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Coronavirus USA live updates: news, cases, deaths and stimulus checks, today

Update:
Live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States: breaking news, updates and statistics as they emerge throughout today, Saturday 9 August.

Coronavirus live US: latest Covid-19 news - Saturday 8 August

USA

USA coronavirus latest: 15:00 PT / 18:00 ET on Saturday 8 August (00:00 CEST)

According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 19,477,290 cases have been detected worldwide, with 723,599 deaths and 11,801,489 people recovered.

In the US, there have been 4,986,345 confirmed cases and 162,244 deaths, with 1,623,870 people recovered from the virus.

$400 unemployment benefit: Trump signs executive order

CORONAVIRUS

$400 unemployment benefit: Trump signs executive order

Trump signs exectutive order for $400 unemployment benefit

President Trump has signed a series of orders aimed at providing relief to Americans suffering from the impact of economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more...

U.S. sets record as coronavirus cases top 5 million (Reuters tally)

The United States set a record for coronavirus cases on Saturday, with more than 5 million people now infected, according to a Reuters tally, as the country's top infectious diseases official offered hope earlier this week that an effective vaccine might be available by year-end. With one out of every 66 residents infected, the United States leads the world in COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters analysis. The country has recorded more than 160,000 deaths, nearly a quarter of the world's total.

The grim milestone comes as President Donald Trump signed executive orders intended to provide economic relief to Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress. On Friday, the U.S. Labor Department reported that U.S. employment growth slowed considerably in July, underscoring an urgent need for additional government aid. Dr. Anthony Fauci told Reuters on Wednesday there could be at least one vaccine that works and is safe by year-end. But Trump offered a more optimistic view, saying it was possible the United States would have a coronavirus vaccine by the time of the Nov. 3 presidential election. 

Here are some of the highlights of the Trump press conference currently ongoing:

TRUMP SAYS HE IS LOOKING AT INCOME TAX CUTS AND CAPITAL GAINS TAX CUTS

STUDENT LOAN RELIEF WILL BE EXTENDED THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR AND LIKELY LONGER

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN A THIRD ORDER TO SUPPORT AMERICANS WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED

TRUMP SAYS HE IS SIGNING ANOTHER EXECUTIVE ORDER TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM EVICTION

TRUMP SAYS IF HE IS ELECTED HE WILL MAKE PERMANENT CUTS TO PAYROLL TAXES

TRUMP SAYS THE ACTION WILL PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL $400 A WEEK IN EXPANDED BENEFITS, WITH STATES COVERING 25% OF THOSE COSTS

1 out of 3 kids hospitalized admitted to ICU

A CDC study has found that 1 out of 3 kids hospatlized for coronavirus were admitted to intensive care. Hispanic and Black children were much more likely to be hospitalized than white children, according to the study.

The study's findings are contrary to the popular belief that children are "almost immune" from the virus. 

Two out of three churchgoers believe it's safe to return to church

Two out of three churchgoers believe it is now safe to return to church, a Pew Research Survey has found. About half the respondents said they have personally engaged in worship only online or via television.

MLS to resume season on Aug. 12 in home cities amid COVID-19

Major League Soccer will resume the regular season with clubs playing in their home cities starting from Aug. 12 following the end of the single-site tournament in Florida that was designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the league said on Saturday. The majority of matches will be played without fans in attendance and the regular season will lead into an expanded 18-team post-season, culminating with the MLS Cup on Dec. 12, MLS added in a news release.

Due to travel restrictions because of the novel coronavirus, the league said the initial phase of the 18-game schedule will feature U.S.-based clubs while it works with the three Canadian teams regarding plans to resume. The balance of the regular season schedule will be announced by early September as MLS works with infectious disease experts, league and club medical personnel, plus government officials in all markets. To help combat the spread of COVID-19, MLS said testing protocols will play an important role and clubs will travel by chartered flights, or buses, and for most road trips they will arrive in the host city on matchday and leave that evening.

All 26 MLS clubs had played two regular season games when action was suspended in March because of the virus, and the league then decided to stage a month-long World Cup-style tournament at Orlando's Walt Disney World. The tournament got off to a shaky start as FC Dallas and Nashville SC were withdrawn from the competition due to a number of positive tests within each club. To make up the matches missed from the tournament, Dallas and Nashville will play an additional three matches against each other during the regular season, starting with the opener on Wednesday. The MLS is Back Tournament wraps up on Tuesday when Portland Timbers face Orlando City SC in the final.

President Donald Trump (photo: Joshua Roberts REUTERS)

Trump to sign executive order on coronavirus unemployment benefits-White House official

President Donald Trump on Saturday intends to sign an executive order intended to provide economic relief to Americans hurt by the coronavirus pandemic after the White House failed to reach a deal with Congress, a White House source said. (Reporting by Reuters)

Coronavirus-hit Mexico receives $3 million donation from United States

(Reuters) Mexico received a donation of $3 million from the United States to help fight the novel coronavirus, which has claimed more than 50,000 lives, a health official said on Friday.

Mexico's health ministry reported 6,717 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 794 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 469,407 cases and 51,311 deaths.

