August 11 coronavirus news

By Joshua Berlinger, Adam Renton, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:02 a.m. ET, August 12, 2020

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1:20 a.m. ET, August 11, 2020

Citing coronavirus, Trump administration weighs more restrictions on US-Mexico border

From CNN's Priscilla Alvarez

A US Customs and Border Protection officer speaks to people as they cross the border from Mexicali, Mexico, to Calexico, California, on July 22. Gregory Bull/AP

The Trump administration is considering ways to restrict entry on the US-Mexico border that could include US citizens and lawful permanent residents over coronavirus concerns, according to a source familiar with the matter.

It's the latest attempt by the administration to seal off US borders, citing the virus. In March, the administration invoked a public health law to swiftly remove migrants, including children, who are apprehended at the border. That action, including a series of other travel restrictions, has been extended over the course of the pandemic.

The options being weighed by the administration would also likely rely on authorities from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the source said. The New York Times first reported on the possibility of barring Americans from returning to the US on a limited basis amid fears they may be infected with the coronavirus.

"Career professionals at the CDC are working on an overall approach to pandemic control both now and in the future," an administration official with knowledge of ongoing discussions told CNN. "The regulation is in draft form and subject (to) change. This is an ongoing process and any reporting on this would be extremely premature."

CNN reached out to the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security, which declined to comment.

A draft memo obtained by the Times says any move to block citizens and legal permanent residents must "include appropriate protections to ensure that no Constitutional rights are infringed" and would apply "only in the rarest of circumstances."

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US weighs more restrictions on border with Mexico that could include citizens

12:33 a.m. ET, August 11, 2020

Australia’s internal borders are going to stay closed

From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney

Airline staff walk past empty baggage carousels at the Sydney Domestic Airport Terminal arrivals area on August 7 in Sydney. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Australia’s states and territories will remain closed off from one another in the coming days, state and federal leaders said, as authorities continue to try to stop the latest wave of coronavirus cases in the country.

The state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, has been dealing with a major upswing in cases in recent weeks. Authorities in Victoria identified 321 new Covid-19 cases Monday and 19 deaths.

New South Wales detected 22 new cases on Monday -- the highest in a single day since April.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Monday that “it's unlikely that we were able to move back to a restriction-free society” by Christmas.

“I doubt that is going to happen. I doubt the medical position will enable that. And so you've just got to follow the medical evidence on all of these, whether it's borders or whether it's the restrictions on trade or of local businesses or whatever it happens to be," Morrison said.

Here are some of the regional policies:

Victoria remains closed to all of Australia’s states and territories.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner said Tuesday that he plans for an 18-month border closure between his region and anywhere considered a hotspot -- including Australia's two largest cities, Melbourne and Sydney.

“Cancel your Christmas holiday plans, stay here in the Northern Territory," Gunner said in an interview with public broadcaster ABC on Tuesday. “We’re working towards an 18-month-window from today, towards the end of next year, is how we’re starting to resource our borders. We’re recruiting extra police. We’re making sure we keep those hard border controls in place.”

Western Australia and Tasmania remain closed to people from all other states.

Queensland and South Australia are closed to residents of Victoria and are quarantining anyone traveling in from New South Wales.

The Australian Capital Territory requires anyone traveling to the capital from Sydney or the state of Victoria to undergo a quarantine upon arrival.

12:02 a.m. ET, August 11, 2020

Japan's new daily Covid-19 infections drop below 1,000 for the first time in nearly two weeks

From CNN's Yoko Wakatsuki in Tokyo

People wait for a train at Shinjuku station on August 4 in Tokyo. Yuichi Yamazaki/Getty Images

The Japanese Ministry of Health said 842 new cases of Covid-19 were identified on Monday, the first time in 13 days that the number of infections reported in a day dropped below quadruple digits.

Positive signs also emerged in Tokyo, where many of the new cases have been recorded. The Japanese capital recorded 196 infections Monday, the first time the daily case count there has dropped below 200 in two weeks.

