July 21 coronavirus news

Americans are testing positive for coronavirus in record-breaking numbers across the US and the surge in cases is slowing down the time tests take.

Labs across the country are now facing what seems like an almost "infinite" demand, one expert says.

As the country approaches 4 million cases, Trump has repeatedly responded with the argument that the large number of US cases is evidence of the country's success with testing. But per CNN's fact check reporting, Trump's own officials and his Republican allies have acknowledged it's not true that a rising number of tests is the reason the number of cases has skyrocketed over the last month.

One telling piece of evidence that the spike is genuine: the percentage of people testing positive, a key measure of the true spread of the virus, has also spiked.

Giroir, who heads the US's testing efforts, said yesterday that there are probably fewer cases compared to April because of more testing, but “there is no question we are having a surge right now. We are approaching this with extreme seriousness.”

Giroir said yesterday that in June, states "really crushed" their testing goals of over 16 million tests, and now are routinely doing 750,000 to 800,000 tests per day.

Speaking in a hearing on Capitol Hill on July 2, Giroir told lawmakers that the US had performed more than 35 million Covid-19 tests and is now averaging "over 550,000 tests per day." With regards to the national stockpile, Giroir said he estimated the nation will have the capacity to perform 40 to 50 million tests per month by the fall. 

But even these current numbers are well below the number of tests experts said the US should be doing now. In early May, a team at the Harvard Global Health Institute said the US should be testing at least 900,000 people a day by May 15.

According to a different group of experts, whose work was also supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, the US needed to deliver at least 5 million tests per day by early June to begin reopening. It said as many as 20 million tests per day would be needed to fully remobilize the economy, ideally by late July.

The "Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience," published by Harvard University's Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, argues that without widespread testing, state and local officials will get caught in cycles of opening up and then clamping down again on commerce and free movement.

According to Covid-19 testing data from The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last updated on Monday:

Remember: Viral tests tell you if you currently have an infection with the virus that causes Covid-19. Antibody blood tests check for antibodies, which show if you had a previous infection with the virus. Those numbers represent the number of tests performed, and a single person may have been tested more than once.

With reporting from CNN's Amanda Watts, Daniel DaleHolmes Lybrand

The daily Covid-19 indicators are all under desired thresholds, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

Here's where things stand:

Earlier he announced New York City reached a milestone in delivering $100 million free meals to New Yorkers in need. 

He also announced the city is investing $22 million to rebuild and restore New York City Housing Authority community centers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated she wants a deal done quickly — by the end of next week — with the GOP on the next recovery package.

From a source on the caucus call this morning, Pelosi said: “Yesterday, I had a conversation with Secretary Mnuchin more about housekeeping and timetables and the rest.”

She talked about the 3:15 p.m. meeting they will have today with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.

“We will begin our conversations today. It is my hope that we can resolve our differences and have a bill by the end of next week,” she said.

The president of Florida’s largest teachers union, which is suing Gov. Ron DeSantis over the state's mandate to open schools, says that the state cannot be a “Petri dish” for the rest of the country.

Florida’s education commissioner issued an emergency order earlier this month, requiring all "brick-and-mortar schools" to open at least five days per week for all students.

“There's a risk that we don't know. … One life lost is one too many for a child who goes back to a multi-generational home,” Ingram said. 

“It's too early for us to find that out. And it's too early for Florida to be the Petri dish for America,” he added. “We cannot experiment with our public schools.” 

Ingram said there is an open invitation for DeSantis to sit down with the union and develop a comprehensive plan for schools. 

Watch:

At 10 a.m. ET, the House Energy and Commerce committee will hold a hearing on a "Pathway to a Vaccine: Efforts to Develop a Safe, Effective and Accessible Covid-19 Vaccine."

Witnesses include officials from companies AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna and Pfizer which are developing Covid-19 vaccines.

The World Health Organization says there are 23 vaccines already in clinical trials around the world. 

Why this matters: Results from trials involving three different coronavirus vaccines released Monday, all showed positive results, with evidence the vaccines can produce immune responses that would be expected to protect people against infection.

They all also appeared to be safe, although it will take studies with more people to show how safe they really are and whether they can prevent infection.

Early results of a closely watched Phase 1/2 trial published in The Lancet suggest a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is safe and induces an immune response. However, researchers stressed more study is needed to know whether the vaccine protects people against the virus.

With reporting from CNN's Christina Maxouris

City of Miami summer camps will close this week after at least three children contracted Covid-19, Mayor Francis Suarez announced during a press conference Tuesday.

The closure will be effective this week, per Suarez. 

US stocks surged higher on Tuesday after Europe’s leaders reached a deal for a Covid-19 recovery package, boosting investor sentiment. 

Back in the US, the Nasdaq Composite could hit yet another all-time high today, exceeding Monday’s record.

Here's how the market opened:

Vice President Mike Pence and his wife are traveling to South Carolina today. He'll have a roundtable with Gov. Henry McMaster and his wife on safely reopening schools at 12:30 p.m. ET, according to his schedule.

Pence will then have a press briefing at 1:30 p.m. ET.

South Carolina has reported more than 71,000 cases of coronavirus and more than 1,000 virus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Each day for the past two weeks, the state has reported more than 1,000 new cases daily. Some days, the new case count has surpassed 2,000.

The National Football League's New York Giants and New York Jets will not have spectators at home games in New Jersey due to the coronavirus pandemic, both teams announced in a joint statement Monday.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced that his executive order limiting outdoor public gatherings will apply to events at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, where both teams play, until further notice.

"Although we would prefer to have fans at MetLife Stadium for our games, we will continue to work with Governor Murphy's office and will provide updates if necessary."

Neither team's 2020 training camps and practices will be open to the public.