August 18 coronavirus news

The Lebanese caretaker government announced Tuesday a countrywide lockdown starting 6 a.m. local time Friday following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The lockdown will be extended until 6 a.m. local time on Sept. 7.

The Lebanese caretaker interior and municipalities minister issued a decree ordering the lockdown, which includes the closure of all private institutions, open markets, commercial companies, the seaside corniche, tourist facilities, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, stadiums, clubs, public and private swimming pools, restaurants, cafes, clubs, nightclubs, and others. All public and social gatherings are prohibited under the decree. 

Restoration work, removal of rubble, and aid distribution in the neighborhoods affected by the Beirut port blast are exempt from the lockdown. 

Employees of the security, medical, civil defense services, the press, ports and the airport, as well as medicine manufacturing sector are also exempt from the lockdown. The airport remains open.

The latest cases: Lebanon registered 421 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing its total number of cases to 9,758, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health.

Lebanon has recently witnessed a surge 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.

Students nationwide are returning to college campuses, and some schools are reporting pockets of positive Covid-19 cases.

Here's a look at what some schools are reporting:

Face coverings will be mandatory in enclosed shared offices spaces starting Sept. 1, Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne announced Tuesday. 

A ministry statement released later added that masks will not be compulsory in individual offices “as long as there is only one person present.”

This announcement comes after “an upsurge in the number of COVID-19 cases has been observed, as well as an increase in the number of clusters across the country,” the statement said.

“The professional environment is affected by this increase: the number of clusters currently being investigated is 268, including 60 in company settings,” the statement added.

Face masks became mandatory in public indoor spaces late July. Several cities have also imposed the wearing of masks outdoors, such as Marseille and Paris where it is now mandatory in central districts, major tourist spots and other crowded areas.

Boeing is planning another round of job cuts on top of the 16,000 positions it previously announced it would eliminate.

The aircraft maker has been hit by hundreds of canceled orders as airlines struggle with a plunge in demand for air travel during the Covid-19 pandemic. Boeing said in April it planned to cut 10% of its global staff of 160,000 employees in response. 

"The pandemic has been tough on our people, our business and our industry. While there have been some signs of recovery, the reality is we're in a challenging position," said CEO Dave Calhoun in a message to Boeing employees Monday. He said there would be a new round of buyouts offered to employees next week.

Last month, Boeing said it would produce planes at a slower rate than previously expected for years to come. It has announced it will stop building the 747 when current orders for a freighter version of the plane run out in 2022. It is considering whether to consolidate production of the 787 Dreamliner, now built at factories in both Washington state and South Carolina, at one facility or the other.

The cuts announced in April target mostly Boeing's commercial aircraft unit. The latest round of buyouts will be offered to employees there, and also to workers in corporate offices and aircraft services.

Some more context: Earlier this year 5,500 Boeing employees agreed to take buyout packages and leave the company voluntarily. The company then laid off another 6,800 in May. But even as it prepared for additional cuts to hit the 16,000 target, the long-term production plans changed for the worse. 

It also has yet to be granted approval of the 737 Max to carry passengers once again. The plane has been grounded, and deliveries halted, since March of 2019 following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.

Iraq’s Ministry of Health reported 4,567 news coronavirus cases on Tuesday. This is a new record in daily cases.

The total number of cases in Iraq is now 184,709. 

The health ministry reported 82 new Covid-19 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in Iraq to 6,036.

Gyms in New York City will not open before Sept. 2, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. 

The mayor said inspections will move as quickly as they can, but schools are set to reopen Sept. 10 and the priority for inspections is daycare centers and schools.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said gyms in the state can reopen with limited capacity next week and local inspections must occur within two weeks by Sept. 2.

The mayor discussed why it is continues to be so difficult to boost the economy with indoor dining due to the transmission of the virus.

“This is a really difficult choice,” said Dr. Jay Varma, senior adviser for public health in the mayor’s office, adding the city is using data from around the world which indicates settings for indoor dining and drinking can spread the virus.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday during a briefing that he personally would send his kids to one of the city's public schools.

Fifteen to 20% of coronavirus cases in New York City over the past month have occurred in people who recently traveled outside of the city according to Dr. Jay Varma, senior adviser for public health in the mayor’s office.

Students returning to the city from states on the quarantine list for the start of school should follow the quarantine guidelines, Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said, and that is partly why the city built in flexibility for reopening and remote learning.

There will be a nurse in every school building — which wasn’t true in the past.

Asked about how the city can pay for all the personal protective equipment in schools, the mayor said health and safety come first and he is holding out hope for federal action and state help.

Chicago’s Navy Pier will temporarily close on September 8, according to a news release posted on its website.

The pier-wide closure starts the day after Labor Day and is being done to “limit the financial burden and impact” of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

All pier-wide operations will be closed, according to the release, including more than 70 small local businesses. Public access to the outdoor spaces will be limited or prohibited during the closure as well.

The organization that runs the Navy Pier projects a $20 million deficit in 2020, according to the FAQs posted on the Navy Pier website. It says the pier generated close to $60 million in 2019. 

Navy Pier says it plans to reopen in the spring of 2021.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said two states – Alaska and Delaware – have been added to the Covid-19 travel advisory list, making the total at 35 states and territories.

Remember: As New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced the travel advisory jointly – which requires anyone traveling from those areas which have significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days – we can expect the neighboring states to follow suit in updating their travel advisories based on shared metrics.

In June, the three states issued a joint travel advisory that requires people arriving from states with high coronavirus rates to quarantine for 14 days.

Here is the updated list of states on the travel advisory: