July 28 coronavirus news

The President of the Madrid regional government, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the use of masks will be mandatory in Madrid in all indoor and outdoor spaces, including bar and restaurant terraces.

The number of people meeting at these terraces will be limited to just 10, the same limit should be observed at private parties and meetings as well. The new measures will take effect starting Thursday.

"Anyone attending will be registered and will have to provide ID an telephone numbers to ease tracing in case it is necessary," she highlighted.

The health counselor for the region, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, explained at the news conference that there has been a change in trend, with 500 infections registered this weekend, most of them in people under the age of 40.

On that issue, Ayuso warned: “We are concerned about the behavior of many young people, not of all but of many, and it is important that they understand that they are also transmitters of the epidemic, that many have also fallen ill in these last few months, and above all, that they are putting in danger the lives of their neighbors, their relatives, but also their professional and academic future, if we continue having to fight the virus eternally”.

She made an appeal to young people in Madrid to join this cause and change the trend. 

Other measures: Ayuso also announced the creation of what she has called the "Covid record card," similar to a vaccination card in which it will be registered whether a person has had the disease and has antibodies.

The objective is "to avoid confinement and be able to access gyms, museums, cinemas or any indoor place. The key is that people that can’t spread the virus can continue with their normal lives and take precautions to protect the most vulnerable”. 

These new measures taken by the capital mean that the use of masks are now mandatory in public places in the whole of Spain with the exception of the Canary Islands.

Following the announcement that the phase three clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine – developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – has begun in the US, Dr. Anthony Fauci again said he is "cautiously optimistic" there will be an answer on whether a vaccine will work in the late fall or early winter.

Speaking Tuesday on Good Morning America, the nation's leading expert on infectious disease explained the results from the phase one trial were "enough for us to see the kind of response that this vaccine induces in individual[s]. And it induced the level of antibodies – which are the proteins that fight the virus – at a level that was quite high, in the sense of what was comparable if not better than what we see in the recovery from natural infection.”

 "That's really one of the issues when you're dealing with vaccines. If you can induce a response that's least as good as natural infection, that is a good predictor that you're going to have a vaccine that works. Obviously, the proof of the pudding is you've got to do the trial," Fauci added.

More on the trial: The investigational vaccine was developed by the biotechnology company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The trial is to be conducted at nearly 100 US research sites, according to Moderna. The first patient was dosed at a site in Savannah, Georgia.

The trial is expected to enroll about 30,000 adult volunteers and evaluates the safety of the Moderna/NIH vaccine and whether it can prevent symptomatic Covid-19 after two doses, among other outcomes.

Volunteers will receive either two 100-microgram injections of the vaccine or a placebo about 28 days apart. Investigators and participants will not know who has received the vaccine.

Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a letter over what he calls an “unprepared and understaffed contact tracing operation.”

Only 17% to 18% of those testing positive with coronavirus in Miami-Dade County were contact-traced over the past two weeks, according to Gelber, adding that it was as low as 7% one day. 

Gelber said that while cases in the state seems to be leveling off, “they're leveling off at a very, very, enormously high level.”

Gelber told CNN’s John Berman that there’s a “concern for embarrassment” from state and national officials, so they downplay the facts. 

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There are signs of a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Tuesday. 

Speaking to journalists about the UK’s decision to impose a 14-day quarantine on people returning from Spain, Johnson said: “What we had to do is take swift and decisive action where we think that the risk is starting to bubble up again.”  

“We all remember what happened last time. It's absolutely vital therefore that we make the necessary preparations here in the UK as we are doing,” he added. 

Remember: At the start of the pandemic, the UK government was accused of acting too slowly to implement a lockdown or restrictions on travelers. 

Asked about the possibility that the length of the quarantine period may be reduced, Johnson said: “We are always looking at ways in which we can mitigate the impact of the quarantine, try to help people, try to make sure that science is working to help travelers and holidaymakers.” However, he added: “At the moment we've got to stick with the guidance we are giving.”  

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US' top infectious disease expert, addressed a series of tweets by President Donald Trump which were taken down overnight on Monday -- one of which touted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for coronavirus.

Fauci said there were other measures everyone should take to protect themselves, including wearing masks.

“We should all be wearing masks outside,” he said. “There are fundamental things we should be doing, particularly if you happen to be in an area where there’s viral activity.”

Fauci said that in addition to wearing masks, people should continue social distancing, avoid crowds and practice good hand hygiene.

The expert also said that officials should close bars in areas where there was evidence of viral activity.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 16.4 million people worldwide and caused more than 654,000 deaths. Here's what you need to know today, from around the globe:

Bolivia's government has issued a decree declaring that the country is in “state of public calamity” due to the economic impact of Covid-19, according to a statement released late Monday.

"We declare a public calamity across the territory of Bolivia in order to attend the urgent economic needs caused by the negative effects of the coronavirus [pandemic]," it states.

The decree allows the country's government to ask for a loan from Bolivia’s Central Bank. It also allows the government to release more funds to help fight the pandemic. The additional funds have so far been blocked by the opposition-controlled Legislative Assembly led by former President Evo Morales’s party.

On Monday, Bolivia reported 71,181 Covid-19 cases, according to its health ministry. The death toll has reached 2,647. 

The virus has spread rapidly through the country's political class.

At least 15 government officials have tested positive for Covid-19 since the pandemic started, including interim President Jeanine Áñez who announced she had recovered from the virus on Monday evening. 

Major UK department store chain Selfridges says it will shed 14% of its workforce as it faces its "toughest year" because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The retailer said it would axe 450 jobs as annual sales are set to be "significantly less" than last year.

Selfridges is reviewing all non-essential expenses and has paused a number of projects and initiatives.

Teachers and parents who are currently weighing their options when it comes to school reopenings in the middle of a deadly pandemic may have one additional challenge ahead: children who are fearful of returning to school.

Like the rest of us, children in the US have been told to stay inside, to wash their hands and to wear a mask for months now. For some kids, the restrictions, what they've heard on the news and their own personal experience with Covid-19 have made the outside world feel like a dangerous place.

On the rare occasion Jeremiah agrees to leave their East Harlem home, he must first peep through the window, declaring it safe when "there's not that many people outside."

Once out, Jeremiah wants to get back inside as quickly as possible. "Before when he was outside he wanted to explore, he wanted to see, now it's all, 'Let's go and come back, Mama,'" added Israel.

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