RNC spokesperson says Republicans are committed to holding convention in Florida
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Republican National Committees spokesperson Mike Reed told CNN that the party is committed to holding the convention in Florida but will be conducting temperature checks and have testing available for attendees.
Here's Reed's full statement:
“The RNC is committed to holding a safe convention that fully complies with local health regulations in place at the time. The event is still almost two months away, and we are planning to offer health precautions including but not limited to temperature checks, available PPE, aggressive sanitizing protocols, and available Covid-19 testing. We have a great working relationship with local leadership in Jacksonville and the state of Florida, and we will continue to coordinate with them in the months ahead.”
What is this about: Earlier today, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said on CNN it is “too early to tell” whether Florida will be a safe place for the Republican National Convention next month amid a surge in Covid-19 cases there.
10:14 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Phoenix mayor says Arizona opened up "way too early"
From CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego believes that Arizona opened up way too early after reemerging from Covid-19 stay-at-home orders that were initially issued in the state, she explained to ABC on Sunday morning.
Gallego attributed the spike in coronavirus cases seen in Arizona over the last month to people in her own age demographic, 20 to 44-year-olds not following proper masking and social distancing protocols.
“We’re seeing a lot of people go to large family gatherings and infect their family members,” Gallego said.
She pointed out that the state is also in crisis when it comes to testing for the virus.
“It’s really, really difficult. I’ve been spending time begging everyone from Walgreens to open up testing, out of state testing companies to come in because it’s awful to see people waiting in a car, while you’re feeling sick, people were running of gas, and this is as many months in,” Gallego said.
The mayor said that she’s asked for federal aid, asking Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking the agency to come and conduct community based testing in Phoenix.
The mayor criticized Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey saying civic leaders had to beg to be able to implement face mask requirements across the state.
“We were originally preempted from doing that but I’m thankful the governor did allow cities to put masking orders in place, which I think will help,” Gallego said
10:01 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
It is "too early to tell" if Florida is safe for the GOP convention, FDA commissioner says
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn speaks with CNN on July 5. CNN
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn said it is “too early to tell” whether Florida will be a safe place for the Republican National Convention next month amid a surge in Covid-19 cases there.
“I think it’s too early to tell,” Hahn said on CNN’s “State of the Union. “We’ll have to see how this unfolds in Florida and around the country.”
Hahn is a member of the White House Coronoavirus Task Force.
Florida set an all-time record of most coronavirus cases in the US in a single day on Saturday, with a total of 11,458, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
More on the convention: Jacksonville, Florida, where the majority of the convention is set to take place, implemented mandatory face mask requirements last week due to the spike in infections.
The President’s re-election team selected Florida as the new location for much of the convention after sparring with officials in North Carolina over social distancing requirements. The entire convention had been set to take place in Charlotte, North Carolina. Now only a small part of it will take place there.
CNN reached out to the Republican National Convention and the Trump campaign for comment.
9:30 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
FDA commissioner does not defend Trump's claim that 99% of Covid-19 cases are "harmless"
From CNN's Sarah Westwood
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn declined to defend President Trump’s claim from his July 4 speech that 99% of Covid-19 cases are “harmless."
Hahn repeatedly refused to say whether the Trump's claim is true or false.
“I’m not going to get into who’s right and who’s wrong,” Hahn told CNN.
When Hahn was presented Centers for Disease Control and Prevention figures showing only a third of Covid-19 cases are asymptomatic, Hahn did not defend the President’s claim about how many coronavirus cases go unnoticed by the infected.
“What I’ll say is that we have data in the White House Task Force. Those data show us that this is a serious problem. People need to take it seriously,” Hahn said.
10:31 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
New York City will enter phase 3 Monday without indoor dining, governor says
From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia
Diners eat outside of a restaurant on July 1 in New York. Bebeto Matthews/AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New York City is still on track to launch into phase three of its Covid-19 reopening Monday.
The governor reiterated that indoor dining will not be a part of this reopening.
“New York City is a crowded, dense urban area and — until recently — was the global epicenter of the Covid-19 crisis," Cuomo said in a news release today. "Out of an abundance of caution and after seeing other states' experiences with indoor dining, we will wait to reopen it as the city moves to phase three tomorrow.”
What the numbers say: New York added 533 cases yesterday, with .84% positivity rate. The state reported eight deaths.
