Coronavirus USA summary: news, cases and deaths - 22 August

Covid-19 patients spotting signs of infection at home

With fewer in-person medical appointments and more virtual ones, patients are monitoring their health at home and catching potentially deadly signs and symptoms earlier, spurring a movement to get more monitoring devices into patients' hands, CNN reports.

Coronavirus

Stimulus checks: what is a tax refund interest check?

What is a tax refund interest check and when will I get it?

With millions of Americans waiting in hope that Democrats and Republicans can get something agreed in order to provide more money, some are due refunds this week.

Read more here:

Minnesota and Nebraska link COVID-19 cases to Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Minnesota announced that more than a dozen people who attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in neighboring South Dakota have tested positive for coronavirus, making it the third state to link cases of the virus to the massive rally.

One confirmed case linked to the rally, which drew 460,000 vehicles, was identified ON Thursday and 14 additional ones on Friday, said the Minnesota Department of Health's infectious disease division director, Kris Ehresmann.

Ehresmann said that 14 of those found to be infected were attendees at the rally and one was a volunteer who worked "in a temporary bar situation."

Trump says without proof that FDA 'deep state' slowing Covid-19 trials

U.S. President Donald Trump accused members on Saturday of the 'deep state' at the Food and Drug Administration, without providing evidence, of working to slow testing of Covid-19 vaccines until after the November presidential election.

In a Twitter post, Trump said the deep state 'or whoever' at the FDA was making it very difficult for drug companies to enroll people in clinical trials to test vaccines and therapies for coronavirus. The comment came after Reuters reported on Thursday that a top FDA official said he would resign if the Trump administration approved a vaccine before it was shown to be safe and effective.

"Obviously, they are hoping to delay the answer until after 3 November. Must focus on speed, and saving lives!" Trump wrote, tagging FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn in the tweet. Trump often uses Twitter to criticize federal agencies, sometimes accusing them of being controlled by the 'deep state' in an apparent reference to long-serving staff who, in Trump's eyes, are determined to undermine his agenda.

His tweet increases the pressure on the FDA after Peter Marks, director of its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, last week said on a conference call with government officials, pharmaceutical executives and academics that he would resign if the agency rubber-stamped an unproven vaccine.

Scientists, public health officials and lawmakers are worried that the Trump administration will push the FDA to approve a vaccine in advance of the vote, even if data from clinical trials do not support its widespread use. 

Demonstrators against US President Donald Trump protest for him to resign, during a march to honor people who have died during the Covid-19 outbreak, in Manhattan, New York. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

US closes lanes, adds checks at Mexico border to contain coronavirus

(Reuters) The United States on Friday closed lanes at select ports of entry at the border with Mexico and will conduct more secondary checks to limit non-essential travel and the spread of coronavirus, a US Customs and Border Protection official said.

Non-essential travel has been restricted at the border since March, but the restrictions have mostly been applied to Mexican citizens. The new measures appeared to be aimed at US citizens and legal residents living in Mexico. 

US President Donald Trump, who faces re-election Nov. 3, has taken a series of sweeping steps to scale back immigration during the coronavirus pandemic, including emergency border rules that allow US authorities to rapidly deport migrants arrested at the border, bypassing standard legal processes.

KC Chiefs announce ban on headdresses and face paint 

The Kansas City Chiefs announced they are banning fans from wearing headdresses or face paint that "references or appropriates American Indian cultures and traditions" at Arrowhead Stadium.

The team is also "engaged in a thorough review process of the Arrowhead Chop and plan to have additional discussions in the future," according to a news release.

In the release, the Chiefs referred to starting a dialogue with local Native American leaders in 2014, adding that they "recently expanded our efforts through consultation with a national organization that works closely on issues affecting American Indian people and tribes."

Vaccine latest

How are things developing in the race to produce and get a safe vaccine to market ?

This vaccine tracker from The Guardian UK has all the latest info on how the major players are performing.

California fires....in numbers

Here are some facts about the fires racing across counties in the San Francisco Bay area and central California that have killed six people since Aug. 15.

771,000 - acres burned

540 - structures destroyed

175,000 plus - people evacuated

over 12,000 - Firefighters deployed

nearly 12,000 - Number of lightning strikes

1,204 - Square miles the fires cover

2.3 million - Acres destroyed by fires so far this year

4.7 million - Number of acres destroyed last year

(Sources: California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and National Interagency Fire Center)

Williams says U.S. Open title would not be diminished by pullouts

Serena Williams believes the withdrawal of some of the world's top tennis players from this year's U.S. Open amid the Covid-19 pandemic will not take the shine off a potential record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title for her.

Six of the top 10 women's players, including defending champion Bianca Andreescu and world number 1 Ash Barty, have dropped out of the Aug. 31-Sept. 13 U.S. Open, boosting Williams' chance of winning the major for the first time since 2014.

