August 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 4:28 p.m. ET, November 23, 2020

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6:37 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

Almost 100 people in Ohio were infected with coronavirus after man attended church service

From CNN's Steve Almasy

A man with Covid-19 went to church in mid-June, then 91 other people got sick, including 53 who were at the service, according to Ohio's governor.

It spread like wildfire, wildfire. Very, very scary," Gov. MIke De Wine said Tuesday. "We know that our faith-based leaders want nothing more than to protect those who come to worship."

To illustrate how one infected person can spread the virus, state health officials released a color graphic showing how the cases radiated to some who weren't even at the service.

DeWine urged people attending religious services to wear masks. He had mandated wearing face coverings for people 10 and older on July 22. On Wednesday, he ordered children in schools to wear masks, with a few exceptions.

The governor said he was going to send letters to churches, mosques and synagogues to share important health information.

It is vital that, any time people gather together, everyone wear masks, practice social distancing, wash hands, and while indoors, making sure there is good ventilation and airflow," he said.

6:15 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

In the latest sign of Covid-19-related racism, Muslims are being blamed for England's coronavirus outbreaks

From CNN's Zamira Rahim

A volunteer uses hand sanitizer as he enters Minhaj-ul-Quran Mosque in London on July 31.

Coronavirus conspiracy theorists have been sharing baseless rumors online -- frequently targeting minorities -- since the beginning of the pandemic. In England the latest wave of vitriol criticizes Muslims, blaming them for spreading Covid-19.

Muslims were caught off guard last week, when the UK government suddenly announced local lockdowns in a slew of areas in northern England where cases have spiked. The announcement came just hours before Eid al-Adha, one of the holiest festivals in Islam.

The affected areas included Greater Manchester, Burnley, Blackburn with Darwen, Bradford and Leicester -- all places with a significant Islamic population according to the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB).

The restrictions -- published late last Thursday evening -- banned people in the named areas from mixing with other households.

Local politicians and Muslim leaders criticized the timing of the announcement.

"The timing ... it focused people's minds [on Muslims]," Rabnawaz Akbar, a Labour Party councilor in Manchester, told CNN.

The government "have done it on the eve of Eid," leading people to think "it must be the Muslim community's fault," Akbar said. "You see how people would have come to the assumption. [The government] have done it without thinking but of course, they're highlighting a particular demographic. And people are angry and now that anger is focused on a particular community."

A Downing Street spokesperson said in a statement to CNN: "Decisions on lockdowns are based solely on scientific advice and the latest data. Where there are local outbreaks, our priority will remain taking whatever steps are necessary to protect people."

Read more here:

In the latest sign of Covid-19-related racism, Muslims are being blamed for England's coronavirus outbreaks

5:56 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

Fauci says the world may never eradicate coronavirus, while Trump claims it will "go away"

From CNN's Madeline Holcombe

The world may never eradicate the coronavirus completely, but public health measures and an effective vaccine could help bring it under control, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Wednesday.

The conclusion drawn by America's leading infectious disease expert is a sharp contrast to President Donald Trump's repeated claims that the virus will eventually "go away."

Fauci said the United States can get on top of the virus with a good vaccine and prudent safety measures -- like masks, hand washing and social distancing.

"We may need to go through a season of it and then by next season, if we have a vaccine, it won't be a pandemic, it won't be immobilizing the world, it won't be destroying the economy," he said.

At least 39 states as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico have put some type of order in place that mandates the use of masks, and vaccines are advancing through development in the hopes of reaching the public in 2021. Still, the nation is missing a cohesive response to the virus, Fauci said.

"We had a disparate response," Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, added. "But totally, as a nation, we are in that situation where we've got to get that control way down to a low baseline."

Read more here:

The world may never eradicate coronavirus, but it can get it under control, Fauci says

4:41 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

MLB tightens health and safety protocols following Covid-19 outbreaks

From CNN's Jill Martin and Cesar Marin

Major League Baseball has made several strict changes to its health and safety protocols in the wake of recent Covid-19 outbreaks, according to a league memo.

The memo, which was sent to clubs Wednesday, cites the Miami Marlins' outbreak.

"MLB investigators have now conducted a thorough investigation of the factors contributing to the spread of the virus within the Marlins traveling party, and our decision to revise the protocols ... is based on many of the things that we learned," the memo states.

The changes include reducing the size of traveling parties, requiring staff members and players to wear face coverings while on the road, and prohibiting players and staff to meet in hotel rooms without special permission.

Coronavirus-related postponements started after 21 members in the Marlins' organization, including 18 players, tested positive for the virus. The Philadelphia Phillies have also had several positive tests.

Earlier this week, an outbreak among Cardinals' players and staff raised further questions about MLB's plans to safely hold the season amid the pandemic.

Read more here:

MLB tightens health and safety protocols following Covid-19 outbreaks

4:04 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

These 3 Covid-19 vaccines have been in the news. Here's what you need to know about them

From CNN's Theresa Waldrop

The US government is pouring billions into Covid-19 vaccines, and candidates from three companies are moving along quickly: Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax.

Moderna:

The vaccine is developed by Moderna, a biotech company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with help from the US National Institutes of Health.
Phase 1 trials showed that the vaccine brought about an immune response, which is what researchers wanted to see. Phase 2 was started in May. Phase 3 was just announced last week. It will involve 30,000 adults at 89 clinical research sites around the country.
Side effects: More than half of participants reported side effects considered normal for a vaccine, like chills, headache, muscle pain and fatigue.

