This Texas county extended its shelter-at-home order for another 2 weeks
From CNN’s Kay Jones
The shelter-at-home order in Hidalgo County, Texas, has been extended another two weeks, according to a press release from the Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez.
Cortez issued the initial order on July 20, and it went into effect on July 22. The order said it was necessary because of the rise in numbers and fatalities. It was slated to expire at 11:59 p.m. last night, but will now expire at 11:59 p.m. Aug. 19.
“In these past two weeks, our residents have adhered to the shelter at home order which has helped our community slow the spread of Covid-19,” Cortez said in a press release announcing the extension. “We are asking the public to continue practicing the recommendations of our medical experts by continuing to shelter at home, wear a mask and practice good hygiene.”
The order states that residents should shelter at home, limit their travel, and wear a face covering in public.
There are 18,699 Covid-19 positive cases in the county, which includes the city of McAllen, according to Cortez. At least 450 of those were new as of Wednesday afternoon.
Note: These numbers were released by the Hidalgo County of Texas and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database, which is drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project
11:47 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
WHO warns of lack of testing in Africa as continent approaches 1 million cases
From CNN's Bethlehem Feleke in Nairobi
Recently filled graves are seen in the Olifantsveil Cemetery outside Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday Aug. 5. Jerome Delay/AP
As Africa approaches 1 million confirmed Covid-19 cases, representing 5% of global cases, testing in many African countries remains a "constant and concerning challenge," the World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said in a news conference on Thursday.
"At the same time, some countries have increased their testing per capita while maintaining a low positivity rate. Countries such as Mauritius, Rwanda, Cape Verde and Botswana," Dr. Moeti added.
WHO reported that July has seen a 40% increase in the total number of tests performed on the continent compared to the previous month.
Meanwhile, 10 countries accounted for 89% of new cases within the past two weeks, WHO said.
Testing assistance: WHO will send technical experts to 11 countries that are experiencing a surge in Covid-19 cases and deaths to assist in "beefing up community engagement and health education and providing direct material support to strengthen testing capacity," according to a Thursday press release.
More than 40 regional experts will be deployed to South Africa, which remains the worst-hit country on the continent and the fifth-worst affected country globally.
The experts will deploy to several of the most severely affected provinces to support the management in areas of epidemiology, surveillance, and rapid data analysis due to a "need for better capacity at the local level, at the district level and in provinces," Dr. Moeti said.
WHO stressed the need for communication surrounding Covid-19 guidelines in African countries to be less centralized and more localized to ensure the messages reach more people in order to contain the outbreak.
16 countries in the region have seen an increase in new cases by more than 20% in the past two weeks compared to the previous two weeks. However, a number of African countries have seen a recent decline in daily cases, with about 20% fewer reported last week than the week before, Dr. Moeti said.
The countries experiencing a decline include: South Africa, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Mauritania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Botswana, Liberia and Benin.
"We do have countries where despite the fact that the governments did a relaxation of the measures, there was an initial increase in cases and several of these countries now we are starting to see a decline," she added, "The take-home is that we need to monitor this and ensure this decline continues and it's sustained."
Latest figures: So far, 41 countries in the region have reported infections of healthcare workers, indicating about 35,000 have been infected, with the majority in South Africa where about 24,000 healthcare workers have been infected, according to Dr. Moeti.
With 992,710 reported cases and 21,617 deaths, according to Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent is expected to reach the 1 million mark for confirmed cases this week.
11:29 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Goggles or face shields may be helpful for teachers in classrooms, Fauci says
From CNN's Gisela Crespo
While wearing goggles hasn't been formally recommended to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it can serve as an extra degree of protection for teachers who are in close contact with children.
Speaking Thursday during a briefing with the Alliance for Health Policy, Fauci said that if he was in a classroom with children who often don't cover their sneeze or cough, he "might very well" wear goggles or a face shield.
"It certainly can't hurt, and if you can do it, it might help," he added.
Fauci explained the virus can enter through mucosal surfaces on the upper face – the mouth, the nose and the eyes – and explained that there's no formal guidance on wearing goggles to protect the eyes because studies have not been done yet.
11:16 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Covid-19 public health measures may help "blunt" the flu season, Fauci says
From CNN's Amanda Watts
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said it’s possible that public health measures across the country – such as mask-wearing, hand-washing and physical distancing – “might really, really blunt the flu season.”
“If you have Covid of any extent, you might have two reasons to have less flu: one, because you're doing the kinds of things of public health – masks, etcetera – and two, it might get bumped out by Covid," he said while speaking during an Alliance for Health Policy webinar today.
