November 24 coronavirus news

Michigan announced 6,290 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday afternoon, down considerably from last Friday’s record high of 9,779 cases.

The state also reported 145 deaths. The high number of deaths did include 51 "identified during a Vital Records review," according to Michigan's official dashboard.

A statement on the state's website said that the new count was part of a regular tri-weekly review by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services staff.

Michigan's total confirmed cases now stand at 320,506, with a total of 8,688 deaths.

Note: These numbers were released by Michigan’s public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

President Trump’s coronavirus task force is reviewing evidence about how long people need to quarantine to be safe amid Covid-19, according to Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir.

Giroir said at a news conference Tuesday held by the US Department of Health and Human Services that there is starting to be a “preponderance of evidence” that a shorter quarantine, complemented by a test, may be enough to slow the spread of Covid-19, and that a 14-day quarantine may no longer be necessary. He did not say specifically what shorter time period is being considered.

A spokesperson with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the agency is "always reviewing its guidance and recommendations in the light of new understandings of the virus that causes COVID-19, and will announce such changes when appropriate.”

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield is relying on a data tracker called the Covid-19 School Response Dashboard to back up his recommendations to keep kids in school as much as possible, a CDC spokesperson said Tuesday.

The tracker is the brainchild of Brown University economist Emily Oster. It shows data on more than 8.9 million students, including four million attending in person. It currently shows a daily coronavirus case rate of 17 per 100,000 students – far below a 1% rate. Staff case rates are at 27 per 100,000, according to the dashboard.

Last week, Redfield told a White House coronavirus task force briefing that there was "extensive data" showing children can attend K through 12 schools in person safely. But he did not give details on what that data was.

The Covid-19 School Response Dashboard is supported by Brown but also by the School Superintendents Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Software company Qualtrics manages the website and data.

"Dr. Redfield encourages communities to make decisions about in-person learning based upon transmission levels in the community and also within schools’ educational settings, which can be much lower than transmission levels within a community," the spokesperson added.

Florida reported 8,555 new cases of coronavirus and 72 new deaths on Tuesday.

The state has reported 953,300 cases since the start of the pandemic and 18,157 deaths among Florida residents.

Note: These numbers were released by the state’s health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

The majority of coronavirus spread in the US is being driven by people without symptoms in household gatherings, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday.

He added that transmission is occurring when people take off their masks and gather in homes, where they feel safe. He noted that transmission patterns are now very different from those seen in the spring in major metropolitan areas.

“Who would ever think rural North Dakota would be in the red zone?” Redfield said. “It's all in the red zone. It's really being driven by household gatherings.”

It is important to gather safety data on coronavirus vaccines in pregnant women and children, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday.

“I think you're going to see that happen fairly rapidly, just like we're going to see studies begin to look at the safety and immunogenicity in children too,” he added.

Redfield said he is hopeful a coronavirus vaccine will be available for the general public by March.

“It just reinforces why I want people to be vigilant, because we're turning the corner now,” he said. “You don't want to be the last group to end up getting Covid.”

One America News Network, one of President Trump’s favorite media outlets, has been banned from posting new videos to YouTube as a result of spreading Covid-19 misinformation. The ban will be for one week YouTube said Tuesday.

News of the temporary ban was first reported by Axios.

In a statement to CNN, YouTube spokesperson Ivy Choi said:

OANN, which has become a hub of conspiracy theories undermining the integrity of the election, is also carried by major cable operators, including DirecTV, which is owned by CNN’s parent company AT&T. 

CNN has reached out to OANN for comment.

Wisconsin reported more than 100 deaths on Tuesday, the largest number of deaths reported in a single day across the state. 

The 104 new deaths reported brings the state's total to 3,115. It is also the only day since the start of the pandemic the state has reported more than 100 deaths, according to the state's dashboard. 

The state also reported 363,973 total Covid-19 cases, up 6,202 from Monday's report. 

Note: These numbers were released by the state's public health agency and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.   

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reversed course on his Thanksgiving plans after facing criticism for initially including his elderly mother.

Cuomo told WAMC's radio host Alan Chartock on Monday that his mother, Matilda Cuomo, 89, was planning on traveling to join him in Albany, along with two of his daughters.

"My mom is gonna come up and two of my girls, is the current plan," Cuomo said. 

However, the governor cautioned, "But the plans change ... I have a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving."

Later in the interview and during his news conference earlier in the day, Cuomo warned New Yorkers who plan on holding Thanksgiving celebrations as usual that it was dangerous.

"This is not a normal Thanksgiving, despite the commercialization," Cuomo said during his Monday news conference, and told New Yorkers not to buy into advertisements that hyped images of large, familiar gatherings. 

The apparent dissonance caught the ire of some on Twitter, with New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, calling the governor "hypocritical."

"Do as I say, not as I do," Stefanik, a Republican, tweeted. "Family for me, but none for you."

On Tuesday, senior adviser Rich Azzopardi told CNN that the governor's plans had indeed changed.

"Given the current circumstances with Covid, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them," Azzopardi said.

Cuomo spent a good amount of time addressing his own family's sadness and frustration over Thanksgiving during his Tuesday conference, say that he had explained to his mother multiple times why is was not safe to travel for the holiday.  

“I didn’t want to disappoint my mother,” Cuomo said. “Eight-nine years old, she’s thinking, ‘How many Thanksgivings do it get?'”

One of his daughters, who lives in Chicago, also had planned to visit for Thanksgiving, resulting in a tearful phone call where they debated how to travel safely during the pandemic but ultimately decided she should stay home.

"It's hard, but sometimes hard is smart," Cuomo said.