Coronavirus USA: news summary for Friday 11 September

CORONAVIRUS

Second stimulus check: Pelosi voices optimism about passing coronavirus aid bill

Pelosi voices optimism about passing coronavirus aid bill

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday said she was optimistic about Congress passing coronavirus relief legislation before the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Stimulus Checks

Will there be a second stimulus check?

Expert: no return to ‘a degree of normality’ until next year

The White House coronavirus taskforce’s most senior public health expert,Anthony Fauci, said on Friday that it would probably take another year before life returns to a sense of “normality” in the US, even if a successful Covid-19 vaccine is approved in the next few months.

“If you’re talking about getting back to a degree of normality, which resembles where we were prior to COVID-19, it’s gonna be well into 2021. Maybe even towards the end of 2021,” he warned in an interview with MSNBC.

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Colleges becoming the new COVID-19 hot spots

A New York Times survey found American colleges and universities recorded more than 36,000 additional coronavirus cases. Colleges have become hot spots for virus transmission, with campuses across the country experiencing outbreaks.

Fauci issues warning over election rallies

Dr. Anthony Fauci said that political pre-election rallies they are "absolutely" risky.

"Just because you're outdoors does not mean that you're protected, particularly if you're in a crowd and you're not wearing masks," he said.

Fauci, who has contradicted Trump's statements about the virus, denies the administration is pressuring him to keep quiet.

"Anybody that tries to tell me what to say publicly, if they know anything about me, realizes that's a fool's errand," Fauci said. "No one is ever going to pressure me or muzzle me to say  anything publicly."

U.S. hospitals turn down Remdesivir supplies, limit use to sickest Covid-19 patients

U.S. hospitals have turned down about a third of their allocated supplies of the Covid-19 drug remdesivir since July as need for the costly antiviral wanes, according to unpublished government statistics provided to Reuters by a U.S. pharmacists' group.

Some hospitals said they are still buying the Gilead Sciences medicine to build inventory in case the pandemic accelerates over the winter. But they said current supplies are adequate, in part because they are limiting use to severely ill patients.

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed more liberal remdesivir use, but 6 out of 8 major hospital systems contacted by Reuters said they were not using it for moderate cases.

U.S. economy is improving just weeks before the election

The U.S. labor market and broader economy made some gains this week, which history shows should be good news for President Donald Trump's re-election campaign.

But the gains may be overshadowed by the tens of millions of Americans still out of work because of coronavirus-related shutdowns and growing concerns that there is no new government relief package in sight.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, in July soared to 6.6 million, nearly back to their pre-crisis level, a Labor Department report showed this week.

Inflation firmed last month, vanquishing fears of growth-stunting deflation. Higher frequency data tracking people's visits to stores and restaurants also pointed to an economic upswing.

Restaurant dining linked to Covid-19

Positive Covid-19 tests linked with restaurant dining Among adults tested for the coronavirus at 11 U.S. healthcare facilities in July, those who were infected were about twice as likely to have dined at a restaurant in the previous 14 days, according to a U.S. study.

Otherwise, activity levels were similar in people with or without Covid-19 in other respects. Those included shopping, social gatherings at home, going to an office, salon, or gym, using public transportation or attending religious gatherings. "Masks cannot be effectively worn while eating and drinking, whereas shopping and numerous other indoor activities do not preclude mask use," researchers said in the report on Friday in the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

"Eating and drinking on-site at locations that offer such options might be important risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection," they added.

'Wonder Woman' movie sequel delayed two months to December

The Warner Bros movie studio on Friday postponed the debut of superhero sequel "Wonder Woman 1984" until Christmas Day as many theaters remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The film starring Gal Gadot had been scheduled for release in cinemas on Oct. 2 but will now debut on Dec. 25. It was the next big-budget Hollywood movie slated for theaters.

Movie studios have been shuffling their schedules for months as the industry tries to recover from the COVID-19  pandemic, which forced theaters around the world to shut their doors in March.

Fauci disagrees with Trump (yet again...)

