August 9 coronavirus news

By Ben Westcott, Steve George, Amy Woodyatt, Ed Upright, Fernando Alfonso III and Amir Vera, CNN

Updated 12:03 a.m. ET, August 10, 2020
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3:59 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

This is what Miami Beach looked like over the weekend

From CNN's Melissa Alonso

The scene of Miami Beach on Saturday, August 8, 2020.
The scene of Miami Beach on Saturday, August 8, 2020.

A photo taken on Miami Beach Saturday afternoon shows beachgoers crowded on the sand and water. Jason Mac took the photo around 4 p.m. with his 600mm telephoto lens, which he says compresses the image and space between people.

Miami Beach is in Miami Dade County. The county has the most infections in Florida with 131,553 total Covid-19 cases as of Sunday. 

4:04 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

Nine Covid-19 cases reported at Georgia high school days after viral photo of crowded hallway

From CNN’s Chandler Thornton

Students at North Paulding High School walk through a crowded hallway.
Students at North Paulding High School walk through a crowded hallway. Courtesy Hannah Watters

Nine Covid-19 cases were reported at North Paulding High School in Georgia, according to a copy of a letter sent from Principal Gabe Carmona to parents Saturday. 

At this time, we know there were six students and three staff members who were in school for at least some time last week who have since reported to us that they have tested positive,” the letter from Principal Gabe Carmona read. 

CNN obtained the letter from Michelle Salas, a parent of a North Paulding High School student.

This comes days after a North Paulding High School sophomore posted a photo on Twitter that showed her high school's hallways crowded with students and very few masks visible.  

The student, Hannah Watters, was later suspended for posting the photos but on Friday, the high school said in a statement that it had "rescinded" the suspension.

3:11 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

Michigan governor says Trump's executive actions do "nothing to protect the millions of unemployed Americans"

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said President Trump’s recent executive action does “nothing to protect the millions of unemployed Americans who need to put food on the table for themselves and their families.”

“He cut federal funding for unemployed workers and is requiring states that are facing severe holes in our budgets to provide 25% of the funding. His refusal to provide full federal funding to states across the country to help us combat this virus will hurt the brave men and women on the front lines of this crisis, like our first responders, health care workers, child care workers, and more” Whitmer said in a statement today.

Trump is more focused on winning the November election than fighting Covid-19, the governor said in her statement.

Read a breakdown of what's in Trump's executive actions here.

3:07 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

Georgia reports more than 3,100 new coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths

From CNN's Natasha Chen

Georgia's health department reported 3,177 new coronavirus cases and 13 new deaths Sunday.

There were also 72 hospitalizations reported by the department.

There are now a total of 216,596 coronavirus cases and 4,199 deaths in Georgia.

2:17 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

South Carolina reports more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Chuck Johnston

South Carolina's heath department has reported an additional 1,011 confirmed cases of coronavirus and an additional 18 confirmed deaths.

The state has reported a total of 99,713 confirmed cases and 1,949 total deaths. 

The state positivity rate is 12.9% according to the health department.

2:10 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

Eighth California prison employee dies from Covid-19

From CNN’s Chandler Thornton

A San Quentin State Prison employee died from Covid-19, California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reported on Sunday.

This is the eighth California prison staff member to die from the virus since the first reported death on May 30, the department reported.

There are currently 1,048 staff members confirmed to have the virus. 

Some more context: As of Saturday, California has 545,787 confirmed coronavirus cases statewide and 10,189 deaths, according to the department of health.

 

1:53 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

Lebanon records nearly 300 new coronavirus cases Sunday as hospitals near capacity from dual crisis 

From CNN's Ghazi Balkiz in Beirut

Lebanon has recorded 294 new coronavirus cases and two deaths on Sunday, according to the Ministry of Public Health website. 

The country now has a total of 6,517 cases and a total 76 deaths as it continues to recover from a deadly blast that killed at least 158 people and wounded thousands more last week.

Some context: On Friday, Dr. Friass Abiad, the head of Beirut's Rafik Hariri University Hospital (the main hospital battling Covid-19), told CNN that hospitals are at capacity. 

Abiad commended the country's health sector for how it handled the dual crisis of Covid-19 and the casualties and fallout of Tuesday's deadly explosion that rocked the capital.  

"The ability of the health sector to rise to the occasion during the explosion, and to absorb thousands of casualties, was impressive. But now, hospitals are full, their supplies are almost empty, and the capacity for their staff is depleted. Can they do more?” Abiad tweeted Saturday.

1:30 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

60 bars and restaurants in NYC area were issued Covid-19 violations Friday and Saturday

From CNN's Sheena Jones

There were 60 bars and restaurants in the New York City area that were issued Covid-19 violations Friday and Saturday, according to a press release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. 

Here's a breakdown of where the violations occurred on Long Island and around the New York City boroughs, according to the governor:

  • Bronx: 2
  • Brooklyn: 2
  • Manhattan: 22
  • Queens: 26
  • Staten Island: 4
  • Nassau: 3
  • Suffolk: 1

Cuomo also called on the NYPD on Sunday to step-up enforcement of social distancing rules around the city.

1:28 p.m. ET, August 9, 2020

US reports more than 1,000 daily coronavirus deaths over the last 5 days

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

The US has reported more than 1,000 deaths from coronavirus daily for the last five days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University's Covid Tracker.

Since July 21, there have been only four days that the US has not reported more than 1,000 deaths.

As of 1 p.m. ET Sunday, 162,635 people with coronavirus have died in the US and 5,017,150 cases have been reported nationwide.

So far, 19,221 new Covid-19 cases and 212 deaths have been reported as of 1 p.m. ET today.