10:42 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Syria records highest daily death count from Covid-19
From Eyad Kourdi in Gaziantep
Beds are seen in a specialized hospital for coronavirus patients in Hasakeh, Syria, in April. Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images
Syria recorded three new deaths from Covid-19 in the highest daily death count for the country, according to the Syrian Health Ministry, Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Sunday. This brings the country’s death toll to 13.
The Health Ministry also confirmed 20 additional cases of the coronavirus, SANA reported, bringing the total number of cases in Syria to 358. This doubles the number of daily new cases compared to the previous day.
10:05 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Miami Beach mayor says "too many people" are not taking coronavirus seriously
From CNN's David Wright
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber speaks with CNN on July 5. CNN
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber discussed the accelerating coronavirus outbreak in Florida and the difficulty in containing the outbreak amid mixed messages from leaders in Washington, including President Trump.
Gelber told CNN that the virus is spreading in Miami Beach, “because of this incredible activity.
"Too many people obviously are not taking seriously all these admonishments to socially distance, to wear masks, all those things, some are following, but clearly not enough," the mayor said.
Gelber also had grim warnings about hospital capacity in Miami Beach.
“Our hospital capacity is reducing and it really is sort of a — we see a positive increase and then you go to your hospitalization, and we have doubled our hospitalization, our census has now doubled in last 14 days and then you go to your intensive care and that also doubled and we even have 158 people on ventilators now, and I think two weeks ago 64," the mayor said.
Gelber was sharply critical of Trump’s leadership on coronavirus.
“How do you tell somebody they have to wear a mask and be socially distanced when the President doesn't, and hosts a rally where they're almost celebrating the lack of those simple countermeasures? So really, we're not on the same page," he said.
Some context: Florida reported at least 11,445 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the state's largest increase in one day.
12:18 p.m. ET, July 5, 2020
UK honors National Health Service workers at forefront of battling coronavirus with street art
From CNN's Salma Abdelaziz
Street artist Nathan Bowen is pictured working on an image in London on Friday. Matthew Brealey/CNN
The United Kingdom's National Health Service, known as the NHS, marks its 72nd anniversary Sunday at a poignant and difficult time for perhaps the country's most beloved public institution.
Its doctors, nurses and other medical staff have been on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic for months, with dozens of their own ranks losing their lives to the illness.
All over the United Kingdom, billboards, posters, and even small crayon drawings have popped up to thank the nearly 1.5 million healthcare workers of the NHS for their service.
In the trendy east London neighborhood of Shoreditch, that gratitude comes in graffiti form. Boarded-up shop windows have been converted into murals dedicated to the public health system.
Street artist Nathan Bowen told CNN he wanted to breathe life into spaces made dead under lockdown, to ease the commute for frontline staff making their way to clinics, hospitals and care homes.
"When people walk past my art, it makes them smile. I want to inspire people. I want people to look at my art and go home and feel like that artwork made my day. It made my travels in the street," Bowen said. "Why should they look at the old plyboard when they could look at artwork?"
On Saturday night key buildings across the UK were lit up in blue, the color of the NHS, and at 5 p.m. BST on Sunday a round of applause is scheduled to honor the sacrifices made by medical staff.
Some history: Established after World War II, the NHS has always been an institution that unifies Britons around a simple idea: public heathcare should be free for all.
Accusations have been leveled against the government that it has failed to secure sufficient personal protective equipment and to protect healthcare workers of ethnic minority backgrounds.
But when Prime Minister Boris Johnson contracted Covid-19, he was admitted to St. Thomas', a public hospital in central London, and later declared that the NHS “saved my life, no question.”
WATCH HERE:
7:40 a.m. ET, July 5, 2020
Pope Francis urges prompt implementation of UN global ceasefire resolution amid Covid-19 crisis
From CNN's Valentina Di Donato and Richard Roth
Pope Francis waves from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on July 5. Riccardo De Luca/AP
Pope Francis has urged the swift implementation of a UN Security Council resolution that calls for a global ceasefire to help countries already wracked by hostilities to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
The resolution -- the first to pass since the coronavirus pandemic took hold -- was unanimously adopted Wednesday in a virtual vote.
Speaking during his regularly held Sunday Angelus, Francis said: "The request for a global and immediate ceasefire, which would allow the peace and security necessary to provide the urgently needed humanitarian assistance, is commendable.
"I hope that this decision will be implemented effectively and promptly for the good of many people who are suffering. May this Security Council Resolution become a bold first step towards a peaceful future.”