The US government’s infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci. said he disagrees with President Donald Trump’s assessment that the country has “rounded the corner” on the coronavirus pandemic, saying the statistics are disturbing.

Fauci, the director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the US was starting the flu season with a high baseline of around 40,000 new cases a day and deaths are averaging around 1,000 daily.

Trump, who has admitted playing down the severity of the virus since it emerged early this presidential election year, said on Thursday he believed the United States was “rounding the corner” on the crisis.

New York Fashion Week with a difference

New York Fashion Week will look a little different this season, with the typical seven-day parade of events stripped down to five days because of Covid-19 restrictions, with online runway shows, and smaller, socially distanced audiences.

Host IMG said it had worked closely with the governor's office to understand the protocols needed in order to have the shows running from Sept. 13-17.

"We evolved the event and our offerings to designers to be able to create an event that's both safe and successful ... and that allows consumers to tune in to watch and participate," said global senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy at IMG, April Guidone.

NFL players left bemused as fans jeer moment of silence in season opener

National Football League (NFL) players were left confused by the boos that rained down from the stands at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday when the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans stood together for social justice ahead of the season opener.

A section of supporters within the stadium jeered loudly as players from both teams linked arms before kick-off for what the league had described as "a moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country".

"How can you be more upset about bringing awareness to racism than racism itself?" Baltimore Ravens quarterback Robert Griffin III wrote on Twitter.

Fewer than a quarter of the stadium's seats were occupied due to Covid-19 restrictions but a scatter of boos mixed into cheers were audible to Texans' defensive end J.J. Watt.

"I don't fully understand that, there was no flag involved," he said. "There was nothing involved other than two teams coming together to show unity."

UK extradition hearing for Assange to resume Monday after negative Covid test

The London extradition hearing for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will resume on Monday after one of the lawyers in the case received a negative test result for Covid-19.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser granted an adjournment on Thursday after being told one of the lawyers representing the  United States might have been exposed to the virus.

The hearing at London’s Old Bailey court will now resume as planned, a court official said.

Assange is fighting extradition to the United States where he is wanted for conspiring to hack government computers and violating an espionage law over the release of confidential cables by WikiLeaks in 2010-2011.

Covid-19 vaccine doses could arrive in Canada early in 2021

Canada is "aggressively negotiating" with drugmakers on delivery schedules for potential Covid-19 vaccines and shipments would begin early in 2021 under existing deals, Canada's minister of public services and procurement told reporters.

The Canadian government has announced four vaccine purchase deals and is negotiating more, while also funding local projects that are less advanced, and building new vaccine manufacturing capacity at a facility in Montreal.

The exact timing of deliveries depends on the result of clinical trials, regulatory approvals and manufacturing capacity, the minister, Anita Anand, said. Should approvals come earlier than expected, the government will negotiate earlier deliveries, she added.

Wall Street climbs as Oracle leads tech stocks higher

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, after a pullback in the previous session, as Oracle's solid quarterly results underscored the resilience of tech-related companies during the coronavirus crisis.

The cloud services company's 5.1% jump was one of the top boosts to the benchmark S&P 500 after its earnings beat estimates and it signalled a recovery in client spending due to higher remote working-led demand.

A distorted picture in schools is leaving millions in the dark

The data on how coronavirus is spreading at schools and colleges is inconsistent, erratic — and sometimes purposely kept out of the public’s reach.

Federal rules don’t specifically require tracking or reporting the numbers by school or college, despite pressure from President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to open schools and colleges for in-person classes. The result is a distorted picture of how and where the virus may be spreading, not just for parents, teachers, students and professors, but the cities and towns where campuses are located.

Politico looks into the blurry lines...

Biden and Pence follow Covid guidelines

Vice President Mike Pence and former Vice President Joe Biden greeted each other with an elbow bump Friday at the 9/11 memorial service in New York City, a moment reflecting the risks of a coronavirus pandemic whose death toll every month dwarfs the fatalities from the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

The friendly physical exchange between Pence and Biden at Ground Zero was also a solemn, brief pause of what has been a bitter campaign between President Donald Trump and Biden, the Democratic nominee looking to win the White House this fall. Trump did not attend the event.