Officials have said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.

Mexican Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said the donation would be used for research purposes, supplies and tests.

Parody Covid-19 video takes aim at conspiracy theorists: look what's hidden in your face mask!

CORONAVIRUS

Parody Covid-19 video takes aim at conspiracy theorists: look what's hidden in your face mask!

Look what's hidden in your face mask! Parody video takes aim at conspiracy theorists

This viral video takes the mickey out of the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 is a government tool created for population control:

Fox's Chad Pergram: "Trump to sign executive orders today"

Fox News journalist Chad Pergram says U.S. President Donald Trump will sign executive orders on measures such as an extension of enhanced unemployment benefits today, after talks over a coronavirus relief package collapsed on Friday.

Pergram quotes a senior Trump administration official as saying: “The unemployment insurance measure is one of several EOs [executive orders] the President will sign to provide relief… in the face of Democrat inaction”.

US

Over 250,000 expected at rally despite pandemic

Motorcyclists drive down Main Street on Friday during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, South Dakota. While the rally usually attracts around 500,000 people, officials estimate that more than 250,000 may still show up to this year's festival despite the coronavirus pandemic.

(Photo: Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images/AFP)

Trump executive orders "will come in the next couple of days"

Speaking on NBC’s Today show, Politico’s Jake Sherman has said that Donald Trump’s executive orders "will come in the next couple of days". The U.S. president has signalled his intention to take executive action over relief measures such as a moratorium on evictions after negotiations between White House officials and Democratic congressional leaders failed to yield an agreement over a coronavirus aid package by their self-imposed deadline of Friday.

Sherman also noted that Trump’s lack of direct involvement in the talks was largely down to his poor relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was one of the Democrats’ negotiators. "The president has not spoken to Speaker Nancy Pelosi once during this pandemic - they have no relationship. Any negotiation between the president and the speaker would be, in my estimation, having observed their relationship, horribly unproductive. They don’t get along."

Americans dying after drinking hand sanitizer

At least four people have died in the United States after drinking hand sanitizer amid the coronavirus pandemic, a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, per CNN.

"Alcohol-based hand sanitizer products should never be ingested," the CDC says in a report that details 15 cases in Arizona and New Mexico of adults being hospitalized with methanol poisoning.

"This investigation highlights the serious adverse health events, including death, that can occur after ingesting alcohol-based hand sanitizer products containing methanol," the CDC added.

"Safety messaging to avoid ingestion of any alcohol-based hand sanitizer product should continue."

Stimulus check: will Trump executive orders include second payment?

CORONAVIRUS

Stimulus check: will Trump executive orders include second payment?

Trump executive orders: what measures is the U.S. president proposing?

After White House officials and Democrat leaders missed Friday's deadline to agree a coronavirus relief package, the president has said he plans to take executive action.

Full story:

US

Worshippers come together on OC beach despite ban on mass gatherings

Worshippers gather along the Pacific Ocean at the Saturate OC revival meeting held amid the Covid-19 pandemic in Newport Beach, California, on Friday. Hundreds gathered for the last of a series of weekly beach worship services which began on 3 July in defiance of a ban on mass gatherings in Orange County.

Many worshippers did not wear masks or practice social distancing amid continued tensions between state officials and some houses of worship over coronavirus restrictions. Co-organizer Parker Green told CBSLA: "People are far more afraid of losing their civil liberties in the long run than getting sick."

(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP)

When will schools open in New York? Governor Andrew Cuomo talks about it

 

This is the latest known about the economic stimulus in the United States

The Arizona Cardinals, in trouble due to coronavirus infections in the team

Trump scrambling to claim other countries are in worse shape than the US

Deaths in the past seven days:

Australia: 70

Canada: 37

France: 51

Germany: 49

Italy: 55

Japan: 27

Spain: 57

Sweden: 27

UK: 414

USA: 7,189

Your common sense is not everyone's common sense

Authorities should never appeal to the public's 'common sense' as part of guidelines on how to behave, because even with the best of intentions one person's idea of what is common sense will be very different from someone else's. And that's the case with far more mundane things than novel coronaviruses ,where most of us have no way of understanding the risk posed by different activities.

McDonald's

McDonald's protest

McDonald's workers and their supporters are protesting in Los Angeles what they allege is the fast food chain's attempts to silence a worker who spoke out about unsafe conditions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the protestors, the worker had filed multiple complaints with the county health department alleging an array of violations in her workplace including customers being served without masks, a lack of proper PPE and insufficient social distancing and sanitation of high-touch surfaces, increasing the risk of transmission of coronavirus at the fast-food restaurant where employees are essential workers.

More positive cats

There seems no doubt now that cats can catch coronavirus from humans. What's not clear is whether cats can spread it to humans. It also appears that cats are not particularly bothered by having the virus, being generally asymptomatic, although one of the two cats in this article did "sneeze for several days" after testing positive.

Russia claims it will have mass vaccination in early October

Russia says it could have a vaccine approved in the next few days and be ready to roll out a mass vaccination programme in early October. The standard three-phase study on the vaccine has not however been completed, leading to experts criticising the Russian approach. 

