The NFL Players Association will continue daily testing through September 5th and will monitor the results from each team community to determine the testing frequency ahead of the regular season. The start of week one kicks off on Sept. 10th with the Houston Texans visiting the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The initial agreement mandated daily testing for the first two weeks of training camp, however if the positive coronavirus rate was at or fell below 5%, testing would move to every other day. The NFL said the league made an adjustment to protocols after Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had a false-positive.

After spending nearly three decades married, Sam and JoAnn Reck both died from COVID-19 within a month of each other. Dubbed “Romeo and Juliet” for their long-distance visits at their nursing home, Sam is believed to have contracted the virus while saying goodbye to JoAnn at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center before she passed away on July 12. Just over three weeks later, Sam died in the same hospital room without “one second” of regret, according to his stepson, Scott Hooper. Hooper told The Ledger that Sam said told him “no matter what happens, he was very happy he had the opportunity to say goodbye and hold her hand one more time.” JoAnn and Sam garnered national attention in May for their socially-distanced love story. Since being diagnosed with dementia last year, JoAnn had been living in a skilled nursing area while Sam lived nearby. They would spend most waking hours together in JoAnn’s room, according to The Ledger, before social distancing mandates went into effect.

Health officials in Australia reported 21 coronavirus-related fatalities on Wednesday, its highest number of deaths in a 24-hour period since the pandemic began, according to Reuters. New cases are on the rise as well there, with more than 400 reported over the same period. The new spike in cases prompted officials to enact strict lockdown measures including curfews and limits on where people can go in public. Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, told Reuters that further lockdown measures could be implemented if the trend continues. According to Johns Hopkins University researchers, Australia has recorded more than 22,000 coronavirus cases, and more than 350 fatalities. Watch the video below for more. 

Japanese restaurant chain operator Saizeriya Co. has come up with a new concept that will encourage people to use their masks, even while eating. The method, shared by the Italian restaurant chain on Friday in a YouTube video, consists of combining a regular face mask with a paper napkin. As seen in the video, when the mask is folded in half, the paper napkin is exposed, covering the wearer’s mouth while still allow them to eat. “It might look fragile, but the paper napkin can prevent droplets,” Issei Horino, president of the chain, told the Japan Times. The company is now encouraging other restaurants to follow suit, in order to avoid further infections caused by lack of mask-wearing at restaurants. “We want people to enjoy dining out even in the time of the coronavirus calamity,” Horino said.  

While the human health care system struggles financially through the coronavirus pandemic by losing billions from the cancellations of elective operations, the canine and feline health system has boomed. “It’s crazy, in a good way,” Dr. Margot Vahrenwald, a veterinarian who co-owns Park Hill Veterinary Medical Center in Denver told The New York Times. “We’re probably seeing 25 percent more new pets than what we would normally. It feels busier, and we’re seeing increased revenue.” Primary care spending for humans is estimated to have dropped by $15 billion during the course of the pandemic, so while hospitals were furloughing workers, Dr. Vahrenwald added five employees, and still has more job positions to fill. The clinic bought two more phone lines to handle all of the calls from pet owners. “The phone lines were so busy that, if we were occupying them making calls out to clients, we would end up with 60 voice mail messages in a half-hour,”  Vahrenwald said. 

Switzerland will extend its ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 by one more month, according to AFP. The ban, which will now remain in place until Oct. 1, comes as COVID-19 cases mount in the country. The Swiss government said it "intends to ensure that the epidemiological situation in Switzerland does not deteriorate", according to AFP. "This careful reopening step takes into account the needs of society and the economic interests of sports clubs and cultural venues." The ban was originally scheduled to expire Aug. 31. Switzerlands reported 273 new cases on Wednesday, a figure not seen since the middle of April, AFP said. In total, Switzerland has listed over 37,000 cases and more than 1,900 deaths through the entirety of the pandemic.

Maryland’s capital received an unexpected donation from the municipal government of Changsha, China, amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Kevin Simmons, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, the Chinese city gave them a donation of 40,000 face masks.“Because Changsha and Annapolis are friendship cities/twin cities, we should stand firmly with each other and support each other,” Yani Xiao, a representative from Changsha’s foreign affairs office, wrote in a statement. “Annapolis is not alone in this crisis and we are a community with a shared future for mankind.” In return for the gesture, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley sent the Chinese officials a book with photographs of Annapolis. “International friendships like this bridge divides,” Buckley said, according to the Capital Gazette. “I’m grateful for the gift of the masks, but I’m even more grateful for what it says about the hopefulness of the human condition.” The donation came “in the nick of time,” Simmons said, as Maryland has reported about 800 new cases per day since late July. In the Annapolis area, 388 people have tested positive for the virus in the last month.

