A healthcare worker walks past a First Medical Response trailer at a Texas Division of Emergency Management free Covid-19 testing site in Houston, Texas on August 8. David J. Phillip/AP
Texas reported 51 new Covid-19 related deaths, bringing the total number of coronavirus related deaths to 10,034 in the state.
The state also reported 2,713 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of cases to 542,950.
The Texas Department of State Health Services also noted:
"Several commercial laboratories have submitted backlogs of test results to DSHS this week. As the backlogged test results are added to the electronic reporting system, some counties are receiving notification of COVID positive results that were previously diagnosed but not reported to the local health department at the time the test was completed. For this reason, the statewide confirmed case counts and some county case counts will include some older cases over the next few days. DSHS works daily with laboratories to facilitate reporting to ensure local jurisdictions receive timely laboratory reports. Patients were notified at the time of diagnosis through a separate process."
Note: These numbers were released by the 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
7:07 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Los Angeles County sees decline in new Covid-19 cases: “We’re in fact back to slowing the spread”
From CNN’s Topher-Gauk Roger
Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer Pool
Los Angeles County is continuing to show progress in the fight to curb the spread of Covid-19, health officials say.
In a Monday news conference, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer revealed the daily number of hospitalizations have steadily decreased in the last month by 37%, dropping from 2,719 in mid-July to 2,388 in mid-August.
“We do continue to be cautiously optimistic that all the sacrifices and the hard work that we’ve seen across our county is working and that we’re in fact back to slowing the spread,” Ferrer said.
The daily number of reported cases dropped from around 3,200 in mid-July to 2,388 in mid-August, the seven-day average of positive test results dropped from 10% in mid-July to about 6% in mid-August, and the daily number of deaths dropped from a late-July average of 43 to a mid-August average of around 30.
The county is currently meeting five of the six state-enforced benchmarks: More tests per day at 181 (meeting goal of > 150), testing positivity rate at 6% (meeting goal of 20% ), and ventilator availability at 63% (meeting goal of > than 25%).
The one benchmark Los Angeles County is still not meeting, is case rate per 100,000, currently at 235 (not meeting goal of < 100).
Nineteen additional deaths were announced Monday, bringing the county total to 5,273. An additional 1,185 new positive cases were also added Monday, bringing the countywide total to 223,131 confirmed cases.
6:29 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Brazil records more than 19,000 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours
From Eduardo Duwe and Marcia Reverdosa in Sao Paulo
Brazil has reported at least 19,373 new Covid-19 cases and 684 deaths in the past 24 hours, the country’s health ministry reported Monday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus infections now stands at 3,359,570. At least 108,536 have died from Covid-19 in the country, according to the ministry’s data.
São Paulo State, the hotspot of the pandemic in Brazil, reported 3,022 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the state’s total to 702,665 confirmed infections, according to data presented today by the state government at its daily news conference.
6:07 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
NFL season opener will have fans in the stands
From CNN's David Close
The Kansas City Chiefs will celebrate their Super Bowl LIV title and take on the Houston Texans in the NFL’s season opener in front of spectators at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs, in consultation with health officials and the NFL, have announced a plan allowing 22% of stadium capacity (under 17,000 fans) to attend upcoming home games. Fans with tickets will also be allowed to tailgate ahead of kickoffs.
Tickets will be sold and grouped in six seats or less.
The team says fans will be required to wear a mask at all times while at the stadium, except for when they are “actively eating or drinking.”
All staff working home games will be directed to wear personal protective equipment.
The first game of the season is Sept. 10.
5:59 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Two dozen coronavirus cases tied to Maine wedding
From CNN's Dave Alsup
At least 24 people tested positive for coronavirus in connection with a wedding reception in Millinocket, Maine, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The agency announced Monday it had opened up an investigation of the outbreak associated with the reception at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket. The gathering occurred Aug. 7.
Maine health officials have identified 18 people who attended the reception who tested positive and another 6 people testing positive after coming into close contact with event attendees.
All those testing positive are residents of the state of Maine.
6:21 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Wolf Blitzer to Jared Kushner: "1,000 Americans dying every day is not a success, right?"
From CNN's Josiah Ryan
CNN's Wolf Blitzer sparred with senior advisor to President Trump, Jared Kushner, on Monday asking him if he still believed the federal government's coronavirus response represented "a great success story for the federal government" as the President's son-in-law claimed back in April.
"I will just press you Jared, a thousand Americans dying every day is not a success, right?” Wolf Blitzer asked.
Kushner touted the administration's response and pointed to "a very strong rebound" in the US economy.
