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A Texas man hospitalized with the coronavirus had a very special wedding ceremony thanks to a group of hospital workers at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio. Carlos Muniz, 42, was set to marry his fiancée, Grace Leimann, last month, but the wedding was postponed after Muniz contracted the coronavirus and had to be hospitalized. “That was the most difficult part for me,” Leimann said. “Letting him go into the ER and not knowing when I would see him again.” A group of workers came up with the idea of the hospital wedding after hearing about their engagement. “When I heard this story, it sparked an idea in my mind,” Matt Holdridge, a nurse at the hospital, said. “What better way to help him recover than to fulfill their dream of getting married together?” They then planned a ceremony that was safe, with social distancing measures enforced, and with a limited number of visitors allowed. “The wedding was amazing,” Holdridge said. “It was intended to be part of his recovery, but it was also part of our recovery, too, as nurses, doctors and as staff in general in the hospital. Because it was a big motivator for us, a big ray of sunshine for us in this pandemic that’s essentially been a lot of doom and gloom.” Currently, Muniz is free of the virus and on the road to recovery with the company of his new wife.

Travelers returning to the United Kingdom from Switzerland, Jamaica and the Czech Republic will now be required to isolate for 14 days, according to the BBC. Health officials said the decision was made to curb the spread in the U.K. and that the infection rates in those countries, which are all popular with British tourists,  have been steadily rising in recent weeks. According to the BBC, the decision wasn't well received by the Czech Republic government. Katarina Hobbs, a tourism official there, told the BBC she hoped the U.K. would reconsider the decision. "This is a British government decision that we deeply regret," she said.

In the coronavirus era, going to the hospital for non-coronavirus-related issues might be a deterrent for some, but a new study aims to allay those types of concerns. According to the results, thorough and routine cleaning in hospitals can effectively keep surfaces -- such as door handles, sinks and charis -- free of coronavirus particles. According to CNBC, researchers from the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey collected more than 100 samples from surfaces in the oncology department at a nearby hospital -- during the height of the outbreak in the Garden State, which remains second in the nation with nearly 16,000 coronavirus deaths. Also, stealth was a key component of the study.

“We purposely didn’t tell anybody in the department that we were doing this study because we didn’t want them to be overly cautious and to do things that they wouldn’t routinely be doing because we were doing the testing,” said Dr. Bruce Haffty, the chair of the radiation oncology department and one of the lead authors of the study. “We were masking patients, masking ourselves. We were doing routine hand washing and cleaning and distancing.” Haffty said that the pandemic has disrupted life tremendously, but the study shows that going to the doctor or hospital should not be put off due to fears of catching the coronavirus while there.

Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, on Thursday issued a statement that appeared to backtrack somewhat on a guidance change this week in which the agency suggested that not everyone who has been exposed to someone suffering with COVID-19 needs to be tested -- particularly if no symptoms were showing. NBC News reported that Redfield said "all close contacts of confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients" may want to consider undergoing a test. The initial change by the CDC prompted a cascade of criticism from the medical community. "Dr. Redfield appears to have walked back from that a little bit," William Schaffner, an infectious disease doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told NBC News. Prior to the change earlier this week, the CDC had been recommending that a test was advisable "for all close contacts of persons with SARS-CoV-2," the virus that causes COVID-19, whether symptoms were showing or not, USA Today reported. 

Health officials in South Korea reported 441 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday -- the most cases in a 24-hour period since early March, according to The Associated Press. About three-quarters of those new cases were recorded in Seoul, the nation's capital. Officials there are considering raising social distancing measures to "Level 3," the highest available, as the outbreak has roared back to life. As a result of the resurgence in cases, the streets in Seoul's popular shopping district were largely abandoned on Thursday. And the few people who actually appeared in public were wearing masks, the AFP reported. Watch the video below for more. 

Studies on the coronavirus and other pathogens indicate that wearing a mask can prevent people from both, spreading and contracting the virus. Evidence also suggests that masks can protect the wearer, as they can block any droplets that linger in the air when people cough, sneeze or talk. While droplets may still spread out, Dr. Monica Gandhi, a virus expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said that wearing a mask could reduce the amount of droplets that are spread, which could reduce the level of infection, as exposure to smaller amounts of the virus could lead to milder symptoms. The most effective mask, according to a recent study from researchers at Duke University, is the fitted N95, or the “3M 1860 Surgical Mask and Particulate Respirator.” The disposable surgical masks are also an effective option. Face coverings to avoid include bandanas and neck gaiters, as they can actually spread respiratory droplets more effectively than no mask at all.

Ten members of India’s Great Andamanese tribe have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to local officials. Although six of the 10 have recovered and are quarantining at home, the outbreak raises concerns about the safety of the group and other indigenous people in the remote archipelago. Indian authorities sent a team of health officials to Strait Island on Sunday after six members of the tribe tested positive for the virus. “The team tested 37 samples and four members of the Andamanese tribe were found to be positive. They were admitted in hospital,” Avijit Ray, a senior health officer in charge of disease management in the Andamans, told AFP. The Great Andamanese tribe consists of just over 50 surviving members who live on the tiny Strait Island, where the Indian government is in charge of looking after them. Sanjiv Mittal, a senior government officer for tribal welfare, told AFP that authorities were doing their best to keep all members of the tribe healthy.

As rising infections among young people continue to put vulnerable and older population at risk of death, the World Health Organization’s top official in Europe compared the pandemic’s effects to a long-lasting tornado. Dr. Hans Kluge said that as the weather begins to cool down, younger people are more likely to come in close contact with the elderly, which could lead to an uptick in virus-related deaths. “We don’t want to do unnecessary predictions, but this is definitely one of the options: That at one point there would be more hospitalizations and an uptick in mortality,” he said, according to The Associated Press. “It might be that younger people indeed are not necessarily going to die from it but it’s a tornado with a long tail and it’s a multi-organ disease.”

Despite the grim prediction, he also suggested that if cases were to increase, European health authorities are more prepared than they were back in February, when the continent first experience a surge in cases. “In February, we were caught by the speed and the devastation – and the default option was to lock down and reboot,” Kluge said. “Now we are much more sophisticated in our knowledge of what works. In that sense, that it’s possible to manage the transmission of the virus in society and have a running economy, and very important, have an educational system open.”

New guidance posted earlier this week on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created confusion. According to the guidelines, it is not necessary for people who have been in close contact with infected people, but don’t feel sick, to be given a COVID-19 tested. Prior to the new update, the CDC advised all people who had been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes to be tested. Public health experts across the country have called the change bizarre, as testing contacts of infected people has proven to be one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of the virus, especially since as many as 40% of infected people exhibit no symptoms. “The recommendation not to test asymptomatic people who likely have been exposed is not in accord with the science,” John Auerbach, president of Trust for America’s Health, told The Associated Press. Although federal officials said the new guidance was issued in consensus with the White House virus task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was not part of the discussion that approved the new change. He added that he was “worried it will give people the incorrect assumption that asymptomatic spread is not of great concern. In fact, it is.”

