August 12 coronavirus news

Cherokee County School District announced in a news release Wednesday that it would temporarily close in-person learning at Georgia's Woodstock High School with the reopening tentatively scheduled for Aug. 31. 

The school has 14 Covid-19 positive cases with tests for another 15 students pending, according to the release.  

"As a result of the confirmed cases, 289 students and staff are under quarantine and, should the pending tests prove positive, the total would significantly increase," read the release. 

The closure would not impact Woodstock High School students already enrolled in digital learning.

"All Woodstock HS in-person students will stay home from school until the scheduled reopening on Monday, Aug. 31. Teachers will spend Thursday, August 13, preparing for the shift to remote learning; the building will be deep-cleaned," read the release. "Remote learning, through the Canvas learning management system, will begin on Friday, August 14, with teachers reporting to school to provide this online instruction." 

The closing of Woodstock High School follows the closing of Etowah High School on Tuesday. 

There are at least 5,171,343 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 165,328 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of Wednesday at 2:45 p.m ET, Johns Hopkins has reported 30,135 new cases and 791 reported deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

New York City has 18,970 confirmed and 4,632 probable coronavirus deaths as of Aug. 12, according to the most recent data on the city website. 

The New York City Health Department defines probable deaths as people who did not have a positive Covid-19 laboratory test, but their death certificate lists as the cause of death “Covid-19” or an equivalent.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus deaths and probable coronavirus deaths in New York City is 23,602.

There have been 225,284 coronavirus cases in the city and 56,618 people have been hospitalized, according to the city.

Some details: The data is from the New York City Health Department and was updated on Aug. 12 at 1 p.m., according to the website.

The numbers may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

For a third-straight week, no NBA players within the Disney World based campus have tested positive for Covid-19. 

On Wednesday, the NBA and the players union jointly announced that 342 players were tested with zero returning positive for coronavirus. 

The last time the NBA reported positive test results was on July 13 when 322 players were tested with two confirmed positives. 

The 2020 NBA Playoffs are set to begin Monday, Aug. 17.

France has recorded its biggest jump in daily Covid-19 cases since around the time it began to ease its lockdown.

The French health ministry on Wednesday reported an increase of 2,524 Covid-19 cases in 24 hours.

This is the biggest single-day increase in coronavirus cases since May 6, five days before France eased lockdown restrictions.

This rise comes after French Prime Minister Jean Castex said Tuesday that the coronavirus situation in France has been "trending in the wrong direction."

Greece has reported its highest daily increase of Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, with 262 new cases recorded on Wednesday, according to Greece’s National Public Health Organization.

The majority of new cases were reported in Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s two largest cities. The Greek health minister tweeted that the average age of those who have been infected in August has dropped to 36 

Two more people with Covid-19 have died, bringing the country's total to at least 216. A total of 24 people are currently intubated with the virus.  

Earlier this week, the Greek government announced new measures including a mandatory negative Covid test for visitors entering the country coming from Spain, Sweden, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands. It also announced a midnight curfew for bars and restaurants in 16 areas of Greece.

Churchill Downs racetrack has announced that the rescheduled Kentucky Derby will limit attendance to fewer than 23,000 spectators.

The new crowd figure represents less than 14% of the attendance record set in 2015. The Derby says 170,513 people attended that year.

The 146th running of the Kentucky Derby is scheduled for Sept. 5. Officials say new safety measures will apply to all live race days during Derby week.

No general admission and infield tickets will be offered for this year's Run for the Roses.

Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a statement his organization’s responsibility is to “ensure the safety of our fans, team members and participants.”

Carstanjen added that he had worked with the governor of Kentucky to “develop safety protocols that are best-in-class while staying flexible and ready to incorporate changes and new learnings.” 

New Jersey reported 484 new cases of Covid-19 and nine more deaths from the virus, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday. 

The state has a total of 185,938 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic started and 14,046 statewide deaths related to the virus, he said. 

At least 592 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 and 111 people are in ICUs.

New Jersey has a 2.09% positive infection rate from Aug. 8, which is up slightly the governor said. The state’s positive transmission rate is .92% and that is “down a little bit,” Murphy said. 

Note: The numbers listed were released by the state of New Jersey 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. 

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said today the city's Tuesday numbers show 38 new Covid-19 cases, bringing that total to 14,609. There were two new deaths, for a total of 743. 

Health officials in Boston have noticed a slight uptick, "but not an established trend," in the percentage of positive tests, going from 2.1% to 2.8%, but the most recent seven-day analysis brings the city's average down to 2.5%, he said.

Emergency room visits are "not alarming increases yet, but we are seeing slight increases," the mayor said. 

Walsh said the numbers "have not reached a level that would cause us to look at rolling back any of the openings that we've already had here in the city of Boston." 

He said that increased testing may partly explain the rise.

The mayor also addressed the delay in deciding when to reopen Boston's schools. 

While acknowledging parent and teacher angst regarding safety concerns and planning, Walsh said school leaders and facility professionals continue to monitor Covid-19 data, and to work with education and union leaders, while coming up with a complete plan. 

Walsh said the schools will not be starting with all in-person learning.

The mayor noted that his primary focus is on building equity between children of means and those in lower income situations, and bridging the learning gap therein.

Asked how parents who work remotely can tend to children who are learning from home, Walsh said the city is going to be working with child care providers. 

"It's complicated," Walsh said. "We'll have to make a decision fairly quickly, for parents to have that predictability."

"I hope that there will be in-person learning this year," he said.

Boston school openings are currently scheduled for Sept. 10. 

Note: These numbers were released by the Massachusetts 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.