“I’m concerned that Russia is cutting corners so that the vaccine that comes out is not only ineffective, but also dangerous,” Lawrence Gostin, a public health expert at Georgetown University told the Associated Press. 

“I hope the Chinese and Russians actually test a vaccine before giving it to anyone, as claims that a vaccine is ready to be dispensed before testing is problematic at best,” Dr Fauci, the head of the United States' National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said last week.
 

Fans

'Fans' out in force

'Fans' at Dodger Stadium as players warm up for a game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants

dirty

Lockdowns have little lasting impact on global warming

A study by Piers Forster at the University of Leeds in the UK shows that although the lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus caused huge temporary falls in emissions, these will have negligible long-term impact on global warming. Even if some lockdowns last until the end of 2021, global temperatures would only be 0.01°C lower than expected by 2030. 

If, however, countries use the pandemic as an opportunity to pivot to green energy faster it could halve the temperature rises expected by 2050. 

See more at New Scientist.

Sturgis

250,000 expected for Sturgis motorcycle rally

Over 250,000 attendees are expected at the 10-day annual Sturgis motorcycle rally in the Black Hills in South Dakota, despite concerns it could lead to a massive spread of coronavirus. 

“I’ve not seen one single person wearing a mask,” said Jessica Christian, a bar worker at the event.

The crowd in Sturgis will be one of the biggest gatherings in the world since the start of the pandemic. 

Hannah Watters' suspension lifted

North Paulding High School (Dallas, Georgia) has dropped the suspension it gave 15-year-old student Hannah Watters for posting a photo of crowded hallways at the school with the students not wearing face masks. 

Watters had posted the photo with the comment "This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate. This isn’t a joke. These are many lives, kids to be precise."

She was suspended by the school for breaking rules on students posting images from the school on social media. Her mother complained to the school about the suspension, which has now been dropped.

Paulding County Superintendent Brian Ottot admitted the pictures were accurate by that the school is following state guidelines. He also said the photo "did not look good". 

Ottot said wearing a mask is a personal choice and there is "no way to enforce a mandate to wear them."

As many on social media have pointed out this claim is rather bizarre given how schools tend to be incredibly efficient at enforcing uniform rules, such as skirt length or the visibility of bra straps. 

U.S. death toll predicted to hit 300,000 by December

Researchers at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation have predicted that a further 137,000 people will die of Covid-19 in the United States between now and 1 December, taking the country’s death toll past the 300,000 mark.

So far, the coronavirus pandemic has led to just over 106,100 fatalities in the U.S., according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

California deaths pass 10,000 mark

California confirmed 142 new Covid-19 deaths today, taking the total in the state to 10,011. 

The state has 538,416 confirmed positives, with a further 8,436 cases on Friday. 

US Surgeon General

The three W's

"Wash your hands."
"Watch your distance – meaning stay at least six feet from others and avoid crowded places."
"Wear a face mask."

That's from US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, who said there's no "need to wait for a vaccine" to get the coronavirus under control. He was speaking at a news briefing with Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa. Baltimore was warned this week about its rising positivity rate. 

Trump to move ahead with executive action as stimulus talks collapse

President Trump will likely move ahead with executive orders to address the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus as talks between Democrats and Republicans collapsed today, the last day in principle to reach an agreement on a fourth stimulus package. 

"We're going to take executive orders, to try to alleviate some of the pain that people are experiencing," White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would recommend that the president move ahead with executive orders. These could be signed this weekend, and will likely address unemployment benefits, that expired on 31 July, along with rental foreclosures and student loans. 

Dems offered to reduce cost, Republicans refused to raise amount available

Mnuchin and Meadows met Dems Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority leader Charles Schumer earlier today in a bid to reach an agreement on a stimulus package, but made no progress. 

The Democrats said they had offered to reduce their demands of a package of $3.4 trillion, but the Republicans were unwilling to raise their offer of $1 trillion, leading to stalemate and the only option now available being executive orders from the President.

"Congress’ biggest swing and a miss in a decade"

With White House and Democrat chiefs failing to reach a deal, Politico's Jake Sherman said the sides' failure to agree a coronavirus relief package - "might be Congress’ biggest swing and a miss in a decade".

“Ten meetings between Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over two weeks have yielded little more than bickering and resentment […]," Sherman says.

“There was a really, really easy package here that was a bit too much for Republicans, and far too little for Democrats, but would’ve easily passed.

"PPP [Paycheck Protection Program] renewal, direct payments, extension of enhanced unemployment, $105 billion in education funding, eviction moratorium, testing money, $200 billion in state and local, $10 billion for USPS and SNAP money.

"Instead the White House is finalizing executive orders to try to halt evictions and student loan payments, suspend the payroll tax and extend enhanced unemployment insurance. The signing of these executive orders could come as soon as this evening."

Coronavirus live US updates: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which as of 19:30 ET had registered over 19 million cases and nearly 720,000 deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the US, which has been by far the world's worst-hit country, there have been nearly five million cases, leading to over 160,000 fatalities.