

The National Hockey League announced that it has received no positive Covid-19 test results during its first week playing inside the league’s two hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton. 

Every member of each teams’ traveling party was tested on a daily basis between July 27 and August 1.

Read the NHL's statement:

The Houston Fire Department announced that one of their firefighters has died from Covid-19. 

In a statement posted on their website, HFD said that Firefighter Paramedic Gerado “Jerry” Pacheco died this morning after battling the virus. Pacheco’s son, Justin, is also a firefighter with HFD, according to the release.

HFD posted a video on their Facebook feed of firefighters forming a “wall of honor” as Pacheco’s body was wheeled out to an ambulance and taken to the medical examiner’s office. 

In a statement posted to their Facebook page, Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, the union that represents the city’s firefighters, said that they mourn the loss of their friend. 

Pacheco had been with the department since January 2004. He is the second HFD firefighter to die due to complications from Covid-19, the statement said. 

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown told reporters Monday that 85 Chicago police officers have tested positive for Covid-19 in the month of July, bringing the total to 677 total officers this year.

“Our officers keep coming back, risking their lives for the residents of Chicago to protect this city,” Brown said Monday. 

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan issued an amended emergency order to ensure that local schools and school systems can decide “to initially determine when to safely reopen” for in-person instruction based on public health guidance, his office said Monday.

Under the initial order, issued on April 5, local health departments continue to have the authority to close any individual facility deemed to be unsafe.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today at least 1,298 new Covid-19 cases in the state.

This marks the thirteenth day in a row that the state has reported over 1,000 cases, according to the IDPH dashboard. There are 183,241 positive cases statewide, with a total of 7,526 deaths, up 10 since Sunday’s report.

IDPH also reports the statewide positivity rate for cases over the past seven days is 4%. 

Note: These numbers were released by the Illinois Department of Public Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

CNN’s Kay Jones contributed to this report

All four negotiators are now in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office for today's stimulus negotiations. 

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer were expected to be in the meeting.

Asked if there should be any expectations for this meeting, Meadows responded, “None yet.”

Some background: The meeting comes as the two sides remain far apart on many key issues regarding the next emergency aid package. The Senate is scheduled to leave for August recess at the end of this week, but there's zero sense something will come together before then. Neither side wants to leave town for the month without reaching an agreement, but at this point, that agreement — and then the process of actually getting it through both chambers — is a long way off.