South Carolina announces limited visitation at long-term care facilities
From CNN's Shawn Nottingham
New guidelines put in place by South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control will allow for limited, outdoor visitation at select long-term care facilities in the state.
The new guidelines were announced at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Facilities must meet criteria, including staying below a certain disease transmission level, keeping adequate amounts of personal protective equipment and maintaining appropriate staffing.
Additionally, testing at the facility must be in accordance with federal requirements.
Visitors will be screened prior to their visit and the length of their visit will be contingent on whether they have had a Covid-19 virus or antibody test.
4:33 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
Coronavirus vaccine should go to those most at risk of getting it and spreading it, draft report says
From CNN’s Andrea Kane
Any eventual coronavirus vaccine should go first to the people most at risk of catching it, and of spreading it to others, an independent committee said Tuesday.
The draft report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine makes recommendations similar to those that have come from other groups, but it goes into detail to explain why health workers, for instance, should be among the first to get a vaccine.
The framework document weighs four different criteria.
The risk of acquiring and infection: Higher priority is given to individuals who have a greater probability of being in settings where Covid-19 is circulating and exposure to a sufficient dose of the virus.
The risk of severe morbidity and mortality: Higher priority is given to individuals who have a greater probability of severe disease or death if they acquire infection.
The risk of negative societal impact: Higher priority is given to individuals with societal function and upon whom other people’s lives and livelihood depend directly and would be imperiled if they became sick.
And the risk of transmitting disease to others: Higher priority is given to individuals who have a higher probability of transmitting the disease to others.
“While major efforts are being made to have a significant supply of COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible, the committee has been tasked with considering the tough choices that will need to be made for allocating the tightly constrained initial supplies,” committee co-chair Dr. Helene Gayle, the president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust and a former HIV/AIDS expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.
The 115-page draft is open for comment. The independent committee at the National Academies was set up at the request of the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which wanted an outside voice to advise on distributing vaccine.
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will also weigh in on how to distribute vaccine.
4:27 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
More than 600 students and staff are in quarantine or isolation in two Florida counties
From CNN’s Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt
More than 600 students and staff members in two Florida counties are in quarantine or isolation due to Covid-19.
The Martin County School District tells CNN that 425 students and 31 employees have transitioned to quarantine and remote learning since August 11, the first day of school.
Hillsborough County, which launched a Covid-19 dashboard yesterday, reports 159 students and employees have tested positive. The health department is helping contact trace, per the district.
CNN has reached out to the Florida Department of Health asking for a full list of Covid-19 cases in K-12 schools and has not heard back.
4:31 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
Gyms and museums in North Carolina can open starting Friday
From CNN's Gisela Crespo
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper North Carolina Department of Public Safety
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced the state will move to phase 2.5 of reopening during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The state will enter the new phase on Friday at 5 p.m. ET, Cooper said during a news briefing on Tuesday.
"We're encouraged to see North Carolina holding steady on most and decreasing on some of our key data metrics," Cooper said.
"Because of our stable numbers, today we're ready to take a careful step forward," he added.
What's changing: In this new phase, mass gathering limits will increase to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors from the current limit of 10 indoors and 25 outdoors. Large venues will remain subject to these limits.
Playgrounds may open, while museums and aquariums may do so at 50% capacity. Gyms and indoor exercise facilities can open at 30% capacity.
Bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, indoor entertainment facilities, amusement parks and dance halls will remain closed.
4:12 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
New Hampshire rolls out new Covid-19 schools dashboard to track cases in real time
From CNN’s Gregory Lemos
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu Pool
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced the state is rolling out a Covid-19 Schools Dashboard, set to go live today, to track cases in real time.
“You can find your schools, your school district, the number of cases, the clusters of illness, things of that nature, so you can see in real time what the true status is to your child or family’s school as it pertains to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the governor said during a press conference on Tuesday.
“Having that centralized website, kind of a clearing house for real time – real time, and real accurate information I think is going to be a very important tool for everyone," he added.
Sununu thanked parents, teachers, and school administrators in advance for doing the reporting it will require to keep the dashboard accurately updated. It will be run by the Department of Health and Human Service, Sununu said.
New Hampshire State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said at the press conference that they are expecting students to get sick with Covid-19 and it’s not a reason for alarm.
“We expect students and staff to be diagnosed with Covid-19 and to have been in the school, right?” Chan said. “So this should not be a surprise or cause significant fear when people look on the data dashboard, for example, and see there is someone with Covid-19 in their school.”
Chan said the plan is for the DHHS to work with schools to identify who was in “close contact” with the infected student and make an appropriate plan depending on the individual circumstance.
4:12 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
Michigan Athletics projects $100 million loss after canceled fall sports seasons
From CNN's David Close
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel Kirthmon F. Dozier/Detroit Free Press/USA Today Network/magn Content Services
The University of Michigan athletics department has announced layoffs and salary cuts to staff as the school prepares for a $100 million shortfall.
This comes a few weeks after, the Big Ten, the conference Michigan competes in, announced the postponement of the conference’s fall sports season because of coronavirus concerns – including the football season.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel appeared on the Conqu’ring Heroes podcast and revealed the impact of the disposed football season has had on the department's budget.
“The impact is upwards of almost half our budget, about $100 million...It is a significant loss, so we have to take as many significant reductions as we can and cutbacks as we have already as we continue to do a budget, salary reductions and those kinds of things," Manual said.
In a Tuesday open letter, Manuel blamed the Covid-19 pandemic for the cuts to the athletic department including the elimination of 21 staff positions, salary reductions and a hiring freeze that will not fill 15 positions.
"I am genuinely sorry for the position we find ourselves and that I had to communicate in this manner. Please support each other and your impacted colleagues during this challenging time," Manual said.
3:48 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
Oregon governor extends Covid-19 state of emergency for 60 days
From CNN’s Jennifer Henderson
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has extended the Covid-19 state of emergency in Oregon until November 3, 2020, according to a press release from her office today.
“This Labor Day weekend is another critical moment in this crisis … Small social get-togethers like barbecues and family celebrations have fueled wider community outbreaks in counties across Oregon. This weekend, you have a choice,” Brown said. “Please, stay local this Labor Day, and practice safe COVID-19 habits. Wear a face covering, watch your physical distance, and wash your hands.”
3:48 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
More than 184,000 people have died from coronavirus in the US
From CNN's Brandon Miller
There are at least 6,055,569 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 184,114 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far on Tuesday, Johns Hopkins has reported 24,982 new cases and 517 reported deaths.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
3:36 p.m. ET, September 1, 2020
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