Coronavirus News: July 8, 2020 – Brix Says Limit Gatherings to 10 in Many States, Fauci Cautions of Misreading Drop in Death Rate

The lower Manhattan skyline

The U.S. coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Brix, said that gatherings in counties and states that are currently seeking significant spikes in new coronavirus cases should be limited to ten people or fewer.

Earlier in the week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned the country that it was a “false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death,” countering what President Trump said about the mortality rate over the past week, as the death toll appeared to fall.

“By allowing yourself to get infected because of risky behavior, you are part of the propagation of the outbreak,” he said at an event with Senator Doug Jones of Alabama. “There are so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus. Don’t get yourself into false complacency.”

Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, tested positive for Covid-19 and touted the use of a controversial anti-malaria drug as a treatment for the coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine.

Meanwhile, Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, reportedly one of the top candidates to be the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said she tested positive for Covid-19.

Officials in Hong Kong said that the city has entered a “third wave” of coronavirus infections, a major setback where the death toll remains in the single digits.  Health authorities said that there had been 14 new cases on Tuesday, a spike after months during which few or no new daily infections were reported.

A study published by the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan found that treatment with hydroxychloroquine significantly cut the death rate in Covid-19 patients.

At least two sheriffs in Texas have said they won’t enforce Governor Greg Abbott’s order that requires Texans to wear face masks in public.  The sheriffs of Gillespie County, which is west of Austin, and suburban Montgomery County, which is north of Houston, announced that their departments did not intend to comply.

In Massachusetts, Harvard University said that no more than 40% of its undergraduate students would be allowed on campus at a time in the coming academic year.  Tuition and other fees would remain the same.

The nation’s largest school district will limit classroom attendance to only one to three days per week in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic.  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that there will be no more than 12 people including teachers in a classroom that can seat over 30 at a time.

In the middle of the pandemic, the Trump administration formally notified the United nations that the United States will withdraw from the World Health Organization.  The notice of withdrawal is effective July 6, 2021.

Finally, the oldest men’s clothier in the United States filed for bankruptcy.  Brooks Brothers said it had filed for Chapter 11 restructuring proceedings in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Wednesday after sales plummeted amidst the pandemic.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)