“My hope is that both of those will be down,” he added. “Vaccination for flu, public health measures for flu and Covid would have us be in the situation where both the flu season is blunted and we have very little Covid. That's a goal that we should aspire to that I think is possible."
11:09 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Pelosi strikes optimistic tone even as stimulus negotiations stall
From CNN's Ali Zaslav
Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks to members of the press as Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles Schumer onl August 4 in Washington at the Capitol. Alex Wong/Getty Images
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she remains optimistic that despite hard negotiations, “we will” find a solution and come to an agreement on the relief bill.
“Will we find a solution? We will,” Pelosi said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” Thursday morning. “Will we have an agreement? We will.”
On President Trump considering extending an eviction moratorium with an executive order, Pelosi said, “He can extend the moratorium and I hope that he does.”
But she added that she believes you can’t “just have a moratorium,” you also have to have some money for people to compensate to help pay the rent.
CNBC’s Jim Cramer asked Pelosi if Democrats and Republicans could agree to give funds to those most affected, like people who are disenfranchised, and minorities who want to stay in business, as well as minorities who are trying to go to college or have student loans.
She replied: “Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn, for what you just described.”
11:00 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Schumer accuses GOP of trying to "apply a Band-Aid" to Covid-19 recovery
From CNN's Ian Sloan and Ted Barrett
Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer listens during a news conference in Washington on August 4. Alex Wong/Getty Images
As lawmakers continue to struggle towards a new coronavirus stimulus bill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pointed at Republican leadership to get serious, saying “President Trump and his aides, and his party in Congress, are not truly awake to what’s happening in this country.”
“We Democrats believe the patient needs a major operation, while Republicans want to apply a Band-Aid,” Schumer said. “And we won’t let them just pass the Band-Aid, go home, and still leave America bleeding.”
Schumer said that although both sides have made some progress this week, there isn’t enough to bring a deal, saying “we are not going to agree to an inadequate bill that doesn’t address the challenges in our country,” Schumer said.
10:59 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Fauci to young Americans: "Don't be the weak link in the chain"
From CNN Health’s Amanda Watts
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, wears a Washington Nationals protective mask during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31, in Washington. Erin Scott/Pool/Getty Images
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, said he doesn’t think young people aren’t heeding scientific advice “deliberately and maliciously.”
During a Thursday webinar with the Alliance for Health Policy, Fauci addressed young people directly:
“You're not in a vacuum. You can be part of the problem of propagating the outbreak, or you could be part of the solution of protecting yourself," he said. “If we want to get those number down, and we want to open up the economy and open up the country, so that you can actually ultimately get back to some form of normality, you are part of the process of getting us there."
Fauci continued: “Don't be the weak link in the chain. Be a very strong part of the chain of ultimately getting us down.”
“That's the message we've got to get to young people,” he said. “Obviously they're not doing anything deliberately and maliciously, but what they're doing is inadvertently – they're propagating the outbreak.”
10:55 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Delta says 20% of employees have taken a buyout
From CNN's Pete Muntean
A Delta Airlines airbus plane is seen at the gate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on July 30 in Arlington. Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images
Delta Air Lines now says one in five workers have voluntarily left the company as it continues to be clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic.
“The departure of 20 percent of our workforce was a difficult but necessary step towards Delta’s transformation into a smaller, more nimble airline,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a new memo to employees.
In July, the airline said it could avoid furloughs if enough employees took voluntary early separation packages.
Restrictions on a federal bailout have kept airlines from shedding employees until Oct. 1.
Other major airlines, such as American and United, have sent notices of possible furloughs to thousands of workers.
Delta’s Bastian says the airline was burning $27 million in cash each day in June.
“We can’t count on a vaccine being widely available in the near future,” said Bastian. “With this in mind, we continue to plan for a long and somewhat choppy recovery.”
10:51 a.m. ET, August 6, 2020
Fauci hopes Covid-19 can be controlled "in a way that it is not a pandemic or an epidemic threat"
From CNN Health’s Amanda Watts
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said “we hope as a pandemic threat, that we are really on the cusp of seeing the end of it – as we do public health measures and a vaccine.”
“You may have some lingering of infection around that might come back in a seasonal way, but hopefully with the technologies and the vaccines and getting much, much better in our public health measures, that we'll be able to control it in a way that it is not a pandemic or an epidemic threat," Fauci continued, speaking during an Alliance for Health Policy webinar on Thursday.
Fauci added that much of the responsibility lies in the hands of the population: “That is up to us, as a society.”
“If we do the fundamental things that we've been talking about for so long — masks, physical separation, avoiding crowds, outdoor things better than indoor — you can get the level down low enough that you can then control it much better with or without a vaccine,” he said.
