Coronavirus USA summary: news, cases, deaths - 29 August

As child cases rise, doctors watch for potential long-term effects

As more children become infected with Covid-19, doctors are paying closer attention to potential long-term effects.

In adults, one of Covid’s most troubling effects has been so-called long-haul cases, in which people whose illness initially seemed moderate end up having symptoms for months, sometimes getting worse over time. Now as doctors warn that children may be more vulnerable to the virus than initially believed, researchers are looking more closely at longer-term symptoms in kids, too.

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How Do We Safely Reopen Schools And Work? 

“They were thinking ahead about how to safely open back up in the fall,” says Jeff, a former Google GOOGL +0.7% SVP. This was pretty forward-thinking since most schools (including many colleges) only started thinking about it a few weeks ago. They had a simple question: what will it take to reopen our 300-student school safely?

Check out the full article below

How will air travel look in six months?

″This is the biggest crisis of all, bigger even than 9/11, than SARS and the Great Recession and all of that.

"Every crisis changes the airline industry, so it’s only reasonable to think that the biggest crisis of all will cause some of the biggest changes of all,” said Seth Kaplan, aviation analyst and principal with Kaplan Research.

CNBC look into our future journeys...

California church fined for violation of restrictions

"I am in charge of the spiritual health of the people of this city and this area," Pastor Jack Trieber said in the video, which was nearly 10 minutes in length. While he said physical health was important, "spiritual health is supreme."

When can schools reopen under California coronavirus rules?

As coronavirus caseloads drop, the prospect of reopening schools improves, although new state guidelines will not lead to a quicker return to campus. In most counties, including Los Angeles, the new rules have no immediate effect on schools because disease rates remain too high.

The new rules do not affect the state’s waiver application guidelines, which allow elementary schools to open under certain circumstances.

What will it take to reopen all elementary, middle and high schools in your county? What are the rules for waivers?

Here’s what you need to know about California’s school reopening requirements.

Coronavirus

First case of Covid-19 reinfection reported in US

Reinfection appears to be possible

Second documented case in a week where it appears a patient has been infected by different strains of Covid-19. In this instance, that of a 25-year-old man in Nevada, he became seriously ill with the second infection.

Dallas salon owner who pressured Texas to reopen salons, says she’s running for state Senate

Luther became a hero to some on the right earlier this year after she was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to apologize for illegally reopening her salon. She was freed two days later after Gov. Greg Abbott removed the threat of jail time from an executive order and the Texas Supreme Court granted a motion for her release.

At the rally, Luther touted herself to a cheering crowd as someone who would "stand up and go to jail for you," saying she would "do it again and again because I'm gonna fight to keep our Texas values." She made the remarks in a video from the rally posted to her Twitter account.

Florida county breakdown

Of the latest deaths reported Saturday , 44 involved Central Florida residents, including 13 each in Polk and Lake counties, six in Orange County, five in Marion County, two each in Volusia, Brevard, and Sumter counties and one Osceola County.

Full report below

Donald Trump visits hurricane battered Louisiana and Texas

President Trump left Washington on Saturday morning to visit Louisiana to tour the damage there and in neighbouring Texas, two days after Hurricane Laura powered in off the Gulf of Mexico with winds up to 150mph, knocking out power and causing extensive flooding and lack of running water across several towns.

The US president, who on Friday approved Louisiana’s request for a major disaster declaration is expected to arrive in Lake Charles around noon local time and meet with the governor, John Bel Edwards.

In a statement, Edwards said Trump’s “quick action” would “pave the way for getting aid to individuals and communities impacted by Hurricane Laura”.

Sinovac's coronavirus vaccine candidate approved for emergency use in China-source

Sinovac Biotech Ltd's coronavirus vaccine candidate CoronaVac was approved for emergency use as part of a programme in China to vaccinate high-risk groups such as medical staff, a person familiar with the matter said.

