An infectious disease expert has warned that the virus is on track to keep spreading “like a forest fire” through the US this summer and fall.
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Former acting CDC director says he's worried about the reopening of certain cities
From CNN’s Andrea Kane
Paul Morigi/Getty Images/FILE
The former acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Richard Besser, expressed concern that cases of Covid-19 will start rising again as certain locations begin to gradually open up — because public health measures meant to control infection aren’t quite up to speed.
Besser’s comments come at a moment when New York City, Washington, DC, and the state of New Jersey enter phase two of reopening. They also coincide with the latest numbers that show 23 states have rising infection rates.
“Because as you reopen … you expect to see more cases. But what we’re hearing, in terms of the public health model — of testing people, through contact tracing, and then isolation and quarantine — it doesn’t sound like it’s working as well as it really needs to,” Besser said.
He said we’re not providing the services that people need to be able to isolate and quarantine safely.
Besser served as acting director of the CDC for the first half of 2009. He is now president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
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Shift of pandemic to younger people means more spread, expert says
From CNN’s Maggie Fox
The shift of the coronavirus pandemic to younger Americans is not necessarily good news, said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Parts of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and other states — many of which were some of the first to reopen following shutdowns — have reported that new coronavirus cases are being diagnosed in increasingly younger populations.
“We have known that younger people are less likely to get sick and less likely to die from the virus,” Jha told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. But even if they don’t get sick themselves, they can infect others, Jha noted.
“Those younger people have parents. They have grandparents, and they are going to go see those people,” Jha added.
“The more the virus spreads, the more everybody is vulnerable,” Jha said.
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Catch up: Here are the latest coronavirus developments from around the US
It’s almost 7 p.m. in New York and midnight in London. Here’s a look at the latest headlines on Covid-19:
These 9 hand sanitizers may contain a potentially fatal ingredient, FDA warns: The US Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers not to use hand sanitizer products manufactured by Eskbiochem SA due to the potential presence of a toxic chemical. The FDA has discovered methanol, a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through skin or ingested, in samples of Lavar Gel and CleanCare No Germ hand sanitizers, both produced by the Mexican company.
Two more staffers test positive for coronavirus after Tulsa rally: The two positive tests bring the total number of President Trump’s advance team staffers in Tulsa who tested positive for coronavirus to eight. Hours before Trump’s Saturday rally, the campaign said that six staffers working on the rally tested positive for coronavirus.
Young people in the US South and West are increasingly getting coronavirus: The major thrust of new coronavirus cases in the United States is in the South and West, where officials say more young people are ignoring social distancing measures and testing positive. Young people are more likely to have milder outcomes from coronavirus, but they can still infect others who are more at risk.
Texas bars temporarily lose alcohol permits: Texas currently requires bars to limit their indoor customer capacity at 50% and have customers socially distance with at least six feet between groups. The Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission, however, found in an undercover investigation dubbed “Operation Safe Open” that a dozen bars were not enforcing the rules.
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Brazil reports more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases in past 24 hours
From Rodrigo Pedroso in São Paulo
Bathers sunbathe on the sand of Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sunday, June 21. The military police tried to isolate the beach on June 21, the first weekend of winter. Even with the death toll in the corona virus pandemic, the number of people increased, many people could be seen in the sand, which is still not allowed, according to the measures of easing social isolation.
Fabio Teixeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Brazil’s health ministry has reported 21,432 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of reported infections in the country to 1,106,470.
The ministry said 654 deaths have been reported since yesterday, bringing the total number of those who have officially died from coronavirus in Brazil to 51,271.
More on this: Brazil has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America and second-highest in the world after the US. The country has reported an average of a thousand coronavirus deaths a day over the past week.
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FDA sends warning letter and tells people not to buy North Isle Wellness Center's Covid-19 products
From CNN’s Jen Christensen
The US Food and Drug Administration said it has sent a warning letter to North Isle Wellness Center in New York and is advising consumers not to purchase products the company has misleadingly claimed work as a treatment for Covid-19, according to an agency release sent out Monday.
