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August 13 coronavirus news

By Julia Hollingsworth, Adam Renton, Melissa Macaya, Ed Upright and Zamira Rahim, CNN

Updated 12:13 a.m. ET, August 14, 2020

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6:33 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Trump considering in-person speech at the United Nations

From CNN's Maegan Vazquez

President Trump said Thursday that he’s looking into potentially delivering an in-person speech at the United Nations General Assembly this year, despite the pandemic.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about going directly to the UN to do the speech. A lot of people will not because of Covid, will not be able to be there, as you know. But I think it’s appropriate, if we can do it’ll do it directly,” Trump said during a White House press briefing.

This year's UNGA session is scheduled for late September and marks the 75th anniversary of the general assembly.

The President said that this year’s general assembly “will not be like in the past because some countries won’t be able to escape the problems they’re having.”

“I can do it the other way. I can do it viral, as they say. I can do it in that form, but I would rather do it at the United Nations, deliver it. I think it better represents the country. Also, I feel sort of a, at least a semi-obligation as the President of the United States to be at the United Nations to deliver what will be an important speech,” he said.

6:28 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Venezuelan politician is the first government official to die from Covid-19 in the country

From CNN's Stefano Pozzebon

Dario Vivas speaks during a session of the National Assembly on September 24, 2019 in Caracas, Venezuela. Carolina Cabral/Getty Images

Venezuelan politician Dario Vivas died from Covid-19, the country's attorney general Tarek William Saab announced Thursday on Twitter.

“With profound sadness, we receive the news that our good friend Dario Vivas passed away,” William Saab tweeted.

Vivas was a veteran of the government of embattled president Nicolas Maduro, a congressman since 2006 and served as chief of staff of Venezuela's Capital District since January 2020.

Vivas had been on a US Treasury sanctions list since 2017.

He announced to Venezuelan media he had contracted Covid-19 on July 19.

At least eight other government officials have tested positive in Venezuela, including Vice President Jorge Rodriguez and Oil Minister Tareck El Aissami.

Venezuela has currently at least 29,088 reported Covid-10 cases and approximately 247 deaths so far, according to the Maduro government.

6:28 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Colombia surpasses 14,000 coronavirus deaths

From Stefano Pozzebon

Cemetery workers bury the coffin of a woman who reportedly died from COVID-19 at a cemetery in Medellin, Colombia, on August 12. Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP/Getty Images

Colombia’s health ministry reported 11,286 new cases from Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 433,805.

The ministry also reported 308 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total to 14,145.

Colombia’s capital, Bogotà, remains the biggest hotspot in the country with 149,944 reported cases.

6:08 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Brazil reports more than 60,000 new Covid-19 cases

From Rodrigo Pedroso

Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces disinfect the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the attraction on August 15, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 13. Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images

Brazil reported at least 60,091 new cases from Covid-19 on Thursday, bringing the total confirmed cases to approximately 3,224,876, according to the health ministry.

The ministry also reported at least 1,262 new fatalities, bringing the total death toll to approximately 105,463.

This is the third highest single-day total since the pandemic began. Brazil recorded at least 69,074 cases on July 29 and at least 67,860 on July 22.

6:03 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Emergency rules preventing evictions in California have been extended

From CNN's Cheri Mossburg

The Judicial Council of California voted to extend temporary emergency rules preventing evictions and foreclosures until Sept. 1.

The moratorium on evictions was first implemented in early April when job loss was skyrocketing as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The Judicial Council has received thousands of comments from those affected—from tenants who fear homelessness to small landlords who face losing their livelihoods or fear bankruptcy. In our ongoing conversations with Governor Newsom and the Legislature we have been responsive to their requests for additional time to develop and enact policy and legislative proposals,” Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said in a statement.

This extra time provided by the council “will give us some time working with the legislature to enact an extension of those moratoriums in the needs of millions of Californians that are feeling stress and anxiety in that space,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.

A possible solution: One idea being worked out is an immediate distribution of the state’s $300 million from the national mortgage settlement.

