Coronavirus US summary: cases, deaths and stimulus checks today
US coronavirus latest: 13:00 PT/16:00 ET (22:00 CEST) on Tuesday 16 June
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 8,092,109 cases have been detected worldwide, with 438,806 deaths and 3,918,176 people have recovered.
In the USA, there have been 2,127,745 confirmed cases and 116,567 deaths with 576,334 people recovering from the virus.
US sue John Bolton over book publication
The United States on Tuesday sued former national security advisor John Bolton, seeking to block him from publishing a book about his time in the White House that it said contained classified information and would compromise national security.
The civil lawsuit came one day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Bolton would be breaking the law if the book were published. Trump fired Bolton last September after roughly 17 months as national security advisor.
U.S. extends non-essential travel restrictions with Canada and Mexico
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday it would extend existing restrictions on non-essential travel at land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico due to continued risks from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"This extension protects Americans while keeping essential trade and travel flowing as we reopen the American economy," DHS Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement, without specifying an end date to the extension.
The travel restrictions had already been extended several times and were set to expire on 23 June, according to a related U.S. government notice. A DHS official said the latest extension would run for 30 days.
Mexico's foreign ministry said in a tweet on Tuesday that the travel restrictions across the country's border with the United States would continue for 30 days. The United States said it was in 'close contact' with both countries on its northern and southern borders about the restrictions, which were first imposed in mid-March.
Second stimulus check: what plans are under discussion? Dates, amount, eligibility...
Latest on a possible second round of stimulus checks
Mexican seafood workers fight back over U.S. coronavirus sacking
Two Mexican women who worked in a U.S. seafood-processing plant said they were sacked in May for leaving company housing to seek hospital treatment as dozens of workers at the factory fell ill with coronavirus symptoms.
Maribel Hernandez and Reyna Isabel Alvarez have filed complaints with two U.S. labor watchdogs against Louisiana-based Acadia Processors LLC, which they said told them and other sick workers to remain in employee housing without pay while ill.
"I told (Maribel), we're going to die and they aren't going to do anything," Alvarez, a single mother who had worked four seasons for the company, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The women declined to move to more isolated quarantine housing offered by the employer, packing their bags and heading to hospital for a coronavirus test and medical care. They both tested positive, as did other employees at the plant, they said.
Later, factory supervisors told them they were fired because they had packed their things before leaving, and that immigration authorities would be informed, according to the filings seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Incredibly sad news from the US where a Buffalo police officer pushed an elderly man.
Republicans on the list of beneficiaries include Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, a wealthy businessman who owns auto dealerships, body shops and car washes, and Rep. Vicky Hartzler of Missouri, whose family owns multiple farms and equipment suppliers across the Midwest. The Democrats count Rep. Susie Lee of Nevada, whose husband is CEO of a regional casino developer, and Rep. Debbie Mucarsel Powell of Florida, whose husband is an executive at a restaurant chain that has since returned the loan.
The US Open won't have any fans in attendance but will take place this year says the governor of New York.
Significant reduction in mortality
Big trial result. The steroid dexamethasone can have a big impact for seriously ill people. Even better, it's cheap.
Second stimulus check: what is the vacation credit & how long would it last?
'Explore America'
Interesting idea for a tax credit to help people go on holiday, but only within the US.
Under-20s half as susceptible to coronavirus, study finds
A study carried out by the scientific journal Nature Magazine has found that people under 20 are around half as susceptible to Covid-19 as those aged 20 or over. The research, which looked at people in China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Canada and South Korea, found that clinical symptoms manifest in 21% of infections in 10 to 19-year-olds, and that over-70s are particularly vulnerable, with this percentage rising to 69%.
BAFTAs follow Oscars in delaying until April
After it was announced on Monday that the Oscars are to be pushed back to 25 April 2021, the BAFTAs have followed suit, revealing that their awards ceremony will now take place on 11 April. The events had originally been scheduled for 28 and 14 February, respectively.
AstraZeneca vaccine to offer a year's protection
The Covid-19 vaccine being developed by British pharma giant AstraZeneca is likely to provide protection against the virus for about a year, the company's chief executive Pascal Soriot told Belgian radio station Bel RTL today. "We think that it will protect for about a year," Soriot said.
“If all goes well, we will have the results of the clinical trials in August/September. We are manufacturing in parallel. We will be ready to deliver from October if all goes well,” Soriot said.