There are some really sensible kids out there...

...and then there are kids like these ones.

In the body-camera footage, the officer instructed the visitors to clear out while he ran one of the students’ IDs in the police system.

“I’ve never seen this before,” the officer said, waving the student over. “There’s an input on the computer that you tested positive for covid?”

“Yes,” the student said. “This was, um, a week ago.”

The officer asked if he was supposed to be quarantining, to which the student replied that he was at his house and that everyone who lives in the house also tested positive for covid-19.

“But you have other people here and you’re positive for covid? You see the problem?” the officer said.

Full story below:

Used cars drive US consumer prices higher in August

US consumer prices rose solidly in August, with the cost of used cars and trucks increasing by the most in more than 51 years likely as Americans shunned public transportation because of fears of contracting Covid-19, Reuters report.

The report from the Labor Department on Friday also showed a firming in underlying inflation pressures last month. But this will have no impact on monetary policy as the Federal Reserve last month rewrote its framework, putting new emphasis on the labor market and less on worries about too-high inflation. The US central bank's embrace of what it calls 'flexible average inflation targeting' is still shy of many details, but in theory could see policymakers tolerate price increases above its 2% target for a period of perhaps several years to offset years in which inflation was lodged below its goal.

Policymakers have expressed a range of ideas about how this might work in practice, but agree the aim is to let prices rise fast enough that households and businesses take their inflation target seriously. The consumer price index increased 0.4% last month, also lifted by gains in the costs of gasoline, recreation and household furnishings and operations.

Updated travel advisory list

Ohio added to the list for New York and Washington DC.

Covid vaccine becomes divisive issue in US election campaign

The Financial Times takes a look at how the already-bitter presidential campaign teams are using the potential vaccine successes or failures as a means to promote or vilify.

'If anyone deserves a stimulus check, it’s California’s Latinos'

A letter to the LA Times makes a case for Latinos in California who 'have already borne the brunt of this crisis'.

Texas: Covid-19 doesn't change appeals court voting by mail expansion hopes

The 5th Circuit’s majority said the state’s law did not violate the US Constitution’s prohibition on age discrimination because it merely conferred an extra benefit on older residents, rather than limiting the right to vote for younger Texans.

“A law that makes it easier for others to vote does not abridge any person’s right to vote,” the majority wrote.

In dissent, US Circuit Judge Carl Stewart said the law hurt younger voters by limiting their options during a public health crisis.

Thursday’s ruling does not end the lawsuit. The case will return to a lower court to consider the Democrats’ remaining arguments against the law.

“The Texas Democratic Party will continue to fight in the district court for every Texan to have an equal right to vote, regardless of their age,” Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa said in a statement.

State-by-state coronavirus cases

This list shows the top 10 states by number of cases at close of play yesterday.

Florida numbers update

For the second day in a row, the coronavirus death toll in Florida topped 200.

Thursday’s report from the Florida Department of Health shows 213 people died due to complications from Covid-19 since yesterday, bringing the statewide death toll to 12,482.

It's the highest single-day toll since 18 August, when 219 deaths were reported.

Kamala Harris returns to Trump actions

The Democratic vice presidential nominee for the 2020 election has taken to Twitter early this morning to remind people that POTUS knew what he was doing when he said what he said.

US NEWS

9/11 anniversary memorial: will Trump go to tributes for World Trade Center attacks?

Trump and Biden to pay respects

As the world remembers the events from 19 years ago, questions were asked over whether President Donald Trump and election rival Joe Biden would get involved considering the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The answer is yes, and here's how.

Covid-19 nasal spray vaccine being trialled in China

This week, China approved phase I human testing for a nasal spray vaccine, which is co-developed by researchers at Xiamen University and Hong Kong University, as well as by vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise Co. Bloomberg reports

Intranasal spray has previously been developed as a vaccine for the flu and is recommended for use among children and adults who want to avoid the more common needle injection.