Newsom said the initial plan was to dispense those funds out over several years, with a distribution of $75 million in 2020. In this crisis, Newsom wants to accelerate that spending to address the immediate needs of vulnerable homeowners and renters, he said.

“We are committed to getting something done over the course of the next few weeks on eviction protections and addressing multiple renters, and small landlords as well,” Newsom said.

6:02 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Mississippi governor to issue guidance on high school athletics

From CNN's Raja Razek

In a news conference on Thursday, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said he would be issuing guidance over the next several days on extracurricular activities at schools, particularly high school football games.

Reeves said that while six counties in the state give cause for concern, almost 70 counties in the Mississippi have seen a decline in Covid-19 numbers.

"That is an exceptionally positive trend that we got to build on," he said. "That is the reason that you will see us, over the next several days, probably come out with guidance as it relates to extracurricular activities at our schools, particularly high school football games," Reeves said.

"I believe that we can play sports. We can do it in a safe way," he added. "And the way to do that is by limiting crowd size."

The latest numbers: Mississippi reported a total of at least 69,986 Covid-19 cases, with approximately 2,011 coronavirus-related deaths in the state.

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

5:43 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Stanford cancels almost all in-person classes this fall

From CNN’s Jenn Selva

Stanford University is canceling almost all in-person classes this fall, according to a letter to the community from Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.

The president says in his letter the decision comes with “great regret” but that the public health situation due to Covid-19 does not make it feasible for students to return to campus.

Here's what the letter said:

"Last Friday, the State of California issued guidance for institutions of higher education to inform reopening considerations. We believe this guidance is thoughtful and responsible, reflecting a continued commitment by the State to control the pandemic,” the letter said. “The guidance also reflects the deep challenges associated with trying to provide anything close to a ‘normal’ on-campus undergraduate experience given the current state of the pandemic," Tessier-Lavigne wrote.

Stanford is also suspending plans to provide housing for first year, sophomore, and new transfer students in the fall, he said. However, existing undergraduates with approved special circumstances will be allowed.

The university is located in Santa Clara County which is one of the 38 counties on California’s “watch list” for reopening.

Approximately 16,000 students attend Stanford.

5:34 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Schools in Kentucky must recognize how "traumatic quarantine can be," governor says

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said schools that are planning to reopen “at a time when we know there are going to be a lot of families and a lot of kids going into quarantine,” should make sure they recognize how traumatic quarantine can be for those children.

“Let’s make sure we have already set up the mental health counseling that we will need, for kids to go through that,” Beshear said. “Let’s make sure that we are putting them first and that we are prepared for that trauma, that will come along with it and that is within the rest of our calculation.”

The governor brought up the subject after discussing how his Covid-19 scare had affected his own children, who asked if Beshear and his wife were going to die, whether they themselves were going to die, and about who would care for them if the governor and his wife were to die.

5:27 p.m. ET, August 13, 2020

Recommendations for who will get first Covid-19 vaccines expected by Labor Day, NIH director says

From CNN’s Wes Bruer and Lauren Mascarhenas

A COVID-19 vaccination is prepared at Research Centers of America on August 07, 2020 in Hollywood, Florida. Research Centers of America is currently conducting COVID-19 vaccine trials, implemented under the federal government's Operation Warp Speed program. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said he expects “interim, high-level recommendations” from the National Academy of Sciences on who should get priority for Covid-19 vaccinations by Labor Day.

“That would probably include such people as the elderly, residents of nursing homes, health care providers, other people at high risk for chronic illnesses. So we thought it was very important to have that conversation, really at a high level, and thought about it in advance, so the head of the CDC and I asked the National Academy of Sciences to convene a panel,” Collins said Thursday on a media call with Operation Warp Speed leadership.

After recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences are submitted, they will be reviewed by the US Center for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“We will then, when we get down to the real point of having a vaccine that's been proved safe and effective, make those recommendations about how that should be prioritized. So I think it's a pretty good plan. We're thinking ahead, recognizing that we are going to be in a better place than anybody almost ever has been with a new vaccine, where you already have a lot of doses, but you still have to be thoughtful about how to choose the priorities in the first few months until we can immunize everybody,” Collins said.