July 20 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Brad Lendon, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 12:40 a.m. ET, July 21, 2020
77 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
4:17 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Some hair salons and barbershops in California can reopen outside under new guidance

From CNN's Sarah Moon

Ricardo Rivera, left, has his hair cut Wednesday by Anthony Acosta while Braunson McDonald has his hair cut by Luis Lopez in Huntington Beach, California.
Ricardo Rivera, left, has his hair cut Wednesday by Anthony Acosta while Braunson McDonald has his hair cut by Luis Lopez in Huntington Beach, California. Ashley Landis/AP

Hair salons and barbershops in 33 counties under the California’s monitoring list may now reopen outside under new guidance from the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in a news conference on Monday.

According to the guidance updated on Monday, “outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy, or other sun shelter as long as no more than one side is closed, allowing sufficient outdoor air movement.”

 “Salons and barbershops should not perform a service that would require a customer to have to enter the establishment,” it adds.

In addition, businesses will need to have an effective heat illness prevention plan that includes access to water and shade, cool down breaks, emergency procedures for heat illness cases, and training on heat illness prevention and symptoms.

The use of face coverings, physical distancing, and proper cleaning and sanitization is also required.

Last week, Newsom asked counties on his watch list to close all indoor activities which included hair salons and barbershops.

Latest numbers: Earlier today, California reported 6,846 new cases of coronavirus and nine additional deaths, according to updated data from the California Department of Public Health.

Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions have slightly increased in the state, with 22 more patients hospitalized and 22 more patients in the ICU. There are a total of 6,921 Covid-19 positive hospital patients and 1,943 ICU patients.

As of Monday, California has a total of 391,538 confirmed cases and 7,694 deaths.

4:15 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Trump tweets photo of himself wearing a mask

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

President Trump tweeted a photo Monday of himself wearing mask and said “many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can’t socially distance." 

“There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!” the President added. 

The photo was taken during his trip to Walter Reed on July 11, which was the one and only time the President has worn a mask in front of television cameras. 

CNN has previously reported that Trump's agreement to don a mask in public was the result of heavy "pleading" by aides, who urged the President to set an example for his supporters by wearing a mask on the visit.

4:10 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

US stocks finish higher after positive vaccine reports

From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

US stocks ended higher on Monday and the Nasdaq Composite once again finished at a record high.

The University of Oxford and drug maker AstraZeneca reported positive findings for their Covid-19 vaccine, which helped investor sentiment. That said, earnings season is in full swing, and the market could be volatile in the next days. 

Here's how the market closed:

  • Tech stocks drove Monday’s bounce higher. Even the Dow, which had opened in the red, eked out the slightest gain, closing up 9 points.
  • The S&P 500 closed 0.8% higher.
  • The Nasdaq rallied 2.5%, exceeding its all-time high from July 10.

 

4:07 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Pence offers full-throated endorsement of mask-wearing in public and social distancing

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

Vice President Mike Pence wears a mask Tuesday as he visits the state Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Vice President Mike Pence wears a mask Tuesday as he visits the state Emergency Operations Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Gerald Herbert/AP

At the beginning of Vice President Mike Pence's call with the nation's governors, he offered a full-throated endorsement of mask-wearing in public and social distancing as ways to reduce the spread of coronavirus — steps President Trump has stopped short of mandating on a national level.

Citing falling case counts in Arizona, Pence listed steps starting with masks that have helped improve the situation.

"What we have found is that masks, closing indoor bars, decreasing indoor dining capacity to 25%, continued social distancing and personal hygiene messaging are, according to the modeling, dramatically decreasing the rate of community spread," he said.

Those actions are "a clear example of transmitting science into action and proving this works," Pence said.

At the top of the call, Pence told governors they had the White House's "unqualified" support in taking steps to limit the spread of coronavirus.

"You have our full and unqualified support for the steps you are taking in your state," he said.

"At President Trump's direction, we are running a national response that is federally supported, state managed and locally executed," Pence said. "We are here to support the steps that you deem appropriate."

Pence highlighted efforts to send point-of-care testing kits to every nursing home in the US (something that's already been made public) and noted travel this week to South Carolina, Indiana and Massachusetts.

He said if governors felt it would be helpful for him or another member of the task force to travel to their state, they stood ready to move out.

"Having been a former governor, I know the value of, particularly, in educating the public about your efforts," he said. "We will be there and can move out very very quickly."

3:57 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Statewide mask mandate has begun in Arkansas, governor says

From CNN’s Janine Mack

Office of Gov. Asa Hutchinson/YouTube
Office of Gov. Asa Hutchinson/YouTube

Arkansas’ statewide face covering mandate has begun, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Monday.