Officials in France are tightening mask mandates as they try to slow the renewed spread of the coronavirus. Earlier this month, mask-wearing was made mandatory in crowded outdoor spaces of Paris. That order will now extend to indoor spaces, though officials still are unclear on when the revised mandate will go into effect, Reuters reported. France tallied 5,429 new daily infections on Wednesday, the highest number of new cases since back in April, according to Reuters. “The virus is spreading all over the country,” Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters on Wednesday, urging swift action. “The spread of the epidemic could become exponential if we do not react quickly.”

The coronavirus outbreak continues to threaten jobs across the U.S., as more than 1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week. On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that the number of people seeking jobless aid last week dropped by 98,000 from 1.1 million the week before. Since late March, the number of initial claims has exceeded 1 million every week but one. “Layoffs are ongoing, reflecting interruptions to activity from virus containment that are likely resulting in permanent closures and job losses,” Rubeelo Farooqi, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said, according to The Associated Press. This year, more than 14.5 million Americans are collecting traditional jobless benefits, which is up from 1.7 million last year. On Aug. 1, those who are unemployed stopped receiving the extra $600 a week from the federal government, which has affected many families across the country as their income has been cut significantly. According to economists, without additional government help the economy’s recovery might be delayed. “I really want Congress to come up with a benefits package,” Jacob Hanson, an unemployed temp worker in Seattle, said. “Everyone needs a hand right now. The situation is pretty ridiculous.”

The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide is now over 24 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data. On the positive side, total global recoveries are inching closer to 16 million. The United States is the clear leader in cases with nearly 6 million, while Brazil and India are the only other countries with more than 1 million. 

Here is a look global figures from Johns Hopkins as of 9 a.m. Thursday.

• 24,203,260 cases
• 826,418 deaths
• 15,825,921 recoveries

Nuns of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Saint Teresa, distribute food to poor and homeless people on her birth anniversary in Kolkata, India, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

(AP Photo/Bikas Das)

On Wednesday, Abbott Laboratories announced FDA approval for its COVID-19 test that works without lab equipment. The tests, which are about the size of a credit card, use the same technology as at-home pregnancy tests, and the results are available in roughly 15 minutes, the company said. “The massive scale of this test and app will allow tens of millions of people to have access to rapid and reliable testing,” Joseph Petrosino, professor at Baylor College of Medicine, said in a statement released by Abbott, according to Axios. The company added that the new “highly portable” test will be available for $5 starting early October.

On Wednesday, hundreds of dancers will compete at the annual Tango World Championships. However, this year, it will be hosted in a different location. Instead of competing in an arena in Buenos Aires, participants will compete virtually. “We are betting on a tango festival that adapts to the situation we are going through because of the pandemic. Different, but with the same vigor as in previous years,” Enrique Avogadro, the city’s head of culture, said. Participants and fans of the competition have expressed concern over the new format, as they don’t think it will have the same level of credibility as the original competition. “Recording a video that you can edit is not the same thing as dancing on stage in front of a jury,” said Virginia Vasconi, a choreographer and regular member of the jury. The new format had to be introduced as the virus continues to spread in Argentina. On Monday, a record daily 8,713 cases were reported, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 360,000, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

A five-story mall in the Chinese city of Suzhou typically attracts visitors from across the world, but now there are significantly fewer shoppers amid the coronavirus outbreak. Suzhou, one of the world’s largest bridal goods exporters, is reeling from the effects of couples who have delayed, downsized or canceled their weddings all over the world due to the of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Sales this year have so far not been good, I hope they will recover a little in the second half,” Ma Li, the owner of the Hua Qing Yu Wedding Dress Store in the mall told Reuters as she dressed mannequins. Wedding market sales in China surged from 923 billion yuan to 1.64 trillion yuan (or $238 billion) from 2014 to 2018, according to Frost & Sullivan, Reuters reports. By 2023, the industry is expected to be worth 3 trillion yuan (more than $400 billion), however, that number could change drastically due to the pandemic.

With 40,702 cases per million since the start of the pandemic, Qatar has the world’s highest per-capita coronavirus infection rate. “Because of our low threshold for testing, we have identified many more asymptomatic and mild cases of the virus than other countries,” the chair of National Strategic Group on COVID-19 Abdullatif al-Khal told AFP. Despite the high rate of infection, the country also has one of the lowest death rates, with only 67 deaths per million. According to AFP, the low death rate there can be attributed to the country's young population, an overall emphasis on health care and aggressive coronavirus testing. “A strong history of health sector investment ensured everybody who needed hospital care was able to receive it free of charge,” Khal said. Recently, COVID-19 cases in Qatar have decreased, prompting the government to slowly lift restrictions. However, social distancing rules are still enforced in workplaces and public areas and masks are required in all shops and outdoor spaces, as the government aims to avoid a resurgence of cases.

For decades, large companies have spent astronomical amounts of money on office buildings in major cities, but those bustling office spaces could be a thing of the past, pre-pandemic world. Lockdowns and quarantine amid the coronavirus outbreak have forced millions of Americans to work from home. Now there are signs this may be more of a permanent shift toward remote work even after a coronavirus cure or treatment has been released. More than two-thirds (68%) of large company CEOs plan to downsize office space, according to a survey released Tuesday by KPMG. As companies see employees don't need to work in cubicles to be successful, they are questioning the value of expensive office space, especially in high-priced cities such as New York and San Francisco, CNN Business reports. "We've proven we can be very effective and productive in virtual work environments," KPMG CEO Paul Knopp told CNN Business. Additionally, companies no longer need to exclusively hire people who live or are willing to relocate to major cities where their offices are located. Approximately 72% of CEOs surveyed by KPMG said working remotely has widened their potential talent pool. “Where you live is not as important as it used to be," said Knopp.

As the coronavirus pandemic has left millions unemployed and hungry, people in Kenya have started to kill endangered wildlife for food. Last week, The Telegraph reported having found a Masai giraffe that had been stripped and eaten by poachers in the Tsavo conservation area in southeastern Kenya. “They have really done a hell of a job on this one,” a ranger in the area said. “They’ve even cut the meat out in-between his ribs.” According to The Telegraph, the giraffe, which weighed as much as 2,000 pounds and stood almost 20 feet off the ground, had a large portion of meat cut from its breast – which could be worth up to $1,000.  Due to an 80% decrease in tourism in the country, its wildlife conservation work has been affected, as there is not enough budget to allocate on safeguarding the animals at the Safaris. Additionally, due to the decrease in activity in the tourism sector, thousands of workers have been left unemployed and hungry. “From what I’ve seen since the beginning of COVID, a great deal of tourism staff have been laid off, and at exactly the same time there has been an increase in poaching,” Geoff Mayes, a safari guide in the area, said. “Bushmeat hunting happens anyway. But there has been a significant rise across Kenya. People are resorting to dramatic measures to put food on the table. We are also hearing similar reports from Zimbabwe and Zambia.”

