September 3 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Adam Renton, Amy Woodyatt, Meg Wagner and Melissa Macaya, CNN

Updated 12:07 a.m. ET, September 4, 2020

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12:02 a.m. ET, September 3, 2020

Covid-19 hospitalizations in Los Angeles are at their lowest since April

From journalist Topher Gauk-Roger

The number of Covid-19 patients hospitalized in Los Angeles has fallen to its lowest level since early April, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday.

“Today, 1,062 Angelenos are in the hospital because of Covid-19. To put that in perspective, in just the last five weeks alone, we’ve cut our hospitalizations by more than half,” said Garcetti. “And that’s good news because our top public health goal is to keep hospitalizations low and beds and medical staff available for any emergency, including Covid-19.”

Garcetti thanked residents for continuing to do their part to combat spread of the virus, pointing out the “good news” that L.A. County ranks 19th in California in the number of confirmed cases per 100,000.

However, he also warned that residents should not confuse the improved hospitalization and infection rate with “going back to normal,” reiterating that county-wide restrictions will remain in place.

On Wednesday, L.A. County reported 1,457 new cases of the coronavirus, raising the total since the start of the pandemic to 243,935.

The county also reported 51 new deaths -- 12 of which were in the city of L.A. -- bringing the total to 5,878.

11:09 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Tom Seaver, Hall of Fame pitcher, dies at 75

From CNN's Jill Martin

Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and 12-time all-star, has died at the age of 75, the National Baseball Hall of Fame, citing Seaver's family, and Major League Baseball said Wednesday.

Seaver died Monday in his sleep of complications of Lewy body dementia and Covid-19, the National Baseball Hall of Fame said.

"We are heartbroken to share that our beloved husband and father has passed away," said his wife, Nancy Seaver, and daughters Sarah and Anne, according to the Hall of Fame website. "We send our love out to his fans, as we mourn his loss with you."

Seaver, known as "Tom Terrific," won 311 games and had a 2.86 earned-run average over a 20-year major league career that spanned from 1967-1986.

Read more:

Tom Seaver, Hall of Fame pitcher, dies at 75

12:27 a.m. ET, September 3, 2020

Soccer star Neymar is reportedly one of three PSG players to test positive for Covid-19

From CNN’s Chris Eldergill

Neymar of Paris Saint-Germain is interviewed after the UEFA Champions League quarter final match between Atalanta and PSG at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on August 12, in Lisbon, Portugal. Michael Regan/UEFA/Getty Images

Brazilian soccer star Neymar is one of three Paris Saint-Germain players to have contracted coronavirus, according to multiple reports, including the New York Times which cited people familiar with the matter.

French media said that the 28-year-old, along with Argentine midfielders Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, all tested positive after returning from a vacation in Ibiza, Spain.

Earlier on Wednesday, PSG had confirmed in a news release that three unnamed players tested positive and "have undergone the appropriate health protocols. All players and staff will continue to be tested over the next few days.”

CNN has reached out to each of the three players’ representatives for comment. The club declined to confirm the identity of the players to CNN.

Neymar is the world’s most expensive soccer player, having signed for PSG for $263 million in 2017. Ten days ago, the Brazilian was part of the PSG team that lost in the Champions League final.

Neymar, along with the other two players, now faces the prospect of missing the start of the new season, due to begin on September 10. There are strict protocols requiring players that have tested positive for the virus to self-isolate.

10:26 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Fauci says herd immunity is not a strategy task force is using, despite comments from Trump

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the White House Coronavirus Task Force is not discussing herd immunity as a strategy to control the coronavirus pandemic, even though President Donald Trump frequently mentions it as a means of making the pandemic “go away.”

Herd immunity occurs when enough people are infected or vaccinated in a community that a pathogen stops circulating.

“That's not a fundamental strategy that we're using,” Fauci said in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “We're not there yet."

“The fundamental strategy that we clearly articulate and go by, through the task force, is to try to prevent as many infections as you possibly can prevent,” he added. “When you get someone who's infected, you do the identification, isolation and contact tracing and you do the kinds of things to prevent infections.”

Fauci said he didn’t understand what Trump was referring to in his comments about herd immunity.

“I'm not so sure what that’s all about but we certainly are not wanting to wait back and just let people get infected so that you can develop herd immunity,” Fauci said. “That's certainly not my approach, it's certainly not Dr. Birx’s approach or any of the other people that I know of on that task force.”

10:35 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Fauci wants Americans to continue coronavirus mitigation efforts ahead of Labor Day

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/AFP/Getty Images

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made a “plea” to Americans to continue coronavirus mitigation efforts as Labor Day weekend approaches.

