Coronavirus USA updates for Tuesday 25 August: news, cases, deaths and stimulus checks, today

Georgia reports more than 2,200 new coronavirus cases

Georgia's Department of Public Health has registered 2,236 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24-hour period, brining the statewide total tally to approximately 258,354, reports CNN. 

The death toll increased by 107 to reach 5,262. The state reported at least 292 new Covid-19-related hospitalizations.

Best Buy and Papa John's see surge in sales 

Joining Amazon and Zoom, Best Buy and Papa John's are among the companies that have found themselves in rude health amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as this NYT report highlights.

Both companies have seen a surge in sales as "Americans hunkered down at home, sick of cooking and desperately searching for new forms of entertainment appear to be buying lots of pizza and cellphones."

US CDC reports 176,617 deaths from coronavirus

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday said the number of deaths due to the new coronavirus had risen by 394 to 176,617 and reported 5,715,567 cases, an increase of 33,076 cases from its previous count.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as Covid-19, caused by a new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. (ET) on 24 August versus its previous report a day earlier. The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states. (Reuters)

US consumer confidence continued to deteriorate in August, falling below the level seen in the early weeks of the pandemic as coronavirus cases rise, according to a survey released on 25 August. After dropping in July, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell further to 84.8 in August from 91.7 the month prior as sentiment about the present situation and near-term prospects worsened further.

The survey showed attitudes about 'both business and employment conditions had deteriorated over the past month,' said Lynn Franco, The Conference Board's senior director for economic indicators. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP)

University of Alabama reports over 500 Covid-19 cases

Six days after classes began, the University of Alabama's main campus in Tuscaloosa has recorded more than 500 coronavirus cases, what the university's president calls an "unacceptable rise."

AstraZeneca's potential coronavirus vaccine

(Reuters) Trial data for AstraZeneca and University of Oxford's possible coronavirus vaccine could be given to regulators this year, a scientist leading the trials said on Tuesday. Drugmakers are racing to combat the pandemic, which has killed about 810,000 people and infected roughly 24 million.

There are no approved vaccines for Covid-19, but AstraZeneca's vaccine is widely seen as one of the leading candidates, with reports that the United States is aiming for a fastrack approval before the November presidential election.

Trump gives vaccine update

The US president said in an address that there are three vaccines currently undergoing trials and he expects one to be approved "before the end of the year... maybe a lot sooner than that." 

A man reads a map in an area set aside by the National Park Service for people exercising their Constitutional First Amendment Rights at the south rim of the Grand Canyon on August 24, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Daniel SLIM / AFP)

Georgia health department issues bleach warning

Having issued a statement informing residents about the dangers of drinking bleach to ward off Covid-19, the Georgia State Governor's office has been forced to reiterate the dangers after an increase in the number of people doing so. 

The state also issued a number for people to call if they or any they know has ingested bleach: Georgia Poison Center Hotline — 1-800-222-1222.

Mexico widens net for infections in battle against coronavirus

(Reuters) Mexican health authorities will begin this week to use a broader definition to identify possible coronavirus cases, a top official said on Monday, after questions about whether testing was too limited.

A new definition of "suspected" infections will come into use on Tuesday and will include loss of smell, loss of taste and diarrhea as possible Covid-19 symptoms, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said.

It will also allow a person with just one symptom, rather than two or more, to be viewed as potentially infected.

"This gives you a larger margin of potential, which will result in faster, timelier attention for a greater number of people," Lopez-Gatell told a news conference.

The broader definition could lead to a higher number of cases but that would be an "artificial effect" before stabilizing, he said.

Covid-19 plasma therapy is still experimental treatment - WHO

The World Health Organisation says using plasma from the recovered to treat Covid-19 is still considered an “experimental” therapy and that the preliminary results showing it may work are still “inconclusive.”

On Sunday, President Donald Trump approved an emergency authorisation of convalescent plasma for Covid-19 patients. But WHO's chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said that while convalescent plasma therapy has been used successfully to treat numerous infectious diseases, it is still considered to be experimental as people produce different levels of antibodies and the plasma must be collected individually from recovered patients. 
 

Texans warned drinking bleach does not prevent Covid-19 infection

Following 46 cases of bleach ingestions in the North Texas Poison Center region since the start of August, experts are again warning people that drinking the chemical won’t prevent Covid-19.

The FDA has long warned that drinking chlorine dioxide products can lead to “severe vomiting, severe diarrhea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration and acute liver failure.”

Novavax Inc said on Monday it has begun enrolling volunteers for the second phase of an ongoing clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with interim data expected in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Wisconsin’s governor ordered National Guard troops sent to the city of Kenosha on Monday in anticipation of another night of civil unrest after police there shot a Black man several times in the back as his three children looked on.

The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the United States fell 17% last week, the fifth straight week of declines, according to a Reuters tally of state and county reports.

The top U.S. infectious diseases expert is warning that distributing a COVID-19 vaccine under special emergency use guidelines before it has been proved safe and effective in large trials is a bad idea that could have a chilling effect on the testing of other vaccines.

Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and triggered a mass exodus, the Crescent City is bracing for new storms as it faces an entirely different crisis - the beginning of a possible wave of evictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

A Florida judge struck down a state mandate Monday requiring “brick-and-mortar” schools to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, siding with a major Florida teachers union that wants local districts to decide.

US recoveries pass two million mark

The total number of people who have recovered from the coronavirus in the US has reached two million. In order to be considered recovered an individual must be fever-free without fever-reducing drugs for three consecutive days and must have shown an improvement in other symptoms (such as coughing or shortness of breath). It must be a full seven days since symptoms began. The individual must also test negative twice for the coronavirus, at least 24 hours apart. 

Even where individuals are considered to have recovered from the primary infection, the long term effects of having had Covid-19 can be very serious. 

In the US, a total of 5.7 million people have been confirmed as having been infected with coronavirus, and 177,229 have died.

Blacks and Latinos more likely to think Texas opened up too soon

Texans are widely divided over whether the state opened up too quickly during Covid-19, but Blacks and Latinos are more likely to think the restrictions were relaxed too early compared to whites, according to a new poll.

The poll by the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation found that 44% of registered voters in Texas thought the state opened up too quickly, compared to 28% who thought it opened at the right pace and another 28% who thought it opened too slowly.

Fauci says rushing out a vaccine could jeopardize testing of others

The top US infectious diseases expert is warning that distributing a Covid-19 vaccine under special emergency use guidelines before it has been proved safe and effective in large trials is a bad idea that could have a chilling effect on the testing of other vaccines.

Scientists and health experts have expressed concern that President Donald Trump will apply pressure on the US Food and Drug Administration to deliver a vaccine before November to boost his chances of re-election. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, declined to comment on the president, but said there are risks in rushing out a vaccine despite the urgent need.

'The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA (emergency use authorization) before you have a signal of efficacy,' Fauci told Reuters in a phone interview. 'One of the potential dangers if you prematurely let a vaccine out is that it would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the other vaccines to enroll people in their trial,' Fauci said.

Large-scale clinical trials of the leading vaccine candidates from Moderna Inc, Pfizer Inc and AstraZeneca Plc, which aim to enroll tens of thousands of volunteers, were launched in recent weeks. Johnson & Johnson last week said it hopes to include 60,000 subjects in its Phase III vaccine trial.

GOP CONVENTION

RNC 2020 live online GOP from Charlotte: Republican delegates nominates Trump for reelection

Republican Convention: Day 1

President Donald Trump will be getting standing ovations from his supporters as he addresses the GOP convention.

There's going to be a lot of angry focus on elements that can stir up partisan emotions and it will be interesting to see what spin is put on the (mis)handling of the pandemic.

You can follow all the talk live:

The danger on the inside

The Washington Post looks at the fears surrounding coronavirus within the prison service.

Campaign says Biden to be regularly tested for coronavirus

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, will be tested regularly for Covid-19, an aide said on Monday, as the campaign prepares for the possibility of more public events in the run-up to November's election.

Since the coronavirus began spreading widely in the United States in March, Biden has done few public events, most of them close to his Delaware home. But following his formal nomination at last week's Democratic National Convention, the campaign is expanding its health protocols in a new phase of the race that could see the former vice president in closer proximity to the public.

'Consistent with the transparency Vice President Biden has demonstrated, we will make public if either the Vice President or Senator Harris ever has a confirmed, positive case of Covid-19,' a campaign aide told Reuters. The aide said Biden, 77, Harris, 55, and key staff who interact with them would be tested 'on a regular basis,' in line with the advice of medical advisers. 'This is what responsible leadership looks like,' the person said. 

Coronavirus

What is convalescent plasma and how can it be used to treat Covid-19?

The FDA has issued an Emergency Use Authorisation for convalescent plasma, saying it is safe and has promise as a treatment for the novel coronavirus.

Man who believed virus was hoax loses wife to Covid-19

A Florida taxi driver, who believed false claims that coronavirus was a hoax, has lost his wife to Covid-19.

Brian Lee Hitchens and his wife, Erin, had read claims online that the virus was fabricated, linked to 5G or similar to the flu. 

The couple didn't follow health guidance or seek help when they fell ill in early May. Brian recovered but his 46-year-old wife became critically ill and died this month from heart problems linked to the virus.

New US Covid-19 cases drop for fifth week in a row, deaths decline

The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the United States fell 17% last week, the fifth straight week of declines, according to a Reuters tally of state and county reports.

Nearly 1,000 people a day continue to die from Covid-19, though last week's total of more than 6,700 deaths was down 9% from the previous seven days. The United States posted 297,000 new cases for the week ended 23 August down from a weekly peak of over 468,000 cases in mid-July.

The country is now averaging less than 50,000 new infections a day for the first time since early June. The United States still has the worst outbreak in the world, accounting for a quarter of the global total of 23 million cases. The state with the biggest percentage increase in new cases last week was South Dakota at 50%.

Coronavirus live US updates: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which has registered over 23.5 million cases and now more than 810,000 deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

In the US, the globe's worst-affected country, there have been over 5.7 million cases and nearly 177,000 fatalities, JHU records.