July 2 coronavirus news

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner asked the community to take several steps to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus during a news conference Thursday.

Turner asked that people follow the recommendations for the next three weeks — including wearing masks whenever people are around, not just in businesses, ensuring social distancing in the workplace or working from home, and reducing business occupancy from 50% to 25% — to help "blunt the progression" of coronavirus in Houston.

These recommendations come as the city has reached a 25% positivity rate, Houston Health Department Health Authority Dr. David Persse said. 

"The virus is very much out there," Persse said. "It's very much actively spreading."

Turner also asked that people reduce social gatherings to no more than 10 people ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The mayor has also asked faith communities to resume virtual services in place of in-person services to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

The city is producing a virtual Fourth of July show, Turner said. 

Turner's request came the same day that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mandated masks in public spaces statewide for counties with 20 or more positive case. 

Abbott also issued a proclamation giving mayors and county judges the ability to impose restrictions on outdoor gathering of over 10 people. 

The White House coronavirus coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, urged all Floridians who had been to mass gatherings in the last four weeks to get tested for coronavirus even if they don’t exhibit symptoms, citing the rate of asymptomatic spread in the state.

She also emphasized the importance of wearing masks and staying away from people with other health conditions.

“So we’re asking for everyone under 40 that if you were in a gathering, please go and get tested," Birx said.

All county-operated beaches in Orange County will be closed for the entire holiday weekend of July 4 and 5, the county's executive officer, Frank Kim, told CNN, joining other Southern California counties in the closing of their shores to prevent spread of coronavirus.

Kim explained that Orange County cities are managing their local beaches, but all are closed on July 4 with the exception of San Clemente, which has yet to make a final determination.

The county closure comes after the cities of Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, and Laguna Beach all announced plans to close their beaches during the holiday weekend, and follows beach closures in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. 

Access to state beaches will also be restricted for the upcoming holiday weekend, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a news conference this week. The beaches themselves will not be closed, but rather parking lots and facilities will be. This applies to state beaches from Sonoma County down to Southern California, Newsom said.

Here are the beaches that are closing for the holiday weekend:

Gov. Brian Kemp asked people in his state “to do the right thing" when it comes to practicing social distancing, using good hand sanitation and wearing a mask.

“Even on the beach do that as well (follow guidelines). We’re not going to be the nanny state. We want people to enjoy themselves, we just want them to do that in a safe way so we can continue to enjoy and have a profitable rest of the summer for the Golden Isles,” Kemp said.

Asked about Savannah’s mask mandate, Kemp said, “From a legal perspective, I really haven’t had time to look at that.” 

“The mayor and I agree on the policy. You should be wearing your mask," he added. 

Enforcement of health orders is contingent on local authorities, but California’s governor is again threatening to withhold funding from those who do not comply.

Part of California’s new budget included a trailer bill, which allows dissemination of funds based on contingent behavior, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. He is referring to the distribution of $2.1 billion, which includes CARES Act and realignment dollars.

The enforcement directive applies to everyone in the state, not just to businesses. Yet companies seem to be the focus of intervention, with Newsom noting that the state sent out 350,00 letters to businesses on Wednesday specifically laying out expectations and good business behaviors to protect employees and customers.

The governor said he supports the idea of issuing citations if necessary, but stresses that education and encouragement to follow the directives should come first.

Vice President Mike Pence, on a swing of states with sharp rises in Covid-19 cases, has been changing his tone on the virus, declaring in Arizona and Florida that the country “will flatten the curve.”

In recent remarks, Pence has said the curve has already been flattened.

“We will slow the spread,” Pence said, alongside Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Dr. Deborah Birx on Thursday. “We will flatten the curve. And we will save lives and we will bring Florida’s economy back bigger and better than ever before.”

He made a similar statement in Arizona on Wednesday.

As recently as two weeks ago, Pence said he was “proud to report” that “we slowed the spread. We flattened the curve. We cared for the most vulnerable, and we saved lives,” in remarks at a steel plant in Michigan. Even at the time, that was false. Case counts were on the increase or flat in most states, according to data provided by Johns Hopkins which tracks cases across the US. 

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Pence said the federal government is “considering” and will be “processing in very short order” a request for additional medical personnel to deal with coronavirus cases in Florida.  

But Pence still stressed the need to “keep opening back up our economy,” even as cases surge nationwide.

“Even in these challenging times,” Pence said, “we’re continuing to see America’s economy coming back, Americans going back to work.” He also thanked the DeSantis for his “efforts to open up Florida again,” before touting jobs numbers.

Watch:

There have been at least 2,721,961 cases of coronavirus in the US since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, and at least 128,496 people have died.

Johns Hopkins reported at least 34,634 new cases and 419 deaths on Thursday.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed an executive order extending the public health emergency in the state.

The extension does not impact the state’s reopening, which is continuing to move ahead. The health emergency was first declared in the state on March 9.

Each extension expires after 30 days unless renewed. 

US stocks ended in the green on Thursday, as the Nasdaq Composite soared to a new closing record.

Investors cheered a better-than-expected jobs report this morning, with a record 4.8 million jobs added in June. The unemployment rate fell to 11.1%.

Here's where the market closed:

Remember: The market will remain closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.