Poison Center warns people to stop drinking bleach following 46 cases of bleach ingestions in the North Texas region since the beginning of August. Most cases were not intentional or severe, but 12 people did seek medical attention, according to The Hill. Experts warn drinking the chemical won’t prevent or cure COVID-19. The FDA has warned that drinking chlorine dioxide products can lead to “severe vomiting, severe diarrhea, life-threatening low blood pressure caused by dehydration and acute liver failure.” Health officials reported that the majority of the calls were from Dallas and Tarrant counties, as well as some from Collin County and others nearby.

The coronavirus pandemic continues to create uncertainty for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to the results of a recent poll. In a questionnaire carried out during the first weeks of July, 21.5% of the volunteer staff responded that they may need to pull out due to the impact the pandemic had caused in their lives. Additionally, two-thirds of volunteers expressed safety concerns over next summer’s postponed games. On Monday, Japan surpassed 50,000 COVID-19 cases, after 197 new daily infections were reported in Tokyo. Since late July, daily figures have been high in Tokyo, with a daily record of 472 new cases on August 1. The surge in cases in the Japanese capital continues to place doubt on even the rescheduled Olympics, which are due to begin in 12 months.

On Wednesday, Moderna announced that its experimental coronavirus vaccine generated a promising immune response in elderly patients in an early-stage clinical trial. The vaccine was tested on 10 adults between the ages of 56 and 70 and elderly adults aged 71 and older, and each patient received 100 microgram doses of the vaccine 28 days apart. After receiving the doses, the volunteers produced antibodies, which, according to researchers, could help build immunity to the virus. Additionally, the company said that the vaccine also appeared to be well-tolerated, as no serious side effects were reported. Earlier this month, the U.S. government purchased 100 million doses of the vaccine in a $1.5 billion deal with the biotech company. According to Moderna, the average price point for the vaccine will fall between $32 and $37 per dose, and the new data will likely boost hopes of having a vaccine ready by the end of the year or early 2021, as the company said that it will likely finish its phase three trial in September.

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic are rippling well into next year. On Wednesday, organizers of the World Economic Forum summit, held each January in Davos, Switzerland, said the event will be postponed until sometime in summer 2021. The annual summit draws heads of state and top business leaders from around the world. It was first organized in 1971 and is held in Davos, a Swiss Alps ski town. Heavy snowfall has at times occurred during the event. “The advice from experts is that we cannot (host the event) safely in January,” organizers said in a statement, according to Reuters, adding that the decision to postpone the 2021 summit "was not taken easily, since the need for global leaders to come together to design a common recovery path and shape the ‘Great Reset’ in the post-COVID-19 era is so urgent."

Scientists in Japan say their research has shown that small amounts of ozone can be effective in guarding against coronavirus particles, Reuters reported. Researchers at Fujita Health University conducted an experiment in which ozone was filtered into the air of a sealed chamber where a sample of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was present. They said the ozone reduced the potency of SARS-CoV-2 by 90% after treating the air in the chamber with ozone for 10 hours. "Transmission of the novel coronavirus may be reduced by continuous, low-concentration ozone treatment, even in environments where people are present, using this kind of system,” lead researcher Takayuki Murata said, according to Reuters. “We found it to be particularly effective in high-humidity conditions.” What does this all mean? For one thing, the results are similar to another recent study conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which showed that ozone could be effective at sanitizing hospital equipment and health care workers' personal protective equipment. Some hospitals -- and even hotels -- use a similar method to disinfect rooms and other equipment using ultraviolet light.

The Spanish government will deploy soldiers from the army to help with tracking down those who have been exposed to the coronavirus, Pedro Sanchez, the country's prime minister, said on Tuesday. According to AFP, 2,000 soldiers who are specially trained in contract tracing will be sent to several regions in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. "We could even increase this figure as required through the urgent training which we have planned," Sanchez said. He also urged citizens to use a smartphone app designed to make contract-tracing easier. All told, Spain has reported more than 412,000 cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic -- ninth-most worldwide -- and nearly 29,000 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.

As mask-wearing is being lauded in the U.S. for helping to limit the spread of the coronavirus in recent weeks, government officials in the U.K. reversed course and will now require students attending schools in England to wear masks. According to AFP, new guidelines will require students between the ages of 11 and 18, along with school staff members, to wear face coverings in corridors and common areas.

"The risk to your health is not from COVID because after all, statistically speaking, your chances of suffering from that disease are very, very low," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a visit to a school in England this week. "The greatest risk you face now is of continuing to be out of school." The reversal comes in the wake of pressure from teacher's unions, which had been urging the U.K. to follow the lead of Scotland on face coverings for schools in England. The decision was not without its critics as one politician derided the reversal as a "half-baked U-turn," AFP reported.

New cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. are down 21% compared with the trend in early August, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, and, The Associated Press reported, some experts are attributing this decline to a rise in mask-wearing. Face coverings have been a controversial topic, but increasingly have been legally mandated by many local officials across the country. In addition, many stores and other businesses require masks to be worn by patrons, which has resulted in more people masking up. This more widespread adoption of masks is having a positive effect, Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious-diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, told the AP.  “It’s profoundly hopeful news,” Gandhi said. She added that Americans are becoming better-informed on how the virus spreads and, along with mask-wearing, this knowledge-base will help "get this virus under control in this country that’s really been battered by the pandemic." Still, some experts point out that, at roughly 43,000 new cases per day, the U.S. is still seeing more spread than it was back in the spring, when about 34,000 new cases were being reported daily across the country. “It’s a good trend," Jonathan Quick, a top doctor for the Rockefeller Foundation told the AP, "but nowhere near what we need to be.”

Wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID19, an elementary school student wipes with hand sanitizer before entering school for classes in Godley, Texas, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

(AP Photo/LM Otero)

The Vatican said Pope Francis will resume general audiences with the public on Sept. 2, ending what has been a nearly six-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Catholic News Agency reported. Since March, 11, general audiences, which are usually held in St. Peter's Square or the Paul VI audience hall, have been closed to in-person attendance and available to the public through live-streaming. Italy was one of the hardest-hit countries in Europe in the early days of the pandemic, and more than 35,000 Italians have died from COVID-19. Vatican City is located in the heart of Rome, Italy's capital. The Vatican said the service next Wednesday would be held "with the presence of the faithful" and added it would be “open to all those who wish, without the need for tickets,” according to the Catholic News Agency.

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 23,925,642

• Fatalities: 820,192

• Recoveries: 15,602,333

No African nation has been hit harder by the coronavirus than South Africa, according to reported numbers, but the country has seen successes in containing the spread of the pandemic in recent weeks. The country hasn't recorded a day with more than 10,000 new cases since August 1 on Tuesday recorded just 1,567 new infections, it's lowest daily total since June 2.

Dr. Anthony Fauci recently sat down to speak with journalists from DER SPIEGEL, a German weekly news magazine, on the coronavirus. When asked about a vaccine, Fauci responded that the public should know by the end of this calendar year or the beginning of 2021 if one of the multiple vaccine trials across the world is effective. He estimated that should one of them prove effective, tens of millions of doses should be available by the beginning of 2021. By the end of 2021, possibly up to a billion. “My colleagues and I are cautiously optimistic — and I’m not saying confident, I’m saying cautiously optimistic — that we are actually on the right track,” Fauci said. 