"It still has to be tennis that's played, asterisks or not," the six-time U.S. Open champion told reporters on Friday. "I think this whole year deserves an asterisk, because it's such a special year - history we have never been through in this world."

White House issues veto threat of Democratic bill on Postal Service

The White House said on Friday it strongly opposes a House Democratic bill on Postal Service policies ahead of the Nov. 3 election and would recommend President Donald Trump veto it.

"Instead of reforming the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ensure its continued viability in the modern economy, H.R. 8015 would arbitrarily give USPS $25 billion in 'emergency' taxpayer funding, without linking that funding to either the Covid-19 pandemic or the upcoming election," the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.

The bill is expected to come up for a vote in the House of Representatives on Saturday.

CORONAVIRUS

Stimulus check: why could I receive it later than others?

Stimulus check: why could I receive it later than others?

After the US Congress adjourned for recess without striking a deal, It could be at least another month at least until Americans receive a second $1,200 stimulus payment.

Kentucky Derby to be held without fans as Covid-19 spreads in Louisville

Organizers of the Kentucky Derby said on Friday that no fans would be allowed to attend the race on Sept. 5 as the novel coronavirus continues to spread in Louisville.

The race, which is usually held on the first Saturday in May, was rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and organizers had planned to welcome a reduced crowd of less than 23,000 spectators to Churchill Downs.

"With the current significant increases in Covid-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning," Churchill Downs Inc. said in a statement.

"We have made the difficult decision to hold this year's Kentucky Derby on September 5 without fans," the company said.

Remdesivir disappoints in COVID-19 study

A new study is raising fresh questions about the efficacy of Gilead Sciences Inc's anti-viral medication remdesivir in Covid-19 patients. A randomized, controlled trial of remdesivir in 584 moderately ill Covid-19 patients hospitalized with pneumonia yielded disappointing results in research published on Friday in JAMA.

Compared to standard care without remdesivir, a 10-day course of the drug did not show a statistically significant effect on disease course at 11 days after treatment started, the study found. A five-day remdesivir course did make a statistically significant difference, but one so small that the researchers are not sure it really matters.

Limited transmission of Covid-19 found in U.S. childcare study, CDC says

Transmission of Covid-19 from children or adults to other people in Rhode Island childcare programs occurred on only a limited basis, a study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed on Friday.

CDC Director Robert Redfield told reporters on a call that the findings indicated that there is a path "to get these childcare programs to reopen, which are very important for our country."

Many childcare facilities were shut due to fear of infection in such group settings during the coronavirus pandemic, one more complication for getting people back to work in the battered U.S. economy.

Nishikori's U.S. Open hopes fade with second Covid-19 positive

Kei Nishikori's hopes of playing at the U.S. Open have faded further after the Japanese former world number four revealed he had tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time.

The 30-year-old, a finallist at Flushing Meadows in 2014, withdrew from the Western & Southern Open hardcourt warm-up after his first positive test last week.

"Just a little update, I just took another Covid test and am still positive. I have very minimal symptoms and am staying in full isolation in Florida," Nishikori posted on social media late on Friday.

Covid-19

Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic

Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic

All the information you need to understand the coronavirus and ways to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic

Seven positive tests in MLB this week

Three players were among the seven individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 in baseball during the past week. The seven positive results were out of 12,485 samples tested from 14-20 August, according to information released Friday by Major League Baseball and the players association.

Three positives were players and four were staff members. Five were personnel from major league clubs and two were from the league's alternate sites. Two members of the New York Mets organization tested positive this week, prompting the postponement of Thursday's game against the Miami Marlins and a three-game series against the New York Yankees that was set to begin Friday.

The total number of positive tests during the monitoring stage climbed to 82, including 54 players and 28 staff members from 19 different teams. That's out of 78,612 samples collected, a positivity rate of 0.1 percent.

US closes lanes, adds road checks at Mexico border to contain coronavirus

On Friday, the United States closed lanes at select ports of entry at the border with Mexico and will conduct more secondary checks to limit non-essential travel and the spread of coronavirus, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said.

Non-essential travel has been restricted at the border since March, but the restrictions have mostly been applied to Mexican citizens. The new measures appeared to be aimed at U.S. citizens and legal residents living in Mexico.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a series of sweeping steps to scale back immigration during the coronavirus pandemic, including emergency border rules that allow U.S authorities to rapidly deport migrants arrested at the border, bypassing standard legal processes

Coronavirus live US updates: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which has registered over 22.9 million cases and nearly 800,000 deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the US, the globe's worst-affected country, there have been over 5.6 million cases and nearly 175,000 fatalities, JHU records.