The FDA gave the company 48 hours to take immediate corrective action and fix its website, product labels and any other labeling and promotional material.
The company’s website falsely says its Methylene Blue product “shields against coronavirus,” according to the FDA. North Isle Wellness Center claims its product works by producing a “hydrogen peroxide burst within the blood to kill the coronavirus on contact.” The company also falsely claims that its skin tonic can build up the immune system in a patient with Covid-19, and kill the virus on contact.
There are no FDA approved products to prevent or treat Covid-19.
The FDA said it will place North Isle Wellness Center on its health fraud and scams list until there is corrective action. Failure to comply, the FDA said, could result in legal action.
As of Monday afternoon, there was no mention of any coronavirus treatment on North Isle Wellness’ site.
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Los Angeles records another single-day high in Covid-19 cases
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
Los Angeles has recorded another single-day high in confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Unlike in other previous highs, this record number is not attributable to a backlog in lab reports, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday.
Despite only holding about a quarter of the state’s residents, Los Angeles County is home to nearly half the coronavirus cases in California.
According to the county’s health department, Los Angeles County recorded 2,571 new cases on Monday.
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Infectious disease expert worries Houston area could be the next Covid-19 hotspot
From CNN’s Andrea Kane
Infectious disease expert Dr. Peter Hotez is worried that Houston and Harris County could become the worst-affected spot for Covid-19 in North America.
Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has been sounding steady warnings about the pandemic.
“Latest #COVID19 for Harris County, my observation if this trajectory persists: 1) Houston would become the worst affected city in the US, maybe rival what we’re seeing now in Brazil 2) The masks = good 1st step but simply won’t be enough 3) We would need to proceed to red alert,” Hotez tweeted on Saturday.
Harris County is listed at Orange Level 2 on the county’s own Covid-19 threat level system, with “significant uncontrolled” spread of the virus. Red Level 1 means the virus is classified as “severe uncontrolled.”
Numbers for Harris County show a sharp increase in the seven-day rolling average of new Covid-19 cases and in hospitalizations.
The other counties that make up the Houston region did not see a similar spike.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo last week called the county the “epicenter” of the virus in Texas.
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UK prime minister to ease restrictions on arts and culture sector
From CNN’s Luke McGee
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a further easing of the nationwide lockdown on Tuesday, a government spokesperson told CNN, adding that changes to the government’s coronavirus guidelines will allow for the country to “gradually open up” starting July 4.
“Additional guidance will be published shortly on establishing safe ways to reopen for these sectors – which could include introducing one-way systems, spaced queuing, increased ventilation, and pre-booked tickets,” the spokesperson added.
According to the statement, the prime minister is also expected to reveal the findings of a review into the two-meter social distancing rule.
While some restrictions introduced by the government will be relaxed, the spokesperson cautioned that Johnson will “make clear that the public must continue to follow social distancing guidelines” in order to keep the pandemic under control.
“Any easing of restrictions could be reversed if the virus risks running out of control,” the spokesperson added.
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Kansas governor says Covid-19 spread is trending upward
From CNN's Raja Razek
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said Covid-19 spread is trending upward in the state.
She added: “Therefore, it is my recommendation, along with officials over at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, that communities in Kansas stay in phase three of Ad Astra reopening plan.”
Kansas reported an increase of 406 Covid-19 cases since Friday, bringing the total of cases to 12,465, with 259 deaths in the state.
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Texas governor says state may take "tougher actions" but is not rolling back reopening for now
From CNN’s Ashley Killough
Pool
Gov. Greg Abbott said the coronavirus is “spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas” and warned that “tougher actions” may be imposed if the numbers continue to spike, but he stressed that closing down the state again “will always be the last option.”
The governor outlined three categories that are spiking in Texas — daily positive cases, hospitalizations, and the positivity rate. Texas saw its largest daily increase of cases over the weekend, with 4,430 reported on Saturday, and the positivity rate jumped to nearly 9% this weekend from 4.5% in late May.
