August 24 coronavirus news

The National Football League announced Monday zero Covid-19 test results among players after 58,397 tests were administered to 8,573 players and personnel from Aug. 12-20.

Of the 8,573 persons tested, six had confirmed positive results, all non-players.

Prior to Aug. 12, 9,983 players and personnel received “intake testing,” with 170 positive tests, or 1.7%. In ongoing testing after intake through Aug. 11, the overall positivity rate dropped to 0.81% among players, 0.46% overall.

The NFL says the overall positivity rate has not exceeded 1.7% for any club since testing began.

Stocks rallied Monday after the Trump administration approved a potential Covid-19 treatment. Wall Street finished in the green, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished at all-time highs.

The S&P ended up 1%, finishing above 3,400 points for the first time ever. The Nasdaq closed 0.6% higher. Both indexes surpassed the record levels they reached on Friday. 

The Dow closed 1.4%, or 378 points, higher. 

Even though the index performed the best out of the three major benchmarks, it remains more than 4% below the all-time high it hit in February.

Germany has issued a travel warning for Paris and the Cote d'Azur region of southeastern France due to high levels of coronavirus infection, according to a German Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Monday. 

"The spread of COVID-19 continues to lead to restrictions on international air travel and have adverse effects on the public life in France," the German foreign ministry said. "There are currently warnings against unnecessary tourist trips to the Île-de-France region (with the capital Paris) and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur due to the high number of infections."

Travelers returning from these regions will be required to get a free coronavirus PCR test upon arrival in Germany and could be obligated to quarantine for 14 days. 

President Trump gave brief remarks to supporters at the Asheville Regional Airport landing zone, echoing much of what he said in Charlotte, touting the stock market, the employment numbers, and saying the pandemic will go away.

The President also again predicted a vaccine will be announced shortly.

“The vaccines are going to be, I believe, announced very soon,” Trump said, before praising convalescent plasma, calling it an “incredible thing.”

The President also said he expects the economic comeback from coronavirus to be strong next year, saying “next year we are going to have one of the best years economically and in other ways that we have ever had before.”

Some background:  On Saturday, Trump accused, without providing any evidence, the US Food and Drug Administration of deliberately delaying coronavirus vaccine trials, pressuring the man he had picked to head the agency.

"The deep state, or whoever, over at the FDA is making it very difficult for drug companies to get people in order to test the vaccines and therapeutics," Trump tweeted, continuing to push his unfounded theory that there is a "deep state" embedded within the government bureaucracy working against his reelection.

He accused the agency of delaying a vaccine for the virus until after the fall election, tweeting, "Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after November 3rd. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!" Trump ended his tweet by tagging the Twitter account of FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who he nominated last year to take up the role.

Hahn assured Americans earlier this month that the agency "will not cut corners" to approve a vaccine.

Trump has promised that a vaccine would be available by the end of the year, though vaccinologists told CNN that timeline is unrealistic. And his latest comments won't allay the fears some experts and Americans have that the administration will rush to prepare a vaccine at the expense of science and safety.

The FDA doesn't conduct the trials itself, but instead oversees the people who do, according to the agency. As CNN previously reported, one vaccine candidate, developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, moved to phase 3 clinical trials late last month.

Gov. Gina Raimondo announced that Rhode Island secured additional unemployment funding from FEMA that will provide $300 per week for three weeks, giving all people on unemployment a total additional $900.

The additional funding will be issued in the next three weeks, she said.  

Raimondo said Rhode Island has seen a 7% decrease in its unemployment rate from April to July, but over 100,000 residents are still unemployed. 

Some more context: Rhode Island reported a 1% Covid-19 positive rate Monday, 39 new cases and no new deaths. 

There were 5 Covid-19 related deaths over the weekend and currently 84 hospitalized patients with 11 in an intensive care unit. 

There are at least 5,723,181 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 176,991 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

So far on Monday, Johns Hopkins has reported 21,502 new cases and 189 reported deaths. 

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

French health authorities are warning of a strong increase in coronavirus circulation, specifically among young adults. 

On Monday, the ministry said in a press release, that 3.6% of tests for Covid-19 came back positive in the week of August 15 to 21, compared to 1.4% at the start of the summer.

France has recorded 244,854 and 30,528 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic, including 1,955 and 15 respectively in the past 24 hours.

At least 4,690 coronavirus patients are currently hospitalized (-19 in the past 24 hours) including 399 in ICU (+19 in the past 24 hours).

The National Hockey League announced that for a fourth straight week it had no positive test results for Covid-19.

According to the league, 4,644 tests were conducted during the past week inside the league’s two hub cities of Toronto and Edmonton. 

Every member of each team’s traveling party was tested on a daily basis between Aug. 16 and Aug. 22. Since entering its two hub city “bubbles,” the league has not returned a positive test from any of the teams participating in the NHL’s return to play.  

The NHL season resumed with 24 teams participating and has now progressed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with eight teams still competing.

The last time there was a positive test in the NHL was during the two-week period of Phase 3, when there were two positive results (both occurring between July 13-17) among 6,874 tests.

Louisiana's government will not open any state-run shelters ahead of Tropical Storms Marco and Laura, the state's governor said in a press conference Monday.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said they are prepared to open them if needed but "congregate sheltering in Covid really is a last resort."

"We're encouraging individuals that are able to do so and need to evacuate to go and take shelter in a motel or hotel," the governor added.