July 7 coronavirus news

Since Mexico entered its "new normal" phase of reopening on June 1, the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths have almost tripled in the country.

According to official data tallied by CNN, the number of coronavirus cases in Mexico have risen by 180% since June 1, and the number of deaths have also increased by 206% during the same period of time.

On June 1, Mexico entered the new Covid-19 phase, reopening certain sectors of the economy under what they deemed the “new normal.” Meanwhile, the country reported 93,435 cases and 10,167 deaths that day. 

On July 6, Mexico reported 261,750 cases of coronavirus and 31,119 virus-related deaths, according to official data.

Iraq on Tuesday recorded 2,426 new coronavirus cases, according to the country's health ministry.

Iraq now has a total of 64,701 cases of coronavirus.

The health ministry also reported 118 new Covid-19-related fatalities, bringing the total to 2,685 deaths across the country.

There are at least 2,953,423 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 130,546 people have died from the virus in the country, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases.

So far on Monday, Johns Hopkins reported 17,346 new cases and 261 deaths. 

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

New data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 16,233 Covid-19 cases were confirmed in meat and poultry processing facilities across 23 states through May 31. 

Of the confirmed cases, 87% were among racial and ethnic minorities. There were also 86 Covid-19-associated deaths among workers in these facilities. 

There are an 525,000 workers within the animal slaughtering and processing industry across 3,500 facilities in the US, the report says. Because of missing data and asymptomatic and unrecognized cases, the prevalence of Covid-19 in the workforce is likely underestimated. 

Covid-19 has been known to spread rapidly in congregate settings where social distancing is not possible. Because of this, meat and poultry processing facility conditions often pose “distinctive” risks for workers. The CDC stated prolonged, close contact with other employees during 8- to 12-hour shifts in these facilities may increase transmission. Other risks include shared work spaces, transportation and housing. 

Of the 239 meat and poultry processing facilities in the report, common efforts to mitigate coronavirus transmission included mandating face coverings and adding hand hygiene stations and physical barriers between workers. 

Lina Hidalgo, judge of Harris County, Texas, which includes the city of Houston, is advocating for a stay-at-home order in her county as coronavirus cases rise. 

Hidalgo, the chief administrator of the county, said that she doesn’t want to shut the economy again, but a patchwork method won’t quell coronavirus in the long run. 

“A long-term solution based on data instead of wishful thinking is what's going to put our economy in the position to succeed,” Hidalgo told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. 

Texas has more than 200,000 Covid-19 cases, and Harris County has more than 37,000 cases so far. 

Hidalgo said that a mask mandate will not solely bring the number of cases down, which is why she’s looking for a stay-at-home order as well. 

“We can’t just put our head in the sand and hope that somehow it’s going to go differently over here,” she said. 

Watch:

World Health Organization scientists and experts are scheduled to travel to China this weekend to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Tuesday.

"The experts will develop the scope and terms of reference for a WHO-led international mission. The mission objective is to advance the understanding of animal hosts for Covid-19 and ascertain how the disease jumped between animals and humans," Tedros said. "WHO will continue to communicate the latest scientific advances to the media and general public as we have them." 

Specifically, experts will be seeking to trace the narrative of how the coronavirus might have spread from the wild to possibly farm animals to humans, said Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's Health Emergencies Program.

"It takes time," he said on Tuesday.

"There is the wild animal kingdom, there is the farmed animal kingdom, there are interfaces with humans," Ryan said. "So we need to understand the track of this virus."

There were 22,000 deaths from the coronavirus throughout the Americas last week alone. That was 9% higher than the previous week, said Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The Americas also saw a daily average of more than 100,000 new cases last week – nearly 20% higher than the previous week.

Speaking at PAHO’s weekly briefing on the pandemic, Etienne said there have now been 267,000 coronavirus deaths across the Americas, and the trends of infection were accelerating in several US states as well as much of Central and South America.

She went on to say there was a concerning trend of infections reaching areas that had not been much affected until now, just as people were becoming fatigued with precautions and restrictions on their movement. The pandemic, she said, was moving from some of the biggest cities to smaller towns that had fewer facilities such as intensive care. 

Two months ago, US accounted for about 75% of all cases in the Americas, Etienne said. Now more than 50% of cases were being registered in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil alone accounting for a quarter of cases. 

Etienne expressed concern about unsafe working conditions and the lack of protective equipment for frontline health workers in much of the region. She reiterated the need for better tracing of the virus. The impact of the virus had been worsened by inequality, political division and under-investment in health care.

She predicted the next six months would not be any easier than the last: many hospitals were approaching capacity and the treatment of other conditions and diseases was being disrupted. Etienne noted that maternal mortality was increasing, as access to prenatal services was becoming more difficult.

She also expressed concern that the treatment of other health problems common in Latin America – from tuberculosis to diabetes – was being affected by problems in securing supplies and accessing health facilities.

The number of Covid-19 cases around the world is continuing to climb and the increases are "not purely as a result of testing," a World Health Organization official said on Tuesday.

"In April and May we were dealing with 100,000 cases a day. Today we’re dealing with 200,000 cases a day — and that is not purely as a result of testing," Ryan added. "This epidemic is accelerating."

Ryan added that the rise in case numbers has occurred at the same time the global Covid-19 death rate has remained stable, which suggests that frontline doctors and nurses may be treating patients earlier and saving more lives. 

The latest numbers: There have now been more than 11 million cases of Covid-19 and more than 535,000 deaths around the world due to the pandemic, according to WHO.

"The outbreak is accelerating and we have clearly not reached the peak of the pandemic," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during Tuesday's briefing.

"While the number of deaths appears to have leveled off globally, in reality some countries have made significant progress in reducing the number of deaths, while in other countries deaths are still on the rise," Tedros said. "Where there has been progress in reducing deaths, countries have implemented targeted actions toward the most vulnerable groups, for example those people living in long-term care facilities." 

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez said he met with the county’s Wellness Group Tuesday morning and came to a compromise to keep gyms and fitness studios open during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a tweet from the mayor’s official Twitter account.

People inside "must wear a mask or do strenuous training outside staying 10 feet apart w/out mask,” Giménez tweeted. 

Giménez is also slated to issue an upcoming executive order allowing outdoor dining to continue under the current spike in coronavirus cases with restrictions, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office. 

New restrictions require restaurants to include tables of no more than four people and allow for appropriate social distancing. Restaurants will be required to play music at a level that does not require shouting, to curb the emission of potentially dangerous airborne droplets from people’s mouths.

This is a partial revision of the county's decision to re-shut down some businesses. Just yesterday, Miami-Dade announced certain businesses, including fitness centers, would close Wednesday because of the spiking coronavirus numbers. Restaurants were also slated to close, except for takeout and delivery.

The mayor is expected to speak at a 12:30 p.m. ET press conference alongside Gov. DeSantis where the two will address Covid-19 updates in the city of Miami and the state of Florida.