Pfizer:

Pfizer is developing more than one vaccine candidate in partnership with German company BioNTech.
Combined Phase 1/2 trials found that vaccines produced an immune response and produced antibodies.
A combined Phase 2/3 trial started last week, carried out at 120 sites worldwide. If the trial is successful, and gets emergency FDA approval, as many as 100 million doses may be available by the end of the year.
Side effects were generally mild to moderate, lasting one to two days, including fever, fatigue and chills.

Novavax:

Maryland-based biotech Novavax hopes to have its vaccine in Phase 3 trials next month.
Phase 1 trials showed that participants who got the vaccine had levels of antibodies that can fight off the virus that are four times higher, on average, than those developed by people who have recovered from Covid-19.
Side effects: Of 106 people who got the vaccine, five had severe side effects, including muscle pain, nausea and joint pain, and one had a mild fever. The side effects lasted about two days or less.

Read more:

These 3 Covid-19 vaccines have been in the news. Here's what you need to know about them

3:13 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

Germany reports more than 1,000 new cases for the first time in three months

From CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Berlin

A physician takes a sample from a woman at a coronavirus testing station at the Dresden International Airport in Germany, on August 3. Robert Michael/picture alliance via Getty Images

Germany reported 1,045 new Covid-19 cases in the past day, according to the country's center for disease control -- the first time daily cases have topped 1,000 in three months.

The last time Germany saw more than 1,000 new infections in a single day was May 9.

The German government has voiced concern over a recent spike in infections across the country, and urged citizens to follow pandemic rules like social distancing, mask wearing and sanitizing more closely.

At the same time, the government also said it believes travelers returning from abroad are another source of infections, and has begun free testing of all arrivals into the country.

Schools reopening: The spike comes as Germany begins the process of reopening schools as summer break comes to an end.

On Thursday, students in the city-state of Hamburg will return to classes. Like most other states in Germany, Hamburg has made wearing masks mandatory in communal areas in school buildings, but not during lessons in classrooms

2:49 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

Peru reports highest daily jump in new cases and deaths so far

From CNN’s Maria Ramirez Uribe in Atlanta

Peru recorded 7,734 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, its highest daily increase so far, according to the country's Health Ministry.

That raises the country's total to 447,624 cases.

The ministry also reported 221 new related deaths, the highest one-day jump -- raising Peru's death toll to 20,228.

The rise in cases and deaths come a day after Peru’s Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano, the Cabinet chief, lost a vote of confidence in Parliament, a blow to President Martin Vizcarra while his government attempts to slow the spread of the virus.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

Tracking coronavirus' global spread

2:25 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

8 patients killed in India coronavirus hospital fire

From CNN's Esha Mitra in New Delhi and Akanksha Sharma in Hong Kong

Eight people died in a fire that broke out in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a Covid-19 hospital in the western Indian state of Gujarat, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The fire started at about 3 a.m. local time at Shrey Hospital in Ahmedabad, according to chief fire officer Rajesh Bhatt.

The eight coronavirus patients in the ICU -- five men and three women -- had already died of smoke, heat and fire by the time firefighters arrived, Bhatt said.

"We believe it was a short circuit, but the forensics team is yet to officially confirm what caused the fire," he told CNN.

The fire was contained to the ICU and did not spread to the rest of the hospital, according to Bhatt.

Some 40 patients at the hospital were rescued within two hours after the fire broke out. They were all were being treated for coronavirus at the hospital, and have been transferred to the city's Sardar Vallabhbhai Hospital, Bhatt said.

Two of the people rescued sustained minor injuries.

The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani, has ordered an investigation into the fire and requested a report within three days, according to his official Twitter account.

1:50 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020

North Korea’s first suspected coronavirus patient was tested but the results were "inconclusive"

From CNN's Yoonjung Seo in Seoul, South Korea

An employee disinfects the room to help curb the spread of the coronavirus at the Ryugyong Health Complex's public bath in Pyongyang, North Korea, on July 31. Cha Song Ho/AP

North Korea tested its first suspected case for coronavirus, but the results were inconclusive, according to Dr. Edwin Salavor, the World Health Organization Representative to North Korea.

Salvador said that North Korea’s Ministry of Public Health had informed WHO of a suspected case of Covid-19 in Kaesong City.

WHO did not conduct the test in North Korea.

Extensive contact tracing is ongoing, with as many as 64 "first contacts" and 3,571 "secondary contacts" identified. They will be quarantined in government facilities for 40 days, said the statement.

Kaesong City has been placed under lockdown from July 19, and contacts of residents who traveled outside the city between July 19-24 are being traced.

Salvador did not offer more details on why the test results had been ruled inconclusive. “WHO has requested DPR Korea to share more information about the suspected case," he told CNN, using North Korea's official name.

Since the start of the year, North Korea has quarantined and discharged 25,905 people -- 382 foreigners and 25,523 of its citizens.

Official warnings: An article in the North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun called upon citizens to "firmly defend the security of the country and the people" by following pandemic rules, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

"Even one or two men's carelessness and breach of acting rules and principle in the anti-epidemic work may lead to critical consequences," said the article, KCNA reported.