June 26 coronavirus news

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Jessie Yeung and Adam Renton, Zamira Rahim and Lindsay Isaac CNN

Updated 8:03 PM ET, Fri June 26, 2020
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1:48 a.m. ET, June 26, 2020

Second wave of Covid-19 in the fall could be much worse than the current wave, infectious disease expert says

From CNN's Jen Christensen

CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Dr. William Schaffner.
CNN’s Chris Cuomo and Dr. William Schaffner. CNN

Dr. William Schaffner, professor of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University, is concerned that Covid-19 could be much worse in the fall.

“What I’m concerned about since the virus is now seeded throughout the United States, come the fall, when it kicks up again, it is going to kick up everywhere, and small rural hospitals will find themselves taking care of Covid patients they can’t transfer to the major medical centers because the intensive care units there are already full,” Schaffner told CNN’s Chris Cuomo.
“I hate to be grim, but I’m afraid the second wave this fall could be worse than the first wave we are still experiencing.”

Schaffner said testing has to expand even further, with particular focus on nursing homes, prisons, businesses where there are outbreaks, agricultural workers, and high-risk populations to find out the true extent of the infection in the US.

“It’s spreading much more widely than even the statistics show,” Schaffner said.

12:43 a.m. ET, June 26, 2020

Disneyland employee unions to protest against reopening park

From CNN's Sarah Moon

Visitors take photos at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Friday, March 13.
Visitors take photos at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on Friday, March 13. Amy Taxin/AP

Disneyland employee unions are planning a protest on Saturday against the reopening of the Southern California theme park, which announced its decision to postpone the July 17 reopening date.

The Coalition of Resort Labor Unions (CRLU), which represents approximately 17,000 service workers from dozens of unions of the Disneyland resort, is hosting an event called “Disney Caravan For Safety!” on Saturday in front of the park in Anaheim, California.

Last week, CRLU sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking to delay the reopening of the park due to safety concerns.

On Wednesday, Disney said they are delaying the phased reopening of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure but did not announce a new reopening date.

“Although negotiations between the Coalition of Resort Labor Unions and the company are ongoing, Disney has not yet agreed to conditions the CRLU is proposing such as testing,” CRLU said in a news release.

In addition to routine testing, CRLU is also demanding higher staffing levels to accommodate deep cleaning requirements. 

11:14 p.m. ET, June 25, 2020

Mexico passes 200,000 coronavirus cases and 25,000 deaths

From CNN’s Matt Rivers in Mexico City

Mexico’s health ministry reported 6,104 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Thursday, the second-highest daily case rise reported in the country, bringing the nationwide case total to 202,951.

The health ministry also reported 736 new Covid-19 deaths, taking the country’s death toll to 25,060.

CNN is tracking worldwide coronavirus cases here:

8:36 a.m. ET, June 26, 2020

Trump's post-Covid bubble is popping

From CNN's Stephen Collinson

President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One on June 25, in Washington, DC.
President Donald Trump walks to the White House residence after exiting Marine One on June 25, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

America's single worst day of new coronavirus cases obliterated President Donald Trump's fantasyland vision of a post-Covid America -- even as he sowed new diversions in an effort to hide the reality of his leadership void in a deepening national crisis.

More than 37,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The numbers superseded the previous darkest day of the pandemic, on April 24.

The new data suggests that the sacrifices made by tens of millions of Americans who stayed at home, that cost many of them their jobs, might have been in vain. It also suggests that the aggressive state re-openings championed by Trump, who wants a quick economic reboot to boost his reelection hopes, exacerbated a situation that now seems close to tipping out of control across a swathe of southern states.

A total of 30 states are now reporting a rise in new daily cases of the novel coronavirus while others keep setting new records in each 24-hour period. And while the President lives in a bubble of his own obsessive political feuds and the embrace of conservative media that rarely dwells on the virus, the reality of a pandemic that may still be in its early stages is beginning to squeeze in on his world.

Read more here.