“If we were to experience another doubling of those numbers over the next month, that would mean that we are in an urgent situation where tougher actions will be required to make sure that we do contain the spread of Covid-19,” he said.
For now, Abbott did not outline any rollbacks of his phased approach to reopening the state. Instead, the state will monitor whether recently developed actions — like the cracking down by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on businesses that don’t enforce reopening restrictions — will have any effect.
Abbott also said the state is surging testing in hot spots and doing more to promote the wearing of masks, though still not making it a requirement.
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Study suggests 80% of Covid-19 cases went undetected in March in the US
From CNN’s Maggie Fox
A new study suggests that as many as 8.7 million Americans came down with coronavirus in March but that 80% of them were never diagnosed.
A team of researchers looked at the number of people who went to doctors or clinics with influenza-like illnesses that were never diagnosed as coronavirus, influenza or any of the other viruses that usually circulate in winter.
There was a giant spike in these cases in March, the researchers reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Only 100,000 cases were officially reported during that time period, and the US still reports only 2.3 million cases as of Monday. But there was a shortage of coronavirus testing kits at the time.
The team used data collected from each state by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for influenza-like illness. The CDC uses this data to track the annual seasonal flu epidemic.
“We found a clear, anomalous surge in influenza-like illness (ILI) outpatients during the COVID-19 epidemic that correlated with the progression of the epidemic in multiple states across the US,” Silverman and colleagues wrote.
“The surge of non-influenza ILI outpatients was much larger than the number of confirmed case in each state, providing evidence of large numbers of probable symptomatic COVID-19 cases that remained undetected.”
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Arkansas governor says state is expanding Covid-19 testing
From CNN’s Janine Mack
Office of Governor Asa Hutchinson
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said that Arkansas will not back off on testing during a news conference on Monday.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday that Trump was speaking “in jest” when he said during his rally Saturday that he asked administration officials to slow down testing for Covid-19 in the US.
Hutchinson said that he was listening to the President and called the comment “flippant.”
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Houston hospitals have 177% increase in Covid-19 patients
From CNN's Raja Razek
Houston Health Department tweeted Monday that Harris County hospitals have seen a 177% increase in Covid-19 positive patients since May 31.
The department urged residents to “act now.”
“Wear a mask, social distance & wash hands,” the department tweeted.
Harris County has a total of 8,725 Covid-19 cases and 136 people have died from the virus.
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103 Houston police officers are quarantined with Covid-19
From CNN’s Jennifer Henderson
Mark Feliz/AFP/Getty Images
At least 103 Houston police officers are currently quarantined with Covid-19, according to police spokesperson Officer Kese Smith.
In total, 146 police officers have had Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
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South Africa passes 100,000 coronavirus cases
From CNN's Brent Swails
A disinfection team disinfects the classroom at Ivory Park Secondary School in Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday, May 28, 2020, ahead of the June 1, 2020, re-opening of Grade 7 and 12 learners to school.
Themba Hadebe/AP/FILE
South Africa has at least 101,590 confirmed coronavirus cases after reporting 4,289 new cases in the last 24 hours. According to the country’s department of health, at least 1,991 people have died from the virus.
South Africa accounts for close to a third of all cases on the continent.
At a World Health Organization briefing on Monday, the organization’s head of health emergencies, Dr. Mike Ryan said the situation in Africa remains mixed, “We’ve seen increases of disease in some countries in excess of 50% in the last week and we’ve seen other countries with very, very stable numbers.”
Overall, Ryan said, the mortality rate on the continent remains lower than in other regions.
“What we haven’t seen yet are large increases in the number of deaths. So Africa, at this point, is still avoiding the large proportion of that, that have been associated with this disease in other continents,” he said.