"You want to keep that number as low as possible," Kushner said, in response to Blitzer's question. "One American dying everyday is too much but if you look at where we were back in April we had 2,500 Americans dying a day… But if you look at the case fatality rate obviously it’s gone down.”
Kushner predicted back in April that "by June a lot of the country should be back to normal" and said he was hopeful that "by July the country's really rocking again."
Watch:
5:27 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Lebanon confirms record number of new Covid-19 cases
From CNN’s Ghazi Balkiz in Beirut
Lebanon has registered a record 456 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its total number of cases to 9,337, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.
Earlier Monday, the caretaker Minister of Public Health Hassan Hamad said there is a need for “a courageous two-week lockdown decision" or the situation will get out of control.
He also recommended people arriving in Lebanon to self-isolate at home for a week, even if they tested negative upon arrival.
These recommendations are not binding and the government is yet to make a decision whether to implement a lockdown or not.
This morning, Dr. Firass Abiad, head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the main hospital tackling Covid-19 in Lebanon, said in a tweet that “Without resorting to a lockdown, the numbers will continue to rise, which will lead to exceeding the capacity of hospitals. This happened, catastrophically, in other countries. If we wait longer, and as the days go by, the gravity of the situation will be clear even to skeptics of COVID-19. Unfortunately, it will be too late.”
Lebanon has recently witnessed a spike of Covid-19 cases. This comes as the country is suffering from an economic collapse and dealing with the aftermath of the port blast that ripped through the capital killing about 170 people, wounding around 6,000 people and displacing about 300,000 people.
4:54 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
US Surgeon General says testing times are improving, but prevention matters more
From CNN Health’s Andrea Kane
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams holds up a mask while speaking as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp looks on during a press conference announcing statewide expanded COVID testing on August 10, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
The federal government is working on delays in coronavirus testing, but the country needs to lean more on prevention, Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams says.
“It's important to know that a test result that comes back seven, 10, 14 days later, does not allow us to isolate and contact trace, which is something that we feel is important to contain the virus, so we're very cognizant of concerns about delays,” Adams said Sunday on INFocus, a Fox news magazine show focused on Indiana.
“As a public health physician, I want people to know that we feel tests are important, but we can't test our way out of this problem,” Adams added. “We need to lean on prevention, and that's making sure everyone's wearing a mask, washing their hands, and watching their distance from others.”
Adams said that about 50% of the testing done in the US is either point of care “which is 15 minutes or less” to get results, or in hospitals “which is 24 hours or less.”
“So what we're really talking about is the 50% of tests that are done in private labs, and right now …the testing time on average across the country is now down to less than three days for the private labs and most private lab tests are coming back within two days,” Adams said.
“So this is a problem — it’s a problem for some labs and some people in particular. It's a problem we're working on, but we're continuing to drive down those cases.”
When asked about Dr. Anthony Fauci’s comments that “we aren’t doing great” compared to other countries, Adams said, “I think that two things can be true at once: it can be true there are a lot of people out there doing the right thing and also true that we need to do better.”
Adams noted that the US has not seen the more than 1 million deaths that some health experts were predicting. “But that doesn't mean we can't and shouldn't do more. We must stay vigilant,” he said. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 170,000 Americans have died of coronavirus, although the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 90% of cases have likely been missed.
Adams blamed the spike in numbers on spring and summer fever, which has people wanting to “hang out” with friends and family. “What I would say to folks is, we can get through this… and get to a place where we can safely reopen. But if people just ignore those basic public health measures, we’re going to continue to see spread increasing and we're actually going to lose choices and lose freedom, because we're going to be forced to shut down,” he said.
Adams said Indianapolis “has been on our radar screen” because more than 10% of people tested for coronavirus in Marion county have had positive test results — in the red zone. The same goes for Fort Wayne’s Allen county.
“We want the people of the state to know we are concerned but also want them to know we have the tools to turn this around,” he said.
Before becoming surgeon general, Adams was Indiana’s state health commissioner.
4:35 p.m. ET, August 17, 2020
Illinois reports more than 1,700 new coronavirus cases
From CNN's Molly Silverman
A sign alerts residents to a mobile COVID-19 testing site set up on a vacant lot in the Austin neighborhood on June 23, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Illinois Department of Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike reported that 1,773 people were newly diagnosed with Covid-19 over the last 24 hours.
At least 12 additional people died due to Covid-19, Ezike said.
The total number of individuals in Illinois who have Covid-19 is 207,854 and there have been 7,756 Covid-19-related deaths, said Ezike.
At least 1,544 people are hospitalized due to Covid-19, with 340 of those hospitalized in the intensive care, and 126 on ventilators, Ezike said.
Remember: These numbers were released by the Illinois public health agency, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.