However, he does believe getting control over the pandemic within a year or so is possible with good public health practices and a vaccine having a 70% or higher efficacy. The measles vaccine, for comparison, is 97 to 98% effective. In response to a question on whether he's ever felt helpless when looking at the current situation in the U.S., Fauci responded that he has never felt helpless. “Helpless means you can’t do anything,” Fauci said. “And there’s a lot that we can do. It’s actually up to us to do it.” 

Amid coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions, American's are eating more pizza than ever, according to recent sales data. Papa John's said their North American sales rose 24% in the last four weeks and international sales were very close behind at a 23% jump. Overall, restaurants have been struggling greatly to maintain sales, but the pizza industry has continued to thrive, according to CNN. One reason for the increase is the ability to have pizza delivered, which eliminates the risk of dining or picking up food at a restaurant. Pizza is also one of the cheapest delivery foods, making it affordable for many. Domino's announced it will be hiring 20,000 employees and roll out two new pizzas in response to the surge in sales. Before the pandemic hit, Pizza Hut had been struggling in sales but have now seen a 1% rise within the last quarter.

Global tourism has taken a drastic loss as the coronavirus continues to contribute to travel restrictions between countries. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that $320 billion has been lost in exports in just the first five months of the year. More than 120 million jobs are also at risk due to the pandemic, according to USA Today. In a policy briefing, Guterres said tourism is the third-largest export sector of the global economy, and it accounted for 7% of trade globally in 2019. The pandemic slashed the international tourism arrivals by more than half, and earnings plummeted. The policy briefing warned that tourism revenues could fall by $910 billion to over a trillion dollars in 2020.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has been moved to intensive care while fighting the coronavirus after falling ill to the virus on Sunday. After contracting the virus over the weekend, the 59-year-old's condition continued to worsen into Monday, causing her to be transferred to intensive care while in serious condition, according to Bloomberg. Tymoshenko ran in the 2019 Ukraine presidential election but was unsuccessful. However, she continued to lead her party in position. Ukraine has had over 108,000 confirmed cases of the virus and over 2,000 deaths, according to The New York Times. The country just set a record last week for most daily cases since the pandemic began in Ukraine.

Germany has extended travel advisory to include Paris and Cote d'Azur as coronavirus cases continue to surge in those regions, according to The Guardian. The foreign ministry in Berlin announced the additions and warned against unnecessary travel, including tourist trips, to those areas. The regions added include Ile-de-France region, which is home to Paris, and the southern region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, which includes the cities of Marseille and Nice. This comes as high numbers of infections continue to impact the French regions.

American Airlines is preparing to spray planes traveling in and out of Texas with the first EPA-approved “long-lasting” disinfectant product to kill the virus on surfaces between routine cleaning, ABC News reports. The EPA had granted emergency authorization for the spray produced by Allied BioScience, called SurfaceWise2, on Monday. “SurfaceWise2 creates an invisible barrier on surfaces, which physically breaks down and kills virus cells,” Dr. Charles Gerba, an infectious disease expert who works with Allied BioScience, told ABC news. According to Gerba, surfaces coated in the spray were effective in reducing the concentration of human coronavirus by more than 90% in 10 minutes. In 2 hours, the barrier could reduce the concentration of the viruses by more than 99.9%. Although the EPA had determined the product was effective enough for the emergency approval, the agency is still looking into its effectiveness across different surfaces. Once that detail is determined, SurfaceWise2 could be made available to the general public.

The first confirmed case of community spread from the coronavirus has been confirmed in Gaza, causing lockdowns to take hold. On Tuesday, a 48-hour curfew took place in the Gaza Strip after the first reported local cases of the virus were reported, according to ABC News. Many businesses were ordered to close for the period, including schools, businesses, markets and mosques while police patrolled the area and inspected cars passing checkpoints. Gazans returning home via Israel or Egypt are ordered to 21 days of isolation to prevent further spread of the virus. Director of the World Health Organization's Gaza office, Abdelnasser Soboh, said community transmission was expected and that it is no surprise. He also added the authorities continue to follow correct procedures to contain the virus. Gaza has registered more than 100 cases and fatalities since the start of the pandemic, ABC News reports. However, those infections had been linked to quarantine facilities for returning travelers.

Before the first day of class on Tuesday, Ohio State University temporarily suspended 228 students who violated safety guidelines regarding social gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the students’ arrival starting on Aug. 19, the university sent out a note telling everyone that they must wear a mask, practice social distancing and that social gatherings could not include more than 10 people. “Perhaps knowing about the action we are taking will influence your decisions and prompt you to encourage others to take this situation seriously,” Vice President of Student Life Melissa S. Shivers said in the note sent out on Aug. 21, according to CNN. “And remember that this is all about more than the individual. We have one shot at this – responding to what so many of you asked for: an on-campus semester at Ohio State.” The Office of Student Life will also continue to monitor off-campus neighborhoods and will report students who violate the regulations.

After pausing athletics on Monday, N.C. State has announced it would update coronavirus testing numbers and results among student athletes. The university’s athletic department reported that 2,053 tests have been given to athletes, coaches, and staff. Of those tests, 30 came back positive since testing started back in June, according to The News & Observer. Since the school's last report on Aug. 14, there have been 693 new tests and 22 new positive cases reported by the school. There are a total of three new clusters on campus, which include the athletic department. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services defines a “cluster” as five or more individuals. The football program will now test twice a week, according to N.C. State senior athletic director for communications Fred Demarest. The school announced last week that all undergrad classes will be online for the remainder of the fall semester.

The University of Alabama has reported 566 confirmed cases of coronavirus less than a week after reopening campus to students and resuming classes. The Tuscaloosa campus has reported 531 confirmed cases while the Birmingham and Huntsville branch campuses have recorded a combined amount of 35, according to CNN. The university has conducted 46,150 tests, uncovering a 1.2% infection rate. University President Stuart R. Bell told all students and staff members the university had experienced an "unacceptable rise," in coronavirus cases and to work together to stop the spread of the virus. Bell continued to urge the importance of social distancing, wearing masks, and limiting gatherings on and off campus. Those who violate will be subject to suspension.

Police at the university continue to monitor restaurants and off-campus residences to ensure all restrictions are being followed. Amid the rising numbers, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox signed an executive order that prohibited on-premise consumption of alcohol at local bars and ordered all bars and restaurants to close for two weeks. According to Maddox, university officials had requested the order. “The truth is that fall in Tuscaloosa is in serious jeopardy,” Maddox said, according to The Associated Press.

Two COVID-19 patients in Europe are confirmed to have been re-infected with the coronavirus, raising doubt about virus immunity. The cases, which were reported in Belgium and the Netherlands, come just as researchers in Hong Kong reported the first ever re-infection, as a 33-year-old man contracted the virus for a second time, four months after the first infection.However, Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University told The New York Times that the patient’s “second infection was completely asymptomatic – his immune response prevented the disease from getting worse.”

Although it is still too early to predict whether COVID-19 re-infection could affect a large number of patients, the discovery has created concern for medical workers for several reasons. “The first is that it suggests that previous infection is not protective,” Dr. David Strain, a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Exeter, told Reuters. “The second is that it raises the possibility that vaccinations may not provide the hope that we have been waiting for.” According to Dr. Iwasaki, “in order to provide herd immunity, a potent vaccine is needed to induce immunity that prevents both reinfection and disease.”

Leon McFarlane a research technician handles a blood sample from a volunteer in the laboratory at Imperial College in London, Thursday, July 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The coronavirus has reportedly caught up with the world’s fastest man. World-record sprinter and eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt tested positive for the coronavirus, Jamaica’s Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. Christopher Tufton confirmed during a press conference Monday night. Tufton added that Bolt had been formally notified, but the sprinter has yet to confirm the test result. That morning, Bolt had posted over Twitter that he took a COVID-19 test on Saturday and was still waiting on the result. “I’m trying to be responsible, so I’m going to stay in and stay away from my friends,” Bolt said in the video posted. “I’m having no symptoms, so [I] am going to quarantine myself.” Saturday, Bolt had celebrated his 34th birthday at a party without masks, CBC News reports. 

Here is what Bolt had to say on Monday:

With the start of the school year on the horizon, South Korea has ordered most schools in its capital city of Seoul and surrounding areas to move classes back online. The move comes amid a resurgence in coronavirus cases in the country, according to The Canberra Times. Although recent numbers from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported a drop in daily new infections, they come after the highest daily tally of new infections on Saturday since early March. Most of the new cases have been centered in the densely populated capital, but health authorities expressed concern over once again being on the brink of a nationwide outbreak. With the exception of high school seniors, all students in Seoul, Incheon and the province of Gyeonggi will attend online classes until Sept. 11, the education ministry announced on Tuesday. As of Tuesday, South Korea has seen nearly 18,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and 310 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Australia surpassed 25,000 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, as officials warn about declining test numbers in the country following the recent outbreak in Victoria state. The country reported 151 new infections over the past 24 hours, up 121 from the previous day. Although the numbers were significantly down from a peak during Australia’s second wave, when 700 cases were reported on a single day, officials are concerned that the decrease in new cases might be a result of insufficient testing. “We are seeing some decrease in the amount of testing … please, if you have symptoms, do go and get tested,” national Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan said, according to Reuters.

Top U.S. infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci is warning against rushing the distribution of a coronavirus vaccine before it is proven safe in and effective in large trials. The warning comes as scientists and health experts express concern over President Donald Trump pressuring the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve of a vaccine before November. On Saturday, Trump had tweeted that “deep state” elements were delaying progress on a vaccine until after the election date. “The one thing that you would not want to see with a vaccine is getting an EUA (emergency use authorization) before you have a signal of efficacy,” Fauci told Reuters in a phone interview. Amid the dangers of a vaccine released prematurely, Fauci warned, was it would make it difficult, “if not impossible,” for other vaccines to enroll people in their trials. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus crisis hearing, Friday, July 31, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)

(Kevin Dietsch/Pool via AP)

As the coronavirus continues and health regulations continue to be enforced, KFC has decided to drop its iconic “it’s finger lickin’ good” slogan. The slogan, which had been featured in several markets, including the U.K., Canada, the Netherlands, the Middle East, North Africa, South Africa and parts of Asia, was temporarily suspended 64 years after its creation, as critics in the U.K. said that it could potentially encourage “behavior that might increase the chances of coronavirus spreading,” according to Fox Business. At restaurants in the U.K. and Ireland, the restaurant chain will reportedly be blurring out the words “finger lickin’” on some of its marketing materials. “We find ourselves in a unique situation – having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” Catherine Ta-Gillespie, KFC’s global chief marketing officer, said. “While we are pausing the use of ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good,’ rest assured the food craved by some many people around the world isn’t changing one bit.”

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 23,676,599

• Fatalities: 813,789

• Recoveries: 15,358,319

No European country has seen more total cases since the beginning of the pandemic than Spain and on Monday, the country saw its worst single-day case increase yet. After previously seeing only one other day with more than 10,000 new cases, Spain recorded 19,382 new infections on Monday, pushing the country's total above 400,000.

On Monday, the National Football League (NFL) announced zero positive coronavirus test results among players after 58,397 tests were administered to 8,573 players and personnel from Aug. 12 to 20. Of the 8,573 persons tested, six had confirmed positive results, all non-players. In ongoing testing after intake through Aug. 11, the overall positivity rate dropped to 0.81% among players, 0.46% overall. The NFL reports the overall positivity rate has not exceeded 1.7% for any club since testing began.

For a fourth straight week, NHL members inside the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles had no positive test results for coronavirus, the National Hockey League announced. According to the NHL, 4,644 tests were conducted during the past week in Toronto and Edmonton. Every member of each team’s traveling party was tested on a daily basis between Aug. 16 and Aug. 22. The NHL season resumed with 24 teams participating and has now progressed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs with eight teams still competing.

Wall Street finished in the green on Monday, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished at all-time highs after the Trump administration approved a potential coronavirus treatment, CNN reports. The S&P ended up 1%, finishing above 3,400 points for the first time ever. The Nasdaq closed 0.6% higher. Both indexes surpassed the record levels they reached on Friday, according to CNN. The Dow closed 1.4%, or 378 points, higher. Even though the index performed the best out of the three major benchmarks, it remains more than 4% below the all-time high it hit in February. On Sunday, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma — blood plasma taken from coronavirus survivors — to treat the virus, according to CNN.   

Gov. Greg Abbott has deployed teams from the Texas Army, Air National Guards, Military Department and Texas State Guard to assist with the two storms. “The State of Texas is mobilizing the Texas Army and Air National Guards, and Texas State Guard to assist local, state, and federal officials as Tropical Storms Marco and Laura approach the Gulf Coast and Southeast Texas,” Abbott said on Twitter. The Texas Military Department has trained specifically for rescue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic and personal protective equipment has been placed where needed. “…As the situation develops, it is imperative that Texans who live on the Gulf Coast and in southeast Texas pay close attention to weather alerts and heed warnings from local officials,” Abbott warned. “Property and belongings can be restored, but lives cannot. I call on all Texans who may be in harm’s way to put their safety and their family’s lives above all else and adhere to the guidance and warnings from emergency management officials.”

Researchers in Hong Kong confirmed on Monday that a recovered patient had contracted the coronavirus for a second time. Doctors have been reporting instances of patients seemingly contracting the virus more than once for the duration of the pandemic, however, no reinfections have been confirmed prior to the one in Hong Kong. The patient in question — a 33-year-old man, contracted the virus for a second time after traveling to Spain, The Week reported. Researchers confirmed that the second infection was from a different strain that made its way through Europe. The new findings throw a wrench in the plans for vaccine development and calls into question the effectiveness of herd immunity in places that have tried to use it as their sole coronavirus approach, such as Sweden.