Charting America's reopening economy
As the United States economy reopens from its coronavirus-motivated shutdown, CNBC has put together this series of charts illustrating the sudden fall and, now, gradual rise in indicators such as hotel occupancy and air travel rates:
FDA revokes emergency use authorisation for hydroxychloroquine
In case you missed it, the US' Food and Drug Administration on Monday revoked the emergency use authorisation that allowed the anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to be used to treat Covid-19 patients, saying they were "unlikely to be effective".
US president Donald Trump, who has championed the use of hydroxychloroquine and said in May that he was taking it daily, criticised the move, saying: "I took it and I felt good about taking it. I don’t know if it had an impact, but it certainly didn’t hurt me."
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's father dies of coronavirus
Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar has announced that he father, Nur Mohamed, has died as a result of the coronavirus. "It is with tremendous sadness and pain to say goodbye to my father, Nur Omar Mohamed," Omar tweeted. "No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew and loved him."
People exercise behind plastic sheets at Inspire South Bay Fitness in Redondo Beach, California, on Monday, after the gym reopened under California's coronavirus Phase 3 reopening guidelines.
(Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP)
Worldwide cases top eight million
According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University the total confirmed number of cases of Covid-19 worldwide is now over the eight million mark.
The US continues to have by far the most cases, with well over two million, while Brazil (nearly 900,000), Russia (over 500,000), India (over 330,000) and UK (just under 300,000) make up the five countries with the most cases.
Stimulus check latest
Stimulus Check: Trump and Pelosi divided on 2-3 trillion relief package
Still some way to go...
Can US citizens travel to Hawaii: conditions and quarantine
14-day quarantine in Hawaii
Extended through to the end of July...
What happens if I forgot to file unemployment in New York on Sunday?
Forgot to file unemployment in New York on Sunday?
The New York labor department's website explains how you can go back and file for previous weeks of unemployment if you forgot to do so on Sunday.
Find out more here:
Surgeon General urges public to wear face masks
The US Surgeon General has urged people to wear face coverings, saying they will promote freedom during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Jerome Adams pushed back on the idea that face coverings infringe on freedoms, saying they're important to slow the spread of coronavirus and reopen the economy.
"Some feel face coverings infringe on their freedom of choice- but if more wear them, we'll have MORE freedom to go out," Surgeon General Adams wrote in a tweet Sunday morning.
Larger group gatherings forcing infection rates to go up in Alabama
According to NBC News and data provided by Cuebiq, people in Baldwin County are 97% more active now than they were before 1 March, These numbers do not attempt to tie social distancing behavior to transmission rates, but with more and more people interacting, State Health Department officials say the increase of person-to-person contact is the one major factor for the rise in Covid-19 cases in Alabama.
Covid-19 cases on the rise in Texas
Texas posted its highest single-day figures on Monday with positive cases above the 6% mark.
House demands coronavirus loan info from Treasury
A House subcommittee investigating billions of dollars in coronavirus aid is demanding that the Trump administration and some of the nation’s largest banks turn over detailed information about companies that applied for and received federal loans intended for small businesses, AP reports.
The requests Monday came after Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin told Congress last week that the names of loan recipients and the amounts disbursed as part of the $600 billion-plus Paycheck Protection Program are “proprietary information” and do not have to be made public. Democrats say there is nothing proprietary or confidential about businesses receiving millions of taxpayer dollars.
Global Covid-19 cases hit 8 million
Global cases of coronavirus reached over 8 million on Monday, as infections surge in Latin America, according to a Reuters tally. About 25% of those cases (2 million infections) are in the United States, though the fastest-growing outbreak is in Latin America which now accounts for 21% of all cases.
Brazil's Covid-19 cases and deaths have surged to make it the No.2 hot spot in the world, behind only the United States.
Fed launches long-awaited Main Street lending program
The Federal Reserve has launched its Main Street Lending Program, the most complex program undertaken yet by the U.S. central bank to help keep the backbone of the economy from buckling under the strains of the coronavirus pandemic.
The program, targeted at companies that were in good shape before the pandemic but may now need financing to retain workers and fund operations, will offer up to $600 billion in loans through participating financial institutions to U.S. businesses with up to 15,000 employees or with revenues up to $5 billion.
Lenders must register using the lender portal and are encouraged by the Fed to begin making program loans to for-profit firms 'immediately.'
Administered by the Boston Fed, the Main Street program for businesses aims to offer credit for those that may be too large to qualify for the Paycheck Protection Program, which targets businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
Catch up...
We freshen up each day with a new blog so if you want to have a look back at what has been happening over the previous 24 hours then check out yesterday's feed.
US Coronavirus news: 15 and 16 June
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic as it affects the United States.
The number of cases and deaths continues to rise across the US. 2,110,182 people have now been confirmed as having the virus, while 112,726 have died from the disease.