According to the mandate, every adult in Arkansas must wear a face covering that covers their mouth and nose in all indoor environments, where they are exposed to non-household members, distancing of six feet or more cannot be done, and in all outdoor settings where there is exposure to non-household members, unless there is ample space of six feet or more.

The governor added that if it's going to compromise your own safety then obviously common sense has to dictate in those circumstances.

More context: Last week, Hutchinson said the mandate was needed due to the number of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Arkansas Department of Health has recorded 33,927 cases of coronavirus and 357 deaths since the pandemic began. 

At least 471 patients have been hospitalized and 111 are on ventilators, according to Dr. Jose Romero, the acting secretary for the state's Department of Health.

3:36 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

At least 53 Florida hospitals are out of ICU beds

From CNN’s Randi Kaye

As of Monday afternoon, 9,508 people are hospitalized in the state of Florida due to coronavirus related illness, according to data released by Florida’s Agency for Healthcare administration (ACHA).

There are now 53 hospitals in Florida without any ICU beds, according to the ACHA. That number is up from 50 this morning.

Statewide, Florida stands at 18.12% capacity for “available adult ICU hospital beds."

Earlier today, Miami-Dade County's Covid-19 dashboard showed ICU capacity in the county was at 130.20%, up from 127% on Sunday. And as of Monday, 513 Covid-19 ICU admissions were recorded. The ICU bed capacity in the county is 394, according to county data. 

3:53 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

West Virginia governor reports Covid-19 outbreaks in seven churches

From CNN's Laura Dolan

Gov. Jim Justice’s Office/TV Everywhere
Gov. Jim Justice’s Office/TV Everywhere

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice reported multiple Covid-19 outbreaks in seven churches across seven counties in the state.

At his news conference Monday, Justice said there was a total of 75 cases reported at churches in Boone, Grant, Logan, Kanawha, Raleigh, Taylor and Wood counties.

He warned churchgoers to be cautious, "Please, please know that a church setting is the ideal setting to spread this virus."

"You have got to wear a mask in church. I know that's hard to do, I know that's really difficult to do. But for right now, that has to be done because if we don't, all we're going to do is perpetuate this terrible killer into more and more and more people and we're going to lose people," the governor added.

State Health Officer Dr. Ayne Amjad said at the news conference that one church in each county has an outbreak with five to eight cases per church.

The governor said the state had 89 new positive Covid-19 cases and no new deaths since last Friday.

 

3:12 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Second Brazilian minister tests positive for Covid-19

From journalist Rodrigo Pedroso in São Paulo

Brazil's Minister of Education Milton Ribeiro tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday, just hours after another cabinet minister revealed he was infected earlier in the day.

"I've just received a positive Covid-19 result this morning. I am already medicated, and I'll work remotely," Ribeiro tweeted.

The minister's spokesperson told CNN affiliate CNN Brasil that Ribeiro is working from a hotel in the capital Brasília.

Ribeiro did not specify what medication he is taking.

More top Brazilian officials are infected with coronavirus: Brazil’s Minister of Citizenship Onyx Lorenzoni tweeted Monday that he tested positive for Covid-19. In a series of tweets, Lorenzoni wrote that he was tested after his symptoms started last Friday.

Earlier this month, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for Covid-19, following months of downplaying the virus.

Three other high-ranking government officials have also previously tested positive. In March, after returning from a trip to the United States for meetings between the Brazilian and US presidents, Mines and Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque, and Institutional Security Minister General Augusto Heleno tested positive, along with Bolsonaro’s communication secretary Fabio Wajngarten and another 15 members of the Brazilian delegation.

3:11 p.m. ET, July 20, 2020

Baltimore police suspend in-service training after positive Covid-19 tests

From CNN’s Rebekah Riess

Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has temporarily suspended in-service training after four trainees and two staff members tested positive for Covid-19 since Friday, according to a release from the department. 

Baltimore's police department is working with the University of Baltimore to have their training facility cleaned and disinfected, and the training academy will continue through remote learning in the meantime, according to BPD.

Some context: Since the beginning of the pandemic, 65 members of the department have tested positive for Covid-19. An additional 42 members are currently out on quarantine, and 638 department employees have been quarantined for some amount of time due to potential Covid-19 exposure since the start of the pandemic, the release said.

“COVID-19 continues to challenge the policing profession, as we look to research best practices and create innovative solutions in resuming much needed training to the members of the department,” Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said. “We continue to examine all procedures and precautionary measures put in place to minimize exposure to COVID-19 for all of our members.”