At the early stages of the pandemic in the U.S., sales of toilet paper and baking supplies increased. However, growing anxiety over the future has caused a shift in spending habits of Americans as the pandemic continues to spread. According to USA Today, sales of personal safety devices such as pepper spray and solar-powered phone chargers are increasing, as well as the sales of frozen and bulk foods. “It’s a sense of unease that everybody has,” Kristin Cook, senior editor at retail deal site Ben’s Bargains, said about the increase in demand for pepper spray and solar-powered chargers. “For a while there it felt like everyone sort of decided we were over [the pandemic], but we’re seeing the anxiety-type purchases ticking up, as people realize this will be more of a long haul.” Additionally, RV rentals are experiencing an increase in demand. The shift in spending comes as Americans are looking for ways to venture out of their homes and travel, all while trying to remain safe. “People say, I want to be in a bubble, and an RV lends itself to be a bubble’,” Bill Parsons, group president of data and analytics and international at Envestnet Yoodlee, said. “People are choosing the RV as a way to manage through the pandemic and be in a safer place.”

A new study found that in March, when the coronavirus pandemic was first declared a national emergency, people searched for severe anxiety-related information at record highs. Researchers from the Qualcomm Institute analyzed Google Trends from the last 16 years and found that people searched for severe anxiety-related information at record highs beginning in March when the coronavirus pandemic was declared a national emergency. According to CNBC, researchers looked for searches on “anxiety” or “panic” in combination with “attack,” such as “panic attack,” “signs of anxiety attack,” “anxiety attack symptoms,” and so forth, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Network Open. “In practical terms, over the first 58 days of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were an estimated 3.4 million total searches related to severe acute anxiety in the United States. In fact, searches for anxiety and panic attacks were the highest they’ve ever been in over 16 years of historical search data,” Benjamin Althouse, a principal scientist at the Institute for Disease Modeling, said in a statement.

Three House Republicans from Ohio have drafted up articles of impeachment against Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, also Republican. The members of the house responsible for drafting the articles claimed many of DeWine’s coronavirus orders are unconstitutional and violate the civil liberties of those who are required to follow them, according to Cleveland.com. Ohio State Rep. John Becker from Clermont County claimed in 10 articles of impeachment that DeWine:

• Violated the separation fo powers  

• “conspired” to cancel the primary election on March 17 and reschedule it for June 2 without legislative approval  

• Unconstitutionally ordered the closure of restaurants, which Becker wrote “resulted in record-high unemployment, causing not only increased poverty, increased depression, increased despair, and increased suicides, but also the necessity for state budget cuts impacting schools and social programs when they are needed most”  

• Failed to account for millions of unemployed Ohioans  

• Ordered shutdown of schools, which they argue was not in his jurisdiction  

• Violated due-process and civil liberties by issuing stay-at-home orders  

• Required face masks in places of worship, violating the first amendment  

• Issued a mask rule that “promotes fear, turns neighbors against neighbors, and contracts the economy by making people fearful to leave their homes.”  

• Put a temporary ban on liquor sales to non-Ohio residents along the Pennsylvania border, violating the U.S. Constitution  

“Gov. DeWine is focused on saving lives during the pandemic. He’s focused on the economy and getting Ohioans back to work,” Spokesperson for DeWine, Dan Tierney said. “That’s what he’s focused on -- not this.”

On Monday, Rome’s Lazzaro Spallanzani institute, a hospital specializing in infectious diseases, started testing a potential coronavirus vaccine on volunteers, joining a global effort to develop a response to the virus. The institute will conduct trails on 90 volunteers over the coming weeks, in hopes of having the vaccine ready for use by spring of next year. “We will see if it produces any side effects and if it produces neutralizing antibodies,” Francesco Vaia, the hospital’s health director, told Reuters. The vaccine being tested, called GRAd-COV2, was developed by ReiThera, a Rome-based company. Other counties that are testing out potential vaccines include India, Britain, Russia and China. “Our country’s minds and research are at the service of the global challenge to defeat COVID,” Health Minister Roberto Speranza said.

New U.S. border protocols will cause longer wait times at the U.S.-Mexico border in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. According to ABC News, the new measures could cause longer wait times at ports in San Diego, California, Tucson, Arizona, and El Paso and Laredo, Texas. Travel across the border has been restricted to essential travel only, such as work, school or medical reasons. U.S. citizens and other lawfully permanent residents are still allowed to enter, but it is encouraged to only do so for essential reasons. ”We’re committed to continuing to facilitate cross border movement of essential travelers," CBP spokesperson Nate Peeters said. "These measures are only intended to address non-essential travel with the ultimate goal of the further inhibiting the cross-border spread of COVID-19."

A decrease in daily COVID-19 deaths and new cases indicate that the virus’ summer surge in the U.S. might be over. For the first time since late July, the 7-day average for virus deaths over the past week dropped below 1,000, as the average number of weekly cases decreased from 67,000 in mid-July to 42,600 as of Sunday. Despite the decrease in cases and deaths, the U.S. remains the world leader in total cases and deaths, and it is uncertain if the downward trend will continue as back-to-school season approaches. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that cases should decrease significantly before victory is claimed. “When you look at our curve, it’s telling. Ans that’s the thing that bothers me. We went way up and we came down. We came down to a plateau of 20,000 cases per day. That is not a good baseline. We need to get further down,” Fauci said on Aug. 5, according to CNN.

On Monday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted emergency authorization for the first antiviral surface coating approved for use to continuously protect against coronavirus with a single application. The Texas-based company, Allied BioScience, created the product called SurfaceWise 2. The disinfectant is now approved for use by American Airlines, the Texas Methodist Health Group and at certain locations of the Texas-based clinics Total Orthopedics Sports and Spine, ABC News reports. "This is, I believe, a major game-changing announcement for our efforts to combat coronavirus and COVID19," EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler said on a call with reporters. However, Wheeler also noted that the National Institutes of Health has found the main ingredient, quaternary ammonium, can be an irritant and exacerbate asthma.

With the start of the NFL season mere weeks away, the league is now dealing with some problems with its coronavirus testing process. At least 77 COVID-19 tests that initially came back positive were re-examined and found to actually be negative, The New York Post reported. Multiple teams were affected by the testing glitch, according to the Post. The tests were going to be re-examined for a third time to ensure the results were accurate. The Jets actually canceled a walk-through practice on Saturday, but held practice on Sunday after the negative results came back. “Definitely probably better that this happened now than three weeks from now,” Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane told the Post. The Bills were one of the teams impacted by the false positives. “But it seems like every few weeks, or even every week, something’s going on. Who knows what the next curveball will be?” Beane said, describing the testing process for some teams as having gone "haywire."

The U.K. announced on Friday that all travelers returning from France will be required to self-isolate due to the high number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, and France on Monday responded in kind by enforcing “restrictive measures” on travelers returning from the U.K. “We will have a measure called reciprocity so that our British friends do not close the border in one single way,” French Junior European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said, according to Reuters. “For travelers returning from the United Kingdom, there will probably be restrictive measures decided in the next few days by the Prime Minister and by the Defense Council.” According to Johns Hopkins University, France has more than 282,000 confirmed cases of the virus, while the U.K. has more than 328,000.

