August 16 coronavirus news

China’s National Health Commission reported that 22 new Covid-19 cases were identified throughout the country Sunday.

Another 37 asymptomatic cases were also recorded. China counts these cases separately.

A total of 84,849 cases of the novel coronavirus have been identified throughout China since the pandemic began.

The world may be in the midst of a global pandemic, but visitors to a new Beijing exhibition could be forgiven for thinking the battle has already been won.

A triumphant art show celebrating the “great spirit of the Chinese people” in fighting Covid-19 opened this month at the country’s National Museum, near Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing.

Through a collection of almost 180 artworks, including sculptures, watercolors and dramatic oil paintings of heroic doctors, the exhibition aims to document the initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan and its aftermath.

But given that the country heavily censors art, the contents of the museum’s exhibition mirrors the official stance on China’s containment of Covid-19.

Through images of aid workers, the exhibition’s messaging also appears closely aligned with government narratives around the country’s international response to the crisis – or “demonstrat(ing) China’s responsibility as a major country in dealing with … a major public health emergency,” as the foreword at the show’s entrance proclaims, despite criticism of officials’ early attempts to suppress news of the virus ahead of the busy Lunar New Year holiday in January.

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BEIJING, CHINA - AUGUST 04: A visitor looks at a portrait painting depicting Chinese respiratory specialist Zhong Nanshan during an art exhibition on novel coronavirus prevention and control at National Museum of China on August 4, 2020 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service via Getty Images)

Related article Beijing art exhibition glorifies China's Covid-19 response

Gen. Robert Abrams speaks during an event in Panmunjom, South Korea, on July 27

United States Forces Korea (USFK) has raised its health protection level following an uptick in the number of Covid-19 infections in South Korea.

USFK raised the protection level to level “Charlie” at 5 a.m. Korean time, which indicates the presence of sustained community transmission of Covid-19 across South Korea, according to a notice posted by the US Department of Defense.

South Korea has boasted one of the world’s most successful responses to Covid-19. In a country of more than 50 million people, only 15,318 cases of Covid-19 and 305 virus-related deaths have been reported.

However, there has been a significant rise in cases throughout the country in recent days.

More than 600 new cases were reported across Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as daily infection numbers crossed the triple digit threshold for the first time since March.

As part of USFK’s new measures, only essential individuals will be required to report for duty, while others will work remotely, USFK said in a statement.

Travel outside the military installations will only be authorized for official and necessary duties, it added. All individuals are also required wear a mask outside the installations.

While masks are not required in Georgia, people are seen not wearing them or social distancing at this large gathering near the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Georgia.

Videos posted to social media show a large gathering at an off-campus housing area near the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, about 65 miles north of Atlanta.

Sylvia Carson, UNG executive director of communications, told CNN in an emailed statement Sunday that the school is “aware that a large outdoor party was held at a privately-owned, off campus apartment complex located near” the Dahlonega campus Saturday night. 

There are no mask mandates in the state of Georgia. 

UNG requires masks at UNG buildings and facilities, but face coverings are not required in residence hall rooms or when enclosed alone in an office or study area, according to the guidance posted by UNG effective July 15.

Mexico has recorded 4,448 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, taking the total number of cases in the country to 522,162.

The Health Ministry also added 214 new deaths for a total count of 56,757. Mexico continues to hold the third-highest number of deaths in the world from coronavirus following only the US and Brazil, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

Mexico is now ranked third in Latin America by JHU in terms of its number of total coronavirus cases. As of Sunday, Mexico trails Peru - which has 525,803 total cases - by nearly 4,000 cases and Brazil, which has recorded more than 3.3 million infections. 

People walk on the street in Baghdad, Iraq, on August 12.

The Iraqi Health Ministry has warned of “disastrous consequences” if people don’t follow the rules and instructions issued by the ministry to contain the spread of coronavirus. 

The country recorded its highest daily record of new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, with 4,348 new coronavirus cases and 75 deaths. The spread of coronavirus is expected to get much worse, given the country’s medical infrastructure has been damaged by decades of sanctions, war, and corruption. 

The guidance includes recommendations to stay home, social distance, wear masks and wash hands regularly.

Despite the warning, Iraq’s Supreme Committee for National Health and Safety decided on Saturday to reduce daily lockdown hours, as the country is under huge economic pressure. Many low-income earners are not able to afford to stay home and out of work – or to work from home – and there have been no alternative income arrangements provided by the government.

