August 25 coronavirus news

Los Angeles County reported 989 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus Tuesday -- the first time since June it has reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in a day.

The county also reported 51 additional deaths, according to a news release from its public health department.

“In mid-to-late July, the daily reported number of new cases was around 3,200 cases per day,” the news release stated.

While Los Angeles County continues to see a decline in coronavirus cases, deaths, and hospitalizations, its case rate remains at 196 cases per 100,000 residents. The county needs to remain under 200 cases per 100,000 residents for two weeks in order for elementary schools to apply for an in-person education waiver.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health noted that it was too early to tell if the county could keep its case rate low for two weeks as it was common for fewer cases to be reported on Monday and Tuesday.  

Los Angeles County is the nation’s most populous county with over 10 million residents. To date, the county has reported a total of 233,777 positive cases and 5,605 deaths.

Argentina reported a highest single-day total of 8,771 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the country's total infections to 359,638, according to the Health Ministry.

The ministry also reported 197 new fatalities from the virus, bringing the total death toll to 7,563. 

Those numbers were higher than Monday, when Argentina reported 8,713 new cases, and 382 additional deaths. At the time, that was the highest number of cases reported in a single day.

Argentina has the sixth highest number of confirmed cases in Latin America behind Chile, Colombia, Peru, Mexico and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University. 

There have been at least 5,773,220 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 178,326 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

So far on Tuesday, Johns Hopkins has recorded 33,684 new cases and 1,081 reported deaths.  

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

Brazil’s health ministry reported Tuesday at least 47,134 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,669,995.

The ministry also reported 1,271 new coronavirus fatalities, raising the country’s death toll to 116,580.

This comes as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro, tested positive for Covid-19 today, according to his press officer. Bolsonaro's son, who is a senator, has not reported symptoms and is currently working from his home in Brasilia. 

Brazil continues to be second only to the United States in the highest total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

There were 144 new cases of Covid-19 involving teachers and 292 new coronavirus cases involving students in Mississippi during the week of Aug. 17 to 21, according to State Health Officer Dr. Thomas E. Dobbs III.

During a news conference today, Dobbs also said there were 31 outbreaks last week and 584 teachers and 3,913 students are currently quarantined due to Covid-19 exposure. 

There were 801 new Covid-19 cases reported today for a total of 79,206 cases, he added. Mississippi also added 67 new deaths and currently has 730 patients hospitalized with Covid-19, 232 people in intensive care units and 119 on ventilators, Dobbs said.

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

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its quarantine guidance for travelers, removing direct advice to stay home for 14 days after returning from international travel or areas with a high levels of coronavirus cases.

“Travelers who have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 before or during their trip should postpone travel until 14 days after their last exposure," Reed added.

The agency’s updated guidance for after travel reminds people they may have been exposed to Covid-19 while traveling domestically or internationally, and that they can be contagious even if they aren’t experiencing symptoms.

“You and your travel companions (including children) pose a risk to your family, friends, and community for 14 days after you were exposed to the virus,” the CDC says on its After You Travel page, recommending that people follow state, territorial, tribal and local recommendations or requirements after travel.

Some of these require a quarantine period. People returning from travel should also follow the usual coronavirus safety guidelines, such as wearing a mask and washing hands and keeping 6 feet away from others.

And if a person participated in a higher risk activity – traveling to certain countries, attending a mass gathering or taking a cruise, among them – the CDC recommends extra precautions: “stay home as much as possible” for 14 days; avoid people at high risk for severe illness from Covid-19; consider getting a Covid-19 test.

The CDC also updated its travel notices to include recommendations by destination, labelling which areas are at higher and lower risk.

Hear more:

Amid pressure to decrease the number of coronavirus infections in Georgia, which are among the worst in the nation over the last two weeks, the director of communications for Gov. Brian Kemp pushed back on questions about a lack of progress made in combating Covid-19 in the state.

As first reported by the Atlanta Journal Constitution and WABE, the latest report from the White House coronavirus task force shows Georgia is in a "fragile" state and could suffer more without further aggressive actions to control the virus, including a statewide mandate on masks and closing bars in areas with high transmission rates, according to the report.  