Officials in South Korea fear the nation is on the edge of a national coronavirus outbreak. The new outbreak has been linked to a right-wing Presbyterian church and has now spread to all 17 provinces in the country — doing so for the first time, according to The BBC. South Korea is now reporting over one hundred cases a day. In response, social distancing measures have been increased and masks have become mandatory. Schools and business closures are also being considered by officials. Experts on infectious diseases have said the government needs to enforce stricter guidelines before hospitals fill their capacity, saying "hospital beds are quickly filling up and the medical system is nearing its limits.”

Coronavirus testing is canceled across Louisiana on Monday and Tuesday due to severe weather threats coming from Tropical Storm Marco. As it gets closer to landfall, Marco is expected to bring gusty winds, heavy rainfall and a dangerous storm surge along parts of the Gulf Coast during the day on Monday. Nearly 143,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far in the state, with 11,000 coming from Orleans County, according to Johns Hopkins University. A storm surge warning is active for parts of Louisiana. Parts of the coast stretching from Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle are already feeling Marco’s wrath, with rough surf and windy downpours. Landfall is expected to take place somewhere along Louisiana’s southeastern coast, which could be impacted by Tropical Storm Laura later in the week, as well. Follow along with updates on Marco and Laura here.

The Indonesia island of Bali won't welcome foreign tourists for the rest of 2020, AFP reports. A plan had been put in place to open up the island starting Sept. 11, but now those plans have been canceled due to Indonesia's steady rise in COVID-19 cases, AFP said. The Indonesia capital of Jakarta has also maintained its ban on tourists. "The situation in Indonesia is not conducive to allow international tourists to visit Indonesia, including...Bali," the island's governor I Wayan Koster said over the weekend, according to AFP. "The central government supports (Bali's) plans to recover tourism by opening the doors for international tourists. However, this requires care, prudence, not to be rushed, and requires careful preparation." No new date has been added for when tourists can return.

During an early-evening press conference at the White House on Sunday, President Donald Trump played up the potential of convalescent blood plasma as a promising treatment for COVID-19 patients. "This is a powerful therapy," Trump told reporters at the White House, according to USA Today, adding that the treatment is "a very historic breakthrough." Convalescent plasma is taken from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and is high in antibodies, which some research has shown can be beneficial to those who become infected with the coronavirus. The FDA on Sunday also announced it was giving convalescent blood plasma treatment emergency authorization, which is less than a total approval from the agency, but makes it easier for COVID-19 patients to obtain the treatment. Denise Hinton, the top scientist at the FDA, sounded a cautious tone in a letter announcing the emergency authorization. "COVID-19 convalescent plasma should not be considered a new standard of care for the treatment of patients with COVID-19,"Hinton said in the letter, according to The Associated Press. "Additional data will be forthcoming from other analyses and ongoing, well-controlled clinical trials in the coming months."

President Donald Trump speaks during a media briefing in the James Brady Briefing Room of the White House, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2020, in Washington.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 23,454,467

• Fatalities: 809,333

• Recoveries: 15,154,569

The United States recorded 34,567 new positive cases on Sunday, its lowest daily increase since June 22. The country has seen new daily cases top 50,000 for the majority of July and August since cases resurged in late June. Before the resurgence, the US had only topped 35,000 new cases in a single day once, on April 24.

The tourism industry has seen big changes during the coronavirus pandemic, as many countries have closed their borders and enforced strict guidelines in an attempt to control virus transmission.For this reason, planning a trip and knowing what countries allow visitors can be hard. A new website developed by the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology that launched in May is meant to help tourists make travel decisions, in accordance to the restrictions placed at each country. The site, called Covid Controls, was created as a way to offer a “comprehensive COVID-19 dashboard specifically geared toward travelers,” according to Mohit Shah, who launched the site along with three other colleagues. Covid Controls tracks travel restrictions and COVID-19 data from more than 500 official sources from around the world to provide “everything a foreign visitor needs to know” before traveling, Shah told CNBC. Additionally, the site also shows lockdown details and “shows where the curve is flattening, growing or declining.” A new feature added to the website also allows users to indicate where they live and which countries they have recently visited. “This way you’ll be able to visualize, for example as an American resident, exactly which countries you are allowed, allowed with restrictions, or completely prohibited,” Shah said.

A health worker takes a nasal swab to test for COVID-19 in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2020. India has the third-highest caseload after the United States and Brazil, and the fourth-highest death toll in the world. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India became the third country to top the 3 million case mark for COVID-19 on Sunday. Only the U.S. and Brazil have higher case counts, and the U.S. is the only country above 5 million. Sunday was the fifth straight day of more than 60,000 new cases in India, Reuters reports. The increase in cases comes even as India's government continues to reopen different sectors, Reuters said. Among the sectors that reopened on Sunday was the country's media production industry. Film production across the nation had been shutdown since the country's initial lockdown in March, Reuters said. Watch the video below for more.

Teams will be expelled from the Tour de France if two riders or staff members on a team show symptoms or test positive for the coronavirus. Race organizers have put in strict new protocols for the race scheduled to begin Aug. 29 in Nice, France. It is expected to continue even if there is a positive case of COVID-19 in the peloton, according to The Guardian. A document shared with teams this week that was obtained by VeloNews said that, “If two persons or more from the same team present strongly suspect symptoms or have tested positive for COVID-19 the team in question will be expelled from the Tour de France." Three days before the race begins, members will be required to enter a bubble where they will take two COVID-19 tests and will have to pass both. In addition, tests will also be conducted during the two rest days, scheduled for Sept. 7 and 14. Every day, team doctors will also be required to monitor the health of every staff member and rider. New rules for the race include requiring face masks to be worn before and after stages while press conferences will be held online.

European researchers have said that loss of smell caused by the coronavirus is much more unique than the one experienced from someone with the cold or flu. When caused by COVID-19, patients tend to experience a sudden and severe loss of smell, according to the BBC. One key difference is that when caused by coronavirus, it is not due to a blocked or stuffy nose like the cold or flu while another is big that patients suffer from a compete loss of taste, and not one caused just by loss of smell. Researchers say those with coronavirus, who experience a loss of smell, can not tell the difference between bitter or sweet. Experts have suggested it could be from how the virus affects the nerve cells that are involved with smell and taste senses. The research was conducted on 30 volunteers including 10 had that coronavirus, 10 who experienced a bad cold and 10 more who were healthy. Smelling loss was much more profound in COVID-19 patients, which is giving researchers hope that there may be a way to diagnose COVID-19 patients easier from those with just the cold or flu. However, researchers still urge to get a throat or nose swab test before ruling anything out officially. Those who recovered from coronavirus had their sense of smell and taste return within a few weeks.

Despite the surge in coronavirus cases in July, former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned the U.S. still hasn't experienced a true second wave of the coronavirus and that it could come in the fall and winter. Gottlieb told CNBC program Squawk Box that, “I do think that we’re going to have a third act of this virus in the fall and the winter and it’s likely to be more pervasive spread in a broader part of the country." Largely unaffected areas of the U.S. such as rural communities are expected to see a surge for the first time as cases already begin to build in the West and Midwest, Gottlieb said. The former FDA commissioner also added that the coronavirus doesn't spread like the flu and that it largely spreads in large gatherings and indoor events and warned an outbreak can happen anywhere. On average, over 1,000 people in the U.S. are dying every day from the virus and more than 40,000 confirmed cases are being reported daily. 

