September 30 coronavirus news

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the statewide mask mandate will end on Wednesday given that the numbers for average new Covid-19 cases have declined.

Covid-19-related hospitalizations declined in the state to below 600 patients, from approximately 1,250 patients at the peak of the pandemic in July, according to the governor. The number of patients in intensive care unit beds has also declined to 138 from 337 at its peak.

Reeves said that while the mask mandate was lifted, he would still be wearing a mask and said he expected Mississippians to do the same.

“It is the smart, prudent, and wise thing to do,” he said. “I believe this is the right decision to make at this time. I believe that this will protect my fellow Mississippians and give us the opportunity should things not continue to improve or stay relatively flat, it gives us more opportunity in the future.”

Reeves said a new limited executive order would go into effect immediately to prevent “rampant Covid-19 transmission." 

The new order keeps limitations on large gatherings, bars, parties and stadiums. Indoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of 20 people, outdoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of 100 people.

Social distancing rules would also remain and mask requirements will still be in place at schools, the governor said.

Reeves also urged schools that were closed to reopen.

“It can be done safely,” he said. Reeves also said a small increase in K-12 activities would be allowed.

Some more context: Thirty of Mississippi’s 82 counties have reported an increase in cases from the previous two weeks, Reeves said. 

Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said at the news conference that while there was general decline in most counties, some counties have seen “modest increases."

“Jones, Lamar and Lee counties saw a 5% increase in cases over the previous week,” Dobbs said.  

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order today extending the state’s current Covid-19 restrictions and the public health state of emergency, according to a news release from his office.

The governor’s new executive order takes effect on Oct. 1 at 12 a.m. and runs through Oct. 15 at 11:59 p.m. The public health emergency has been extended until Nov. 9, the release said.

With the new executive order, workers at restaurants and bars can return to work once they have been symptom-free for 24 hours following a known or suspected positive Covid-19 diagnosis, according to the release.

Georgia will also allow certain SAT and ACT test score deadlines to be extended for HOPE and Zell scholarship eligibility.

Nearly all other previous guidelines and restrictions pertaining to the state of Georgia's Covid-19 pandemic response remain unchanged, according to the release. 

The Spanish government has announced new coronavirus restrictions to be implemented in the next 48 hours which will largely force Madrid into a form of lockdown.

The new measures, agreed by simple majority after a meeting between the government and the heads of the various Spanish autonomous regions, were announced by Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa during a news conference on Wednesday.

According to Illa, the restrictions apply to municipalities with more than 500 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, where the number of positive cases surpasses 10% of all PCR tests or regions that have an intensive care unit occupation above 35%.

Some context: There are currently 10 municipalities which fall under the criteria, including Madrid and people living in the wider Madrid autonomous region. 

The new restrictions require people to stay at home except to go to work, classes, and to meet legal obligations or due to extreme circumstances.

Shops, bars and restaurants will be forced to reduce their capacity by 50% and to close earlier.

Gatherings will remain restricted to no more than six people, in both public or private spaces.

The move comes after a steady increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the Madrid area over the past couple of months and, according to Illa, was approved with 13 votes in favor, one abstention and five votes against. Among the regions that voted against are Catalonia, Andalusia, Galicia, the north African enclave Ceuta and the capital Madrid.

There are at least 7,210,067 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 206,494 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

So far on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins has reported 19,837 new cases and 508 reported deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

Track Covid-19 cases in the US

The White House coronavirus task force continues to issue recommendations to states via weekly reports, this week again strongly recommending mask usage in some states that still do not have statewide mask mandates.

The task force told Georgia that “mitigation efforts must continue including mask wearing,” called on Iowa to “Institute mask requirements statewide,” and suggested Wyoming require “face coverings in indoor, public, and commercial spaces in all red, orange, and yellow zone counties.” 

College towns in Colorado and Maryland were encouraged to more strictly limit bar and restaurant alcohol sales and indoor dining beyond their state’s respective guidelines. The task force warned that reopening the University of Wyoming was “ill-advised” amid local outbreaks. Hot spots in Idaho were encouraged to consider moving to online schooling, despite the administration’s overall push to reopen schools.

And in Wisconsin the task force warned of “rapid worsening” of cases and recommended increased social distancing “to the maximal degree possible.”

Reports for many states recommended “on-site inspection of infection control practices” in both correctional facilities and nursing homes.

CNN has reached out to all 50 states for a copy of each state’s Sept. 27 report and has received responses from 16 states as of Wednesday afternoon. 

New Jersey's Covid-19 positivity rate — the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of those overall who have been tested — is now at 3%, the highest since mid-July, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said. 

In addition to the rising test positivity rate, the state announced 772 additional cases of Covid-19 and 9 additional deaths from the virus, Murphy said. 

One thing to note: The numbers listed were released by the state of New Jersey and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

The reopening of New Jersey schools has been running smoothly, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday at a press conference. 

“Over the past three weeks we have had minimal disruptions reported,” Murphy said. 

Out of the more than 802 reopening plans across the state, 403 school plans are operating under a hybrid education plan, 81 are open for in-person instruction, 278 plans are utilizing all remote learning and at least 40 plans are using a combination of the plan, Murphy said. 

The state also announced they will be adding a school Covid-19 case tracker to the state’s dashboard to monitor Covid-19 cases in school. 

The school Covid-19 tracker will be available on the dashboard shortly, the governor said. 

Wisconsin reported its highest number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations on record Wednesday.

They have 646 Covid-19-related hospitalizations and just 18% of hospital beds are available, according to the state's Covid-19 website. Thirty-two percent of hospitalized Covid-19 patients are in intensive care units, according to the website.  

The state reported its highest seven-day percent positive on record Monday at 17%. 

Wisconsin also reported 17 additional deaths Wednesday. For context, the state reported its highest death count on May 27 at 22.

At least 1,317 people have died in total of Covid-19 in Wisconsin. 

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has signed a new joint agreement, along with 16 pharmaceutical companies, to commit to scaling up manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccines at "an unprecedented speed" and making sure that approved vaccines reach broad global distribution as early as possible.

"The only way to eliminate the threat of this disease somewhere is to eliminate it everywhere,” Microsoft founder Bill Gates said during a World Health organization briefing.

The 16 pharmaceutical companies to sign this agreement are AstraZeneca; Bayer; bioMérieux; Boehringer Ingelheim; Bristol Myers Squibb; Eisai; Eli Lilly; Gilead; GSK; Johnson & Johnson; Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada); Merck KGaA; Novartis; Pfizer; Roche; and Sanofi. 

"The next component we need for global elimination is the funding to pay for those vaccines. The pharmaceutical industry has already made significant commitments in this area as well. The companies involved in the agreement are committed to using donations for going profits, and using tiered pricing to make their products as affordable as possible," Gates added.