Iraq is also preparing for a major religious commemoration this month known as Ashura, which is the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Ashura is considered the holiest day on the Shia Muslim calendar and Iraqi officials and religious figures have been warning citizens to avoid all gatherings during the event. Each year, hundreds of thousands converge on Karbala, about 62 miles south of Baghdad, to visit the Imam Hussein holy shrine there. 

Iraq’s Supreme Committee for National Health and Safety issued a statement on Saturday calling on all Iraqis to mark the event from inside their homes and avoid marching toward Karbala. 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker at a news conference at the University of Chicago's Harper Center on July 23.

The Metro East area of Illinois – the southwestern counties of the state near the Missouri border – is facing new Covid-19 mitigation guidelines after three days in a row of a test positivity rate of 8% or higher, according to a news release from Gov. JB Pritzker. The area is also known as Region 4.

Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) say this means that starting Tuesday, all bars, restaurants and casinos need to close by 11 p.m. local time. All party buses will be closed, and gathering sizes should be reduced to 25 people or less.

After 14 days, the IDPH will reassess the rules to see whether more stringent measures such as closing indoor bars and dining is needed.

According to the IDPH, Illinois is reporting 206,081 total cases and 7,744 deaths.

Colombia’s Health Ministry reported 11,643 new cases from Covid-19 Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 468,332.

The ministry also reported 287 new deaths, bringing the total death toll to 15,097.

Colombia’s capital, Bogotà, remains the country’s biggest hotspot with 163,295 total reported cases.

Funeral home director Jeffrey Rhodes prepares the body of man who died from coronavirus in Tampa, Florida.

More than 170,000 people with coronavirus have died in the United States as of 7:30 p.m. EST Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

As of Sunday night, 5,401,167 cases and 170,019 deaths have been reported nationwide.

A total of 40,002 new cases and 538 new deaths were reported Sunday. 

For the latest Johns Hopkins University U.S. numbers: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html   

CNN’s map, using JHU data continues to refresh every 15 mins: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2020/health/coronavirus-us-maps-and-cases/

The Australian state of Victoria has recorded 25 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday, the highest single-day increase in fatalities since the outbreak of the pandemic, Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said Monday morning.

Victoria also reported 282 new cases of the novel coronavirus from Sunday. Victoria now has 17,046 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while the death toll has increased to 334.

The country’s previous highest single-day death toll was 21, reached last week.

Brazil has reported 23,101 new Covid-19 cases and 620 deaths in the past 24 hours, the country’s health ministry reported Sunday. 

The total number of confirmed coronavirus infections now stands at 3,340,197. At least 107,852 have died from coronavirus in the country, according to the ministry’s data.

Brazil’s hardest-hit state by the coronavirus, São Paulo, reported 2,113 new cases and 72 new deaths on Sunday.

Coronavirus-related deaths are on the rise again in São Paulo after it saw a steady decline in daily deaths since the final week of June.

This week, the average daily death toll hovered around 79, a 33% jump compared with the previous week when it registered 59 daily deaths. This week’s average, however, remains lower than the week leading up to June 23, when São Paulo was averaging 100 daily deaths.

Brazil continues to trail only the United States in the highest number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the world.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on August 17.

New Zealand’s election has been delayed by four weeks, to October 17, because of concern over the spread of coronavirus in the country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced.

The Prime Minister said the country’s “resurgence plan is in full swing” with high levels of testing and contact tracing, alongside restrictions on the community.

New Zealand reported 12 locally transmitted cases on Friday as the country tackles a fresh outbreak that ended an enviable run of more than 100 days without any locally transmitted infections. The new cluster has prompted the country to extend a lockdown on its most populous city, Auckland, as authorities scramble to trace the source of the outbreak.

The country had already spent five weeks under one of the world’s strictest lockdowns, which closed most businesses and schools, and saw people stay at home. Ardern has warned she expects to see more cases. New Zealand has reported a total of 1,271 coronavirus cases and 22 deaths.

Ardern said Parliament will reconvene Tuesday and will be dissolved on September 6. She added that she does not intend to change the election date again.

The multibillion-dollar effort to get a coronavirus vaccine on the market could see delays because researchers haven’t recruited sufficient numbers of minorities to join the clinical trials.

Of the 350,000 people who’ve registered online for a coronavirus clinical trial, 10% are Black or Latino, according to Dr. Jim Kublin, executive director of operations for the Covid-19 Prevention Network.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, gave the Moderna trial, the first in Phase 3 in the United States, a “C” grade for recruiting minorities.

Study subjects in trials are supposed to reflect the population that’s affected. Research shows that more than half of US coronavirus cases have been among Black and Latino people.