CNN reached out to the White House and the task force for comment, but in the past, they have repeatedly declined to make these reports public.

Responding to questions about the task force report, Kemp's director of communications Candice Broce said in an email, "Since the last Coronavirus Task Force report was leaked to the AJC, our new cases per 100,000 people has dropped by 22.68%."  

However, for a second week in a row, Georgia is among the worst in the nation for new coronavirus cases.  

Georgia is currently third in the country for the seven-day average of new cases per 100,000, with 23.40 cases per 100,000. The state is currently averaging at least 2,485 new cases over seven-days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.  

Broce said the state has made improvements in notable metrics, including in its seven-day average of new cases, which has been steadily dropping since Georgia was at its highest levels in late July.   

In the last seven days, cases across Georgia have declined by 12%. Over the last 14 days the state has seen a 26.26% decrease in cases, according to an analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.  

Broce further defended the governor’s efforts by underscoring recent improvements made in hospitalizations and positivity rates. She added that the White House task force report, which CNN has not independently verified, shows "Georgia is making progress and has seen a decrease in new cases and a decrease in test positivity over the last week."  

Across the state: The demand for testing is declining despite substantial capacity, including in long-term facilities, which have been the source of outbreak clusters throughout the pandemic. Kemp is currently considering renewed deployment of mobile strike teams to specific areas of need using the Georgia National Guard, if needed, Broce said.  

Still, more than five months into the pandemic Georgia's governor remains unwilling to mandate masks statewide, something public health officials say would help improve the state's abysmal standing among the worst in the nation for new cases.   

Responding to questions about the possibility of a statewide mask mandate, Kemp continued to defer to local governments whom Broce said Kemp has "empowered to implement mandates through his current executive order." 

Coronavirus in California continues to spread, but the numbers show stabilization of transmission, Health Secretary Mark Ghaly said in a briefing.

The positivity rates are 5.7% over the past week, and 6.3% over 14 days. Both numbers are down from two weeks ago, a month ago, and two months ago, Ghaly noted. 

Hospitalizations and those in intensive care units are down close to 20%. California reported at least 673,095 cases and approximately 12,257 Covid-related deaths, according to the state's Department of Public Health.

While sharing the promising data, Ghaly warned, “This sneaky virus that we call Covid-19 doesn’t take a rest. It will find every opportunity to transmit from person-to-person because that’s what germs do. It’s no surprise.”

New guidelines for different business sectors are expected to be announced later this week in an effort to safely reopen more businesses in areas that have a handle on the virus.

One wildcard in the effort to quell the virus are the massive wildfires tormenting the state. “It’s hard to tell,” Ghaly said, “whether the actions or mixing of people due to wildfires have had an impact on Covid transmission.”

About 136,000 people have been evacuated due to the threat of wildfire and more than 3,600 are being housed at evacuation shelters. Safeguards are in place and have largely been followed, Ghaly said. But he added that he would not be surprised to see increased transmission in those areas.

NOTE: These numbers were released by California Department of Public Health and the Los Angeles 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.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez announced during a virtual news conference on Tuesday that restaurants can resume indoor dining at 50% capacity starting Monday. 

Giménez said that this announcement comes "after consultation with our medical advisors and also from the White House Task Force." 

Some of the requirements will include a maximum of six people per sitting area and six feet of space between tables, Giménez said. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Carlos Hernández, the mayor of the city of Hialeah, Florida, told CNN over the phone that he directed his departments not to enforce the county's previous order.

In a video shared on his Facebook page Tuesday, Mayor Hernández said "I am asking my city employees, my departments, that we will not be enforcing in the City of Hialeah the regulations of restaurants being closed. The county can come and do that. Now I'm not going to ask these businesses or tell any business to do it, to open or not. But what I'm saying is, Hialeah cannot be part of this any longer."

Mayor Giménez responded to Mayor Hernández's comments.

"These are county rules, and if the Hialeah Mayor decides that his police force is not going to be enforcing the county rules, the county will be enforcing the county rules, because the county has jurisdiction everywhere," Giménez said.  

He went on to say "the opening is not allowed until Monday. So if restaurants in Hialeah open up before Monday, they may well find a Miami-Dade County police officer there to give them a fine for violating the county rules."