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Yale is preparing for mostly remote classes for the fall semester
From CNN's Jamie Gangel
In this file photo, students walk near Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Shutterstock
Yale College has asked faculty to plan their courses with a “residential/remote model” in mind, given the uncertainties of the fall semester due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The university will announce its plans for the fall by early July. But an email sent to students Monday, the undergraduate college of Yale University revealed the model being used to plan the semester assumes that even if students return to the campus in New Haven, Connecticut, classes will primarily be offered remotely.
“Courses will be built primarily for remote delivery so that all enrolled students may participate,” Dean of Yale College Marvin M. Chun and psychology professor Richard M. Colgate said in the email. “Limited exceptions for additional in-person engagements, such as tutorial or discussion sessions, might also be possible as enhancements in other types of courses; details will be provided as the public health situation becomes clearer.”
Yale previously announced it will follow a modified academic calendar for the fall semester. Yale College classes will begin August 31, and in-person instruction will conclude before the Thanksgiving break. “The last week of instruction, reading period, and final exam period will be online,” according to the email, with the semester ending December 18.
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More than 35% of Covid-19 cases in California have been recorded in past two weeks
From CNN's Cheri Mossburg
A worker wearing personal protective equipment performs drive-up Covid-19 testing administered from a car at Mend Urgent Care testing site for the novel coronavirus at the Westfield Fashion Square on May 13, in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
More than 35% of the confirmed coronavirus cases in California have been recorded in just the past two weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news conference Monday.
There have been three single-day highs recorded in the past week, and on Sunday, the highest rate of hospitalizations to date. Hospitalizations have climbed about 16% over the last 14 days.
Testing is increasing throughout the state with about 85,000 tests conducted each day, Newsom said. While that may be factor in the uptick in confirmed cases, the positivity rate is also climbing slightly and currently stands at about 4.8%.
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West Virginia reports its first coronavirus-related death since June 12
From CNN’s Alec Snyder
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said the state had its first coronavirus-related death since June 12 over this past weekend.
The 74-year-old woman’s death brings the cumulative total in the state to 89.
Justice said during his news conference Monday that 100 new positive cases appeared over the weekend as well, adding he thought it was possibly due to traveling out of state, especially from Myrtle Beach, which is seeing a rise in cases.
Currently, there are 782 active cases in West Virginia, he said.
Justice said he disagreed with President Trump’s assessment — which said he believed Trump said “in jest” — that testing needs to slow down. He said he believes testing needs to increase and he said he thinks the President believes that as well.
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Members of Congress vow to keep Covid vaccines from being a "for-profit bonanza" for drug companies
From CNN's Dana Vigue, Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield
Democrats unveiled two pieces of legislation Monday they say will keep prices down for any taxpayer-funded treatments and vaccines for Covid-19.
The federal government has granted billions to pharmaceutical companies for Covid-related research without assurances that the drugs and vaccines that result from that research will be affordable and accessible to the American public, according to Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).
The bills have bipartisan support from co-sponsors Schakowsky and DeLauro as well as Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Francis Rooney (R-FL) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR).
The bills intend to establish protections against drug price gouging for Covid-19 treatments and vaccines and excessive pricing of drugs for any disease that causes a public health emergency.
The bills would also initiate major steps toward transparency, including a database of the funding and tax benefits that pharmaceutical companies have received.
“Every other major country in the world negotiates lower drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry for all its residents,” DeFazio said.
“Today’s legislation provides what the Trump administration has been unwilling to do by executive order, and that is meaningful protection for taxpayer dollars and insurance of patient access,” Doggett said.
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US stocks finish higher, suggesting market focused on reopening
From CNN’s Anneken Tappe
US stocks turned things around and closed higher after starting the day in the red.
Shares of tech and consumer companies propelled the major indexes higher, with Nike, Apple and Microsoft ending as the day’s best performing Dow stocks.
While investors have been worried about the rising numbers of Covid-19 infections in parts of the country, Monday’s modest upswing suggests that the market is focused once again on the reopening of the economy — and clinging to hopes that it won’t shut down a second time.