Mail-in voting has been expanded in New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed new legislation that would widen the number of voters who can send in their ballots from home during the pandemic. According to UPI, the new legislation aims to protect the health of New Yorkers as the pandemic persists. The legislation allows for any person who is concerned about COVID-19 to request a mail-in ballot, allow mail-in ballots to be requested from the Board of Elections and ensures all absentee ballots postmarked on or before election day will be included in the count so long as they arrive by Nov. 10. In April, a poll released by Gallup indicated that 70% of Americans would prefer if all registered voters had the option to vote by mail. "The federal administration has ordered an unprecedented attack on the U.S. Postal Service and with COVID-19 threatening our ability to have safe, in-person voting, these measures are critical to ensuring a successful and fair election at one of the most important moments in our nation's history," Cuomo said. ”These actions will further break down barriers to democracy and will make it easier for all New Yorkers to exercise their right to vote this November."

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 23,219,390

• Fatalities: 804,697

• Recoveries: 14,937,224

After a surge in cases over the summer, the U.S. reported around 48,700 new coronavirus cases on Friday, making it the seventh consecutive day where nationwide new cases were under 50,000. In total, the U.S. now has more than 5.6 million cases across the country and has reported over 800,000 deaths relating to the virus. "I think we're seeing progress over the last four weeks, I hope that progress will continue, but I think none of us should turn away from the recognition that it's key each of us recognize we want to make sure COVID stops with us," CDC Director Robert Redfield said, according to CNBC News.

Photo by: John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx 2020 8/20/20 Two women wearing masks enjoys the weather in front of the fountain at Washington Square Park as New York City continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 20, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production.

Researchers in Germany are trying to determine how the coronavirus will spread in concert environments -- by hosting their own pop-up concert. The experiment included over 1,500 people and was conducted by the University Hospital in Halle. Each person had to take a coronavirus test and test negative prior to being included in the study. Volunteers wore contact tracers through the evening that tracked not only their routes but also the path aerosols they emitted traveled through the night. The concert attendees stayed close together in order to properly emulate how a concert prior to the pandemic would have played out. The results of the study will be available in four to six weeks, NBC News reported.

One person has died from a coronavirus outbreak traced back to a wedding in Maine. The unnamed person who died, who was admitted to Millinocket Regional Hospital, was among 53 positive cases that were linked to the wedding. "Our hearts go out to everyone in our community who is affected by this loss," the hospital said about the death, according to CBS News. Officials in the state also addressed the death. "Maine CDC expresses condolences to the individual's family and loved ones," officials said. Maine CDC is still investigating the incident, as it is the first outbreak in the state directly linked to a social gathering. Maine CDC is in contact with the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, where the wedding was held, in order to learn more details of the nature of the event.

Officials in Stillwater, Oklahoma, are on edge this weekend as a three-day music festival kicks off despite concerns of COVID-19. The annual Weedstock Festival, located 62 miles west of Tulsa, will feature three days of live music at the Tumbleweed Dance Hall. According to NBC News, the dance hall released a recorded message that said "we are committed to following the CDC guidelines," in regards to social distancing, masks and hygiene. "Do your part in keeping others and yourself safe,” the dance hall said. Parker McCollum, a singer who was originally scheduled to headline the festival, canceled his performance on Wednesday after contracting COVID-19 himself. "After realizing this morning that I could not taste or smell anything at breakfast, I went to get tested for COVID and results came back showing I was positive for the virus," he said. "My deepest apologies to the fans and the venues who were counting on me to perform. I absolutely believe that the shows should go on and I wish more than anything I could be there to play them.” On Aug. 10, Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce said “it is not the right time for thousands of people to gather for a three-day music festival, but because it is being held outside of city lines he has no jurisdiction to stop it. 

After infections have again spiked in South Korea, the country has issued a new lockdown. Health Minister Park Neung-hoo issued the new rules, which include that churches, nightclubs, large social gatherings and professional sports are shut down in the country. The stricter guidelines come after 332 new cases were confirmed on Saturday, Axios reported. South Korea now has over 17,000 cases, with the majority of cases in Seoul, and spreading into other major cities. 

The global coronavirus death toll has reached 800,000, according to data from John Hopkins University. The US remains the country with the highest death toll. The US, Brazil, Mexico, India and the United Kingdom have the five highest death tolls recorded globally.  

The Slovan Bratislava soccer team was placed under mandatory quarantine in the Faroe Islands after two players tested positive for COVID-19, Europe's soccer governing body UEFA said in a statement. The entire team had tested negative before arriving where the team was scheduled to play a Champions League qualifier against the Faroe Islands' team KI Klaksvik on Wednesday, but all players were tested again after arriving, with one testing positive, UEFA said. "Following a member of the delegation of ŠK Slovan Bratislava having returned a positive test for COVID-19, the local authorities decided to quarantine the entire ŠK Slovan Bratislava team," UEFA said. A second group of players came to represent the Slovan Bratislava soccer team in a rescheduled match, but one player in that group tested positive. 

Coronavirus hospitalization rates in Los Angeles County are the lowest since April, Mayor Eric Garcetti announced in a press conference. A total of 420 coronavirus patients are in intensive care units throughout the county which Garcetti said is a “substantial decrease since last month.” The county currently has about 250 to 300 cases per 100,000 residents. According to the mayor, elementary schools can apply for waivers for in-person learning if cases fall below 200 for every 100,000 residents. “Let’s keep those numbers in mind. Let’s push towards those goals for our children, for our economy, for our wellbeing, and for our health,” Garcetti said.

Here are the latest global coronavirus numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 22,969,090

• Fatalities: 799,632

• Recoveries: 14,725,753

Europe’s economic rebound has been halted by the resurge of coronavirus cases. According to The Associated Press, the rise in new cases across Europe has led to shoppers and travelers becoming more cautious, resulting in an economic lull. A survey also found that companies are continuing to cut jobs for the sixth month in a row. Florian Hense, an economist at Berenberg Bank, said the uncertainties surrounding new cases will likely lead to a slow recovery for the continents economy. “Governments should seriously consider to prolong, or at least phase out only slowly, furlough schemes that end this autumn,” Florian Hense said. “Otherwise the hit to employment and income could trigger a double-dip recession.”

COVID-19-related deaths in the United States surpassed 175,000 on Friday. The U.S. so far has reported over 5.6 million cases, totaling higher than any other country in the world. The U.S. has also reported the most deaths in the world, now reaching 175,245, according to Johns Hopkins University. In a list from John Hopkins University of the 20 nations currently most affected by COVID-19 worldwide, the U.S. is ranked as fifth in deaths per 100,000 population at 53.26 deaths per 100,000 people, behind Brazil, Chile, Spain and Peru. In that same list, the U.S. ranks ranks 12th in observed case-fatality ratio at 3.1%.

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