Covid-19 sped up digital transformation - 97% of executives

A survey conducted by Twilio concluded that 97% of enterprise decision-makers agreed that the coronavirus pandemic sped up their digital transformation. 2,569 executives took part in the survey with 95% saying that they are looking for new ways to engage customers, Forbes reports.

Trump's $300 weekly unemployment supplement extended to 6 weeks

Unemployed workers will receive the weekly $300 supplement as part of the Lost Wages relief program for up to six weeks - double the three weeks initially guaranteed by FEMA.

Shortly after President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month authorizing the aid, FEMA said it was initially planning to provide three weeks of supplement payments. However, on Thursday, FEMA announced that it will provide payments "for a full six weeks," based on current state spending rates as well as Department of Labor and state projections. 

Covid-19 infection cases in restaurant link

(CNN) Adults who tested positive for Covid-19 were approximately twice as likely to have eaten out at a restaurant at some moment during the 14 days before becoming ill than those who tested negative, a new study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concludes.

The study, published on Thursday, included data on 314 adults who were tested for Covid-19 in July because they were experiencing symptoms; 154 tested positive and 160 tested negative. "In addition to dining at a restaurant, case-patients were more likely to report going to a bar/coffee shop, but only when the analysis was restricted to participants without close contact with persons with known Covid-19 before illness onset," the study said.

Trump handling of pandemic "almost criminal" - Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been “almost criminal”, in the wake of revelations that he downplayed the threat of the virus despite having told journalist Bob Woodward in February that he knew it was “deadly stuff”.

“You saw what Columbia Medical School pointed out in March," Biden told an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. "Had he acted one week earlier, there’d be over 31,000 more people alive. Had he [acted] two weeks earlier, there would have been 50-some thousand still alive. This caused people to die.

"What did he do the whole time? He acknowledged that you breathed it, it’s in the air, and he won’t put on a mask. He’s talking about ‘it’s ridiculous to put on masks’, ‘what do you need social distancing for?’, ‘why have any of these rules?’.

“It was all about making sure the stock market didn’t come down, that his wealthy friends didn’t lose any money and that he could say that in fact anything that happened had nothing to do with him. He waved a white flag, he walked away. He didn't do a damn thing. Think about it. Think about what he did not do, and it’s almost criminal.” 

Heartfelt video message from this woman before passing away from COVID-19 (warning: distressing themes)

"Put your mask on. Don’t go out if you don’t need to. Take the virus seriously. The virus is not a joke."

US "rounding the final turn" in Covid-19 fight, says Trump

President Trump claimed in Thurday’s press briefing that the US is “rounding the final turn” in its battle to stop the spread of the coronavirus, despite the country’s top infectious disease expert warning Americans to prepare for months ahead that are “not going to be easy”.

“We’re going to get through this, and we’re right now I hope… I really think we’re rounding the final turn,” the president told reporters.

Speaking earlier on Thursday, in contrast, Dr Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said: “We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter, because it’s not going to be easy.”

Trump also used his news conference to once again blame China for the impact of the pandemic in the US, where over 190,000 have died so far. “This is nobody’s fault but China,” he said. “China should not have allowed it to happen.”

Trump rails at reporter over Woodward question, claims he "didn't lie"

Trump clashed with ABC’s Jon Karl in a news conference on Thursday, branding the reporter's question a "disgrace" after he probed the president about Wednesday's revelation that he downplayed the coronavirus despite telling journalist Bob Woodward in February that he knew it was “deadly”.

Asked by Karl why he lied to the American public, Trump responded by dismissing the question as “terrible”, and added: “I didn't lie, I said we had to be calm [...]. The way you phrased that is a disgrace. It's a disgrace to ABC, a disgrace to your employer.”

Coronavirus live US updates: welcome

Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which as of 18:45 ET on Thursday had registered nearly 28 million cases and just over 906,000 deaths worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.

In the US, the globe's worst-hit country, there have been almost 6.4 million cases and more than 191,000 deaths.