China National Biotec Group (CNBG), a unit of state-owned pharmaceutical giant China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), also said it had obtained emergency use approval for a coronavirus vaccine candidate in social media platform WeChat last Sunday.

CNBG, which has two vaccine candidates in phase 3 clinical trials, did not say which of its vaccines had been cleared for emergency use.

STIMULUS CHECKS

Second Stimulus Check: how long will we have to wait to receive payment

Second Stimulus Check: how long will we have to wait to receive payment

Congress went on summer recess earlier in the month without a formal agreement on a coronavirus relief package that, among other measures, will likely include a second round of stimulus payments.

Met to reopen

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is finally reopening in New York after being closed since March 13 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Trump: Republican Convention "blew Democrats away" 

But analysts suggest the president may have his metrics slightly awry. 

Wall Street bounces back

In this file photo taken on August 3, 2020 people pass by The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at Wall Street in New York City. Wall Street flexed its muscles on August 28, with the Dow erasing its losses for the year and the S&P and Nasdaq again hitting records as investors shrugged off the ongoing coronavirus crisis, while markets elsewhere saw more moderate trading. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

US presidential elections

Why did Nancy Pelosi say there shouldn't be debates between Trump and Biden?

Nancy Pelosi has suggested that Donald Trump would use any presidential election debates to act in a manner "beneath the dignity of the presidency."

The show will go on, but not until 2021 at least

Michael Strickland, chair and founder of lighting company Bandit Lites, says the live event industry will remain at zero income until at least next March, unlike some other businesses that have been shut down due to the coronavirus and may recover.

A supporter wearing a face mask due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak holds up a phone as US President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Londonderry, New Hampshire. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Sanofi more confident about its coronavirus vaccines

(Reuters) Sanofi's confidence in its coronavirus vaccine candidates has increased this summer as the French drugmaker prepares to start clinical trials, its chief executive told Reuters.

The company is working on two of the more than 150 potential vaccines being developed across the world to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 831,000 lives and sparked economic chaos.

One candidate, to be manufactured on the back of an existing platform that develops vaccines to treat flu, will use an adjuvant made by Britain's GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to boost its efficacy.

The other, being developed with US company Translate Bio , relies on a different technology known as mRNA.

"The early data is saying that we're on the right track and that we have a vaccine," Paul Hudson said in an interview on Friday, referring to the vaccine being developed with GSK.

That vaccine is set to start clinical trials next month.

Around 30 experimental coronavirus shots are already in human trials. But Hudson said in June the probability of Sanofi obtaining a vaccine with an efficacy of more than 70% was higher than for rivals, in part due to its experience in vaccines.

A Kansas teacher created a database after she couldn't find a cohesive picture of how Covid-19 was spreading in schools. Now maintained by the National Education Association, it shares data that some schools prefer to keep quiet.

Most US states reject Trump administration's new Covid-19 testing guidance

(Reuters) A majority of US states have rejected new Trump administration Covid-19 testing guidance in an extraordinary rebuke of the nation's top agency for disease prevention, according to officials at state health agencies and public statements reviewed by Reuters.

At least 33 states continue to recommend testing people who have been exposed to the virus and have no symptoms, spurning guidance published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week that said testing may be unnecessary.

Sixteen states did not immediately respond to requests for comment and North Dakota said it had not made a decision.

Among the states breaking with the federal government are conservative-leaning Texas, Oklahoma and Arizona.

"Without evidence"

Despite a lack of research to back up the move, the FDA has authorized wider use of the drug remdesivir as a Covid-19 treatment according to a report from USA Today. 

First case of Covid-19 reinfection in the US confirmed

(Reuters) Researchers for the first time have identified someone in the United States who was reinfected with the novel coronavirus, according to a study that has not yet been reviewed by outside experts.

The report, published online, describes a 25-year-old man living in Reno, Nevada, who tested positive for the virus in April after showing mild illness. He got sick again in late May and developed more severe Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Hello and welcome

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US-focused coronavirus news and reaction, where we'll also be giving you updates on the latest developments with Hurricane Laura.