August 25 coronavirus news

Danbury, Connecticut's increase in Covid-19 cases are due in part to recent travel, places of worship and sports gatherings, Mayor Mark Boughton said during a news conference today.

Part of Danbury, Connecticut's spike in Covid-19 cases is also correlated with areas that had power outages, local and state officials said, prompting people to congregate for air conditioning.

State and local governments have reacted by closing athletic fields, as well as boat launches.

Right now, Danbury's rolling average is 22 cases per 100,000, according to Danbury's acting director of public health, Kara Prunty. Almost 1,000 people have been tested in Danbury over the last two days, Boughton added.

The federal agency charged with providing immigration benefits canceled the furlough of more than 13,000 employees Tuesday, a move that had been scheduled for later this month and would’ve brought the immigration system to a halt. 

US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, told Congress in May that it expected to furlough more than half of its workforce amid a budget shortfall. The agency asked for $1.2 billion.

USCIS had initially anticipated furloughs to begin the beginning of August, until deciding to push back the date. But stalled talks in Congress over the next coronavirus relief bill, the anticipated vehicle for funding, diminished the possibility of providing the funding anytime soon. Over the weekend, the House unanimously passed legislation that would’ve temporarily kept the agency afloat. 

 USCIS attributed the decision to cancel the furlough scheduled to begin Aug. 30 to “unprecedented spending cuts and a steady increase in daily incoming revenue and receipts.” The agency said it expects to maintain operations through the end of fiscal year 2020. 

Italy has seen a steady increase in coronavirus cases in the past week, according to the health ministries press office. Authorities said approximately 50% of new infections have been contracted during summer vacations, around the country and abroad, primarily among young adults who have not been cautious with social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines.

Italy has reported 519 new, active Covid-19 cases within the last day, bringing the total number of active cases to at least 19,714, according to Italian Ministry of Health data released Monday.

Four people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing Italy's death toll to at least 35,445, according to the health ministry.

There have been at least 5,750,470 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 177,619 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

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

So far on Tuesday, Johns Hopkins has reported 10,746 new cases and 367 new deaths. 

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro´s eldest son, Flávio Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19 today, according to his press officer. 

Bolsonaro, a Rio de Janeiro senator, has not reported symptoms and is currently working from his home in Brasilia. 

The president's son is taking hydroxychloroquine as treatment, according to his press officer. President Bolsonaro has continually advocated the controversial anti-malarial drug with no scientifically proven effectiveness in treating Covid-19.

The President tested positive for the virus on July 7 and on subsequent occasions. On July 25, he announced via Twitter that he had tested negative. 

American Airlines says it will lay off or involuntarily furlough 19,000 employees as of Oct. 1 unless the airline industry gets more help from Congress.

The world's largest airline, which had 133,700 employees heading into this year, says it will need to reduce headcount by "at least" 40,000 employees. It said that 12,500 had agreed to leave the company with early retirement or buyout packages, and another 11,000 had agreed to voluntary furloughs for October.

Usain Bolt has tested positive for the coronavirus, and the government in his native Jamaica says the fastest man on the planet won’t be spared punishment if he broke the rules stemming from a party held for his 34th birthday on Friday, according to Jamaica’s Health minister.

“It is now public knowledge that Mr. Bolt has been tested positive,” Dr. Christopher Tufton, the Jamaican Minister of Health and Wellness, said in a virtual press conference on Monday.

“He has been formally notified – I’m told – by the authorities and in keeping with standard protocols once there is a positive case, irrespective of the individual, it triggers an approach to questioning, interrogation if you will, which would then follow through with contact tracing." Tufton said.

Ricky Simms, Bolt’s agent, confirmed his positive test to CNN.

Bolt, the world-record holder in the 100m and 200m and an eight-time Olympic gold medalist, had posted a video on social media earlier Monday prior to the test results.

He had been given the test on Saturday, he said, and wasn’t showing any symptoms. He intended to quarantine and urged those who had been around him to also isolate.

“I did a test on Saturday because I have work,” Bolt said. “I'm trying to be responsible so I'm going to stay in and stay in for my friends. Also, I’m having no symptoms.”

“I'm going to quarantine myself and wait to see what the protocol is […] Until then […] I'm quarantined by myself and just taking it easy. Be safe out there.”

New York has removed five states from its Covid-19 quarantine travel advisory, and it has added Guam, according to the governor's office. 

Alaska, Arizona, Delaware, Maryland and Montana were removed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said in a release. 

Remember: We can expect the same measures to be taken in Connecticut and New Jersey as the three states set up the quarantine travel advisory collectively. Dozens of states and territories remain. 

There were two deaths reported in the state yesterday, matching the state's previous low. No deaths were reported in New York City.

For the 18th straight day, the state remained under a 1% rate of positivity in testing.

Here's the full list of states and territories on the travel advisory list:

Iowa State University announced it has 130 reported cases of Covid-19 on campus after the school's first week of class, a statement from the university said.

The university said it tested 957 students, faculty and staff on campus between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23 to arrive at the 130 positive cases, giving the school a positivity rate of 13.6%. These results also include the athletic department, the statement noted.

The positivity rate is a sharp rise from the rest of the month when the school said its testing showed a rate of 8.8%, the statement explained.

“We also have adequate isolation and quarantine housing available," she added.

Some context: Iowa State has been operating under a hybrid instruction model with 44% of its fall courses having an "in-person component," while just more than a third of its courses are fully virtual, an earlier statement from the school explained. 

Iowa state, located in Ames, has more than 30,000 students and 6,000 full time faculty and staff, according to its website.