July 29 coronavirus news

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos argued Wednesday against the need for national leadership on reopening schools, praising one private academy for not waiting for guidance on how to reopen safely.

“Thales is a great example more schools could emulate,” DeVos said. “You didn’t wait for guidance from the Department of Education. You didn’t ask for permission. Your families wanted kids back in school, you wanted kids back in school, teachers wanted to be back in school, so you figured out ways to do it, or do it safely.” Private schools in general have smaller class sizes than most public schools, just one reason why it could be easier for them to create reopening plans.

“More education leaders here in North Carolina can pivot as well, and do what it takes to keep everyone safe and do what’s right for all students,” DeVos continued. “There’s too many schools in this state and others that are ignoring parents and students and keeping schools closed.”

She went on to argue for school choice, and said that for parents who took their children out of public schools, “the tax dollars meant to support their education should go with them.”

DeVos said she’d called for school choice for more than three decades, and added that the pandemic “really welcomes it.”

“It frankly demands it,” DeVos said. “Students need it, families are demanding it, and teachers need it.”

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters Wednesday that – as negotiations on a stimulus package continue to fall apart – he doesn’t know that there is any other plan other than “no deal.” 

Meadows emerged from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office this afternoon with a dire assessment of where negotiations stand, saying they made no progress. Pelosi rejected the short-term unemployment insurance idea and the federal enhancement of unemployment, which will expire at the end of the week.

Asked what would unlock the current impasse, Meadows said, “I don’t know that anything does.”

More from the Capitol: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, after meeting with top White House negotiators on the next round of coronavirus relief legislation, explicitly rejected any short-term measure to extend the expiring federal unemployment enhancement and attacked Republicans for having no plan to address the issues.

Schumer, after the third meeting in as many days, said Republicans are “tied in a knot because of the disunity in their caucus, because of their inability to gather votes, because the President says one thing one day and says another thing the other.”

“They have no coherent plan, they have no comprehensive plan,” Schumer said. “They have tried to come up with a ‘skinny bill’ that doesn’t address the moment and they can’t even pass that in their own Senate.”

All indoor bar areas in Minneapolis must close for regular service starting Aug. 1, according to an emergency regulation issued by Mayor Jacob Frey. 

Frey said that since bars and restaurants have been open, the city has seen its seven-day weekly average go up "pretty significantly." 

"A night out at the bar is too often leading to nights in the hospital for family, for friends, and for neighbors," he added. "By focusing on bar areas, which are proven to be hotbeds for congregation and community spread, we can help keep both Minneapolis and Minnesotans safe and help keep trends stable." 

The closure would also cover taprooms, distilleries, and nightclubs, Frey said. Restaurants with a bar area are also required to keep their bars closed for the duration of the emergency regulations. 

There have been at least 403,307 cases of Covid-19 in Texas since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest figures released by the Department of State Health Services.

This is an increase of 9,042 from Tuesday’s report, according to the dashboard. At least 9,595 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized statewide, according to the department's dashboard. 

The department also said at least 6,190 people have died from the virus in the state since the pandemic started.

Note: These numbers were released by Texas Department of State Health Services and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Denver Public Schools will “extend 100% remote instruction” from the start of the school year until the end of the first quarter, a statement on the district’s website announced Wednesday.

Remote instruction will begin on Aug. 24 and run through at least Oct. 16, which is the end of the first quarter of the school year, the statement said. 

“We’ll be working hard to safely and gradually welcome all students back into schools, when health conditions allow,” District Superintendent Susana Cordova wrote in the statement.

However, the district did say that it will be working toward bringing back small groups of students for in-person learning as soon as Sept. 8. 

Some more context: This announcement comes two weeks after the district said they would delay the start of the school year to Aug. 24 and it clarifies that remote learning will last at least until the end of the first quarter. The district initially said that its plan was to return to full, in-person instruction on June 26.

Denver Public Schools has nearly 94,000 students who attend 207 schools, according to the district's website.

The National Basketball Association has unveiled a new community testing program, which will provide thousands of no-cost Covid-19 tests in Orlando and team markets nationwide.

The program is an extension of the NBA’s Together initiative, the league’s community and social engagement campaign designed to support, educate and inspire youth, families and fans in response to the pandemic.

In a statement released Wednesday, the NBA said, “Public health data has made clear that the impacts of the coronavirus are most concentrated in historically marginalized communities of color where access to testing is scarce. To meet this need, the NBA collaborated with UnidosUS and the National Urban League as well as several private laboratories to identify communities most in need and provide access to no-cost programs in addition to communicating public health information to community members.”

The tests are being provided in partnership with BioReference Laboratories, the league’s testing provider at its campus in Orlando. Residents in the Orlando area can register for the free Covid-19 tests here.

The NBA added that it will continue to work with UnidosUS and the National Urban League “to continue to explore additional testing programs and work together to amplify the latest global health and safety information.”

Fifty-six percent of all new Covid-19 cases in Maryland are in people under the age of 40, Gov. Larry Hogan said at a news conference today.

The positivity rate of Marylanders 35 and older has been declining for more than 12 weeks, but people under the age of 35 are testing positive at a rate 76.8% higher than that of people 35 and older. 

Hospitalizations have increased 28% in the past two weeks. A total of 571 people have been hospitalized, Hogan added. Maryland has 145 intensive care unit beds currently in use and has seen the uptick in acute care beds mostly in younger people.

Note: These numbers were released by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Face masks must be worn in all state government offices and buildings in South Carolina starting Monday, Gov. Henry McMaster announced Wednesday.

During a news conference in Columbia, McMaster told reporters that starting Monday, restaurants will be required to “limit customer service” and have no more than 50% occupancy.

“Restaurant employees and patrons will be required by law to a mask or face coverings” in order to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Tables are required by law to be six feet apart with no more than eight people per table, McMaster said.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control announced 1,666 new confirmed Covid-19 cases and 48 additional deaths on Wednesday. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 85,423 and confirmed deaths to 1,551.

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, who was supposed to travel to Texas with President Trump today but tested positive during a pre-flight screening, issued a video statement on Twitter saying, “The reports of my demise are a great deal premature.”

He went on to say that Republican Sen. Rand Paul told him that he should be “immune” in 10 days or so.

“Rand Paul was just texting me that the good news is that in 10 days or so I should be, really well, immune,” he said in the video statement.

CNN has reached out to Paul’s office.