“The issue that we're facing right now is we're entering in a day or two right now into the Labor Day weekend and we know from prior experience that when you get into holiday weekends — the Fourth of July, Memorial Day — there's a tendency of people to be careless, somewhat, with regard to the public health measures that we keep recommending over and over again,” Fauci said in an interview with MSNBC Wednesday. "So I really want to use this opportunity almost to have a plea to the people in this country to realize that we really still need to get our arms around this and to suppress these types of surges that we've seen. We can do it."

Surges in coronavirus were recorded after Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July.

“You can have an enjoyable weekend, but you can do a couple of fundamental things that we talk about all the time,” he said. “Masks, distance, avoiding crowds, outdoors much more than indoors, washing your hands — those types of simple things.”

11:30 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Dwayne Johnson says he and his family are on the mend from coronavirus

From CNN’s Sandra Gonzalez

Dwayne Johnson says he and his wife, Lauren Hashian, along with their two young daughters are recovering from Covid-19. Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP/Getty Images

Dwayne Johnson said he's won a fight against Covid-19, but is warning others that the virus was a formidable foe even for him.

Luckily, the actor and former wrestling star said in an Instagram video that he and his family are now on the other side of their illness after they all tested positive about three weeks ago.

"I can tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family," he said. "And for me personally, too, as well, and I've gone through some doozies in the past."

Johnson said his two young daughters, who are ages 4 and 2, exhibited mild symptoms, but he and his wife, Lauren Hashian, were a different story.

"But I am happy to tell you guys that we as a family are good. We are on the other end of it. We are on the other side. We are no longer contagious. And we are -- thank god -- we are healthy," he said.

Read more here.

9:44 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Covid-19 vaccine "unlikely" by October, despite CDC distribution guidance, NIH director says

From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman

The director of the National Institutes for Health, Dr. Francis Collins, said it’s “unlikely” that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by October.

“But I defend the CDC in their effort to try to be sure people are prepared,” Collins said in an interview with CNN.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It’s also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.

“This is like the Boy Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared,’” Collins said. “Even if it's very low likelihood, if everything happened to come together really beautifully and we had an answer by then and we knew we had a vaccine that was safe and effective, wouldn't you want people to be ready to figure out how to do the distribution? That's all that CDC is saying.”

“Now keep in mind that the likelihood of that is pretty low,” Collins added.

There are currently three vaccines in the US in phase 3 clinical trials.

9:38 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

CDC documents say US states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October

From CNN's Jamie Gumbrecht and Maggie Fox

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.

The documents were posted by The New York Times and the CDC confirmed to CNN it has sent them to city and state public health officials.

The scenarios offer details about distribution for two Covid-19 vaccines when supplies "may be constrained." The documents prioritize particular populations for the vaccines, including health care professionals, essential workers, long-term care facility residents and staff and national security populations.

CNN reported last week that CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield asked states to speed through permits for medical and pharmaceutical supplies company McKesson to help distribute any eventual coronavirus vaccine. In a letter, Redfield asked them to waive any requirements that might get in the way of distributing vaccines by November 1 -- before Election Day -- and weeks, if not months, before most experts expect any vaccine to be fully tested.

The scenario documents do not necessarily mean a vaccine will be available by late October.

Read the full story:

CDC documents say states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October

9:36 p.m. ET, September 2, 2020

Biden: If Trump had done his job, "American schools would be open"

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said US President Donald Trump has "no real plan" for how to reopen schools safely this fall. Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticized US President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus crisis, saying the administration "hasn't shown much grit at all."

"If President Trump and his administration had done their jobs early on in this crisis, American schools would be open and they'd be open safely. Instead, American families all across this county are paying the price for his failures and his administration's failures," Biden said while speaking in Delaware on Wednesday.

Biden said Trump has "no real plan" for how to reopen schools safely this fall.

"He's offering nothing but failure and delusions from the start to finish to American families and our children. They are paying the price for his failures," Biden said.

Biden laid out some of his school reopening plans, which he said were posted on his campaign website. The former vice president said the Trump administration is "starving schools of the needed funding."

"If I were president today, I would direct FEMA to make sure our kids K-12 get full access to disaster relief and emergency assistance under the Stafford Act. I'd make sure that PPE and sanitation supplies for schools qualify as emergency protective measures," Biden said. "On top of that, I would be working with leaders of Congress now, today to pass emergency packages for schools so they would have resources they need in order to be able to open safely."

Biden said that if elected president, he would also support additional funding for mental health in schools and funds to hire additional teachers as smaller classes mean "more educators are needed."