If not enough Black people and other minorities enroll, the panel of experts who monitor the trials could force a delay until they get the numbers they need.

“That’s something that’s been actively discussed,” said Dr. Nelson Michael, coordinator of community engagement activities for Operation Warp Speed, the government’s effort to develop a coronavirus vaccine. “There’s a lot of concern.”

Pfizer and Moderna started their Phase 3 vaccine clinical trials on July 27 and expect to have them fully enrolled in September. Other vaccine trials will soon follow, and Operation Warp Speed aims to deliver 300 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine by January. That’s a speed unheard of in the history of vaccine clinical trials.

A school district in Arizona canceled its classes on Monday after a “high volume of staff absences” created insufficient staffing levels, according to a statement from the district’s superintendent.

The J.O. Combs Unified School District in San Tan Valley, Arizona, previously announced last week it would resume in-person instruction on Monday, but since that announcement, the district “received an overwhelming response from staff indicating that they do not feel safe returning to classrooms with students,” Superintendent Dr. Gregory A. Wyman wrote.

The subsequent “high volume of staff absences” the district received led to staffing levels that did not allow the resumption of classes on Monday. All virtual learning classes have also been canceled.

Wyman said in his statement that school officials are “acutely aware of how polarizing this issue is, and how challenging these ongoing developments are for our entire community” and said they would work closely with staff and families to find solutions for a safe return to school.

Nashville officers enforcing mask requirements have issued nearly 3,000 warnings, 25 citations and arrested one person so far this weekend, according to a series of tweets from Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).  

More than 30 MNPD officers, working extra duty, were in Nashville’s famed entertainment district over the weekend as part of the department’s enhanced mask enforcement initiative, the tweets said. 

On Saturday, officers “gave more than 1,900 warnings & issued 16 citations,” the tweets said. On Friday, they issued “more than 1,000 warnings, issued 9 citations and made one mask-related arrest,” MNPD said. 

Officers also cited two businesses, Los Paisanos and The Rusty Nail, for operating in violation of health department orders, according to an agency tweet.

France announced 3,015 new cases on Sunday, according to France’s national health agency. It’s the second-highest daily jump in cases since mid-May.  

On Saturday, the health agency reported 3,310 new cases within 24 hours, the biggest daily increase since the country’s lockdown lifted on May 11.

The health agency also registered one coronavirus death on Sunday, making France’s total coronavirus death toll 30,410. 

Additionally, coronavirus hospitalizations increased only slightly with three new patients admitted. The number of patients in ICU stands at 376, the health agency said.

Ohio reported 40 Covid-19 deaths on Saturday, marking the state’s highest number of deaths reported since July 31 at 47 deaths, according to data from Ohio’s Department of Health.

Saturday’s death count was well above the state’s 21-day average of 25 deaths per day, the state’s Department of Health reported.

Ohio also added 1,117 new Covid cases on Saturday. The state’s total number of deaths is currently listed as 3,826, with 108,287 total cases, the data shows. 

Only two Covid-19 deaths were reported on Sunday. A week ago, Sunday’s reported number was one death. 

The Department of Health’s updated data also showed that 82 additional people were hospitalized and 12 people were admitted to the ICU on Saturday. Both of these numbers are under the 21-day average. There are a total of 12,236 hospitalizations and 2,771 ICU cases reported to the state.  

Percent positivity for the state was 4.5% as of Friday, which is under the 4.8% seven-day average, according to state data. 

NOTE: These numbers were released by the Ohio Department of Health, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

A fourth coronavirus cluster has been identified by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The latest cluster was identified at Hinton James Residence Hall, the university said in a statement posted to its verified Facebook Sunday.

A cluster is defined as five or more cases that are in close proximity in location, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Service, the statement said.

On Saturday, the university announced a cluster at Sigma Nu fraternity, and on Friday, it announced clusters in Ehringhaus Community, a residence hall and Granville Towers, a private apartment complex that serves as a housing option for come students.

A third Cherokee County school will temporarily end in-person learning after more than a quarter of its students were quarantined and 25 people at the school tested positive for Covid-19, according to a letter sent to parents from the school district and obtained by CNN.

The tentative reopen date for in-person learning is Aug. 31, according to the letter.

At least 23 sorority members at Oklahoma State University tested positive for Covid-19, according to the university.

The entire sorority house is in isolation or quarantine after the confirmed cases “and will be prohibited from leaving the facility,” the university said.

The university and Payne County Health Department are monitoring those involved and conducting contract tracing to prevent further spread.