Five coronavirus-related deaths were reported throughout the country on Monday, authorities said.

To date, 49,630 cases of the virus have been identified in Japan and at least 1,065 people have died.

An important caveat: Economic Minister Yasunori Nishimura, who is in charge of the nation's coronavirus policies, said in a news conference on Tuesday that the drop in cases could be due to the fact that fewer tests were conducted over a holiday weekend.

Nishimura called for continued vigilance and asked citizens to abide by safety measures in their daily lives, as the recent infections have been taking place more in offices, schools and during social activities.

11:28 p.m. ET, August 10, 2020

Expert says children may be able to spread coronavirus like they spread the common cold

From CNN Health’s Lauren Mascarenhas

Children may be able to spread Covid-19 just as easily as they spread another type of coronavirus -- the common cold, said William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School.

“There’s every reason to suspect that this virus, even though it can kill you, behaves pretty much like a cold virus, in terms of transmission. Who drives colds? Children drive colds,” Haseltine told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Monday.
“And that's true of almost all respiratory diseases, including the colds that are caused by coronaviruses. And this is one of those cousins,” he added. “It even uses the same receptor in the nasal passages as one of the cold viruses. It just happens to be a cold virus that also kills.”

Haseltine warned that children can be infected and infect others, so they should wear masks.

He said that children up to 5 years old can be “highly infectious to other people."

"It turns out they have a thousand times more virus in their nose than you need to infect, so they're very, very contagious," Haseltine said.

12:05 a.m. ET, August 11, 2020

Global coronavirus cases surpass 20 million

The number of known cases of the novel coronavirus surpassed 20 million globally on Monday at 8:10 pm ET, according to data held by the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

JHU reports the current number of known cases around the world is now 20,001,019. At least 733,897 have died globally.

The United States has reported the most deaths and the most confirmed cases worldwide. At least 5,085,821 coronavirus cases have been recorded in the US, including at least 163,370 deaths.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

Tracking coronavirus' global spread

8:18 a.m. ET, August 11, 2020

Trump postpones G7 summit until after November

From CNN's Sarah Westwood

US President Donald Trump said he has asked that the G7 meeting be postponed until after the US presidential election in November, after a previous delay due to Covid-19 concerns.

“I’m much more inclined to do it sometime after the election,” Trump told reporters at the briefing. “We were going to do it in September.”

The summit was slated to be held at Camp David in June, and after a tentative plan to postpone the meeting and switch to a virtual conference, Trump had floated in May the idea of doing it in person in the fall.

Trump said the White House had not yet formally invited leaders.

“We haven’t sent out invitations. We’re talking to them,” he said. He noted he planned on inviting countries that aren’t formal members of the group of seven.

Asked whether he would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump said he would do so because Putin is an “important factor.”

“I certainly would invite him to the meeting. I think he’s an important factor.”

10:13 p.m. ET, August 10, 2020

Trump briefly leaves press briefing after shooting near the White House

From CNN's Kevin Liptak, Maegan Vazquez and Dana Bash

US President Donald Trump was abruptly evacuated from the White House briefing room by security on Monday after shots were fired outside the building.

Trump returned to the briefing room minutes later, confirming a shooting.

"There was a shooting outside of the White House and it seems to be very well under control. I'd like to thank the Secret Service for doing their always quick and very effective work," Trump said when he returned.

After he returned to the podium, the Secret Service tweeted that there had been an officer-involved shooting at 17th Street Northwest and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest.

The Secret Service said later Monday on Twitter that an investigation of the shooting "is ongoing" but that "at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached or were any protectees in danger."

A "male subject" and a Secret Service officer were transported to a hospital, the tweet said.

Two law enforcement sources told CNN that the wounded person was unarmed.

A senior administration official said there was an active shooter near the White House and that shooter is in custody.

The incident happened just outside of the White House grounds close to Lafayette Square, the official said.

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