Maryland’s capital received an unexpected donation from the municipal government of Changsha, China, amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to Kevin Simmons, director of the city’s Office of Emergency Management, the Chinese city gave them a donation of 40,000 face masks.“Because Changsha and Annapolis are friendship cities/twin cities, we should stand firmly with each other and support each other,” Yani Xiao, a representative from Changsha’s foreign affairs office, wrote in a statement. “Annapolis is not alone in this crisis and we are a community with a shared future for mankind.” In return for the gesture, Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley sent the Chinese officials a book with photographs of Annapolis. “International friendships like this bridge divides,” Buckley said, according to the Capital Gazette. “I’m grateful for the gift of the masks, but I’m even more grateful for what it says about the hopefulness of the human condition.” The donation came “in the nick of time,” Simons said, as Maryland reported about 800 new cases per say since late July. In the Annapolis area, 388 people have tested positive for the virus in the last month.

Following a spike in COVID-19 cases, Brussels has decided to make mask-wearing compulsory, according to Reuters. Starting Wednesday, residents and visitors of the Belgian capital, which has a population of 1.2 million, will be asked to wear face masks when in parks, on streets or any other public sites, after the city recorded an average of 50 daily cases per 100,000 inhabitants last week. Belgium has been very affected by the pandemic, with nearly COVID-19-related 10,000 deaths. In the recent weeks, cases have increased, causing Belgium to have one of the highest number of cases per inhabitant, as compared to other European countries. The only exceptions for the new mandate are children under the age of 12 and people who are doing physical exercise or practicing sports in public places.

NFL games at FedEx Field will be played without fans during the 2020 season, according to a statement released by the Washington Football Team. The announcement came after the organization had developed an extensive health and safety plan in close coordination with the State of Maryland and Price George’s County (MD). However, according to the statement, the decision to cancel attendance was made with the health and safety of fans and employees as a top priority. “We are fortunate to host the best fans in the NFL year after year, but the well-being of those supporters, along with that of our players, coaches and each and every member of our gameday staff is simply too important,” said Washington Football Team owner Dan Snyder. “The current knowledge of COVID-19 is too unpredictable, to welcome our fan base to FedExField to start the season.” The season-ticket holders have been contacted and have been offered financial alternatives regarding their ticket plans. As for now, Washington Football fans will be able to cheer for their team online on Sept. 13, when the season opens against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Professional women's tennis is underway in the U.S. again for the first time in more than a year. The Top Seed Open kicked off in Lexington, Kentucky, this week and after advancing on Tuesday in straight sets over Victoria Azarenka, Venus Williams will face off with her sister Serena Williams in a match on Wednesday. Both are former No.1 players in the world and both have won multiple Grand Slam Championships. This is the first WTA tournament since the onset of the pandemic, and, according to The Associated Press, social distancing and masks are a prominent feature. And there are no spectators in attendance to watch the competition at Top Seed Tennis Club. As far as weather goes, it will be hot and humid on Wednesday and Thursday, with a thunderstorm or two possible on Thursday. Generally, the temperatures will be right around normal for the tournament, which is considered a tuneup for the U.S. Open coming up at the end of August.

According to AFP, health experts say Spain currently has the worst infection rate in Western Europe, even after initially bringing the virus under control. Spain's health ministry says there are more than 500 outbreak clusters across the country and the country has reported an average of 4,923 new daily cases. The growing spread of the virus has forced other European nations to limit travel into the country. "It's a critical moment, we are right at a point where things can get better or worse," Salvador Macip, an expert in health sciences at Catalonia's Open University told AFP. "This means we have to pull out all the stops to curb outbreaks before they become more serious." Cases have surged since the first week in July, not long after restrictions were lifted on June 21. Joan Cayla, a health official in Barcelona, told AFP that the government "rushed" its decision in order to open the economy to account for the summer tourism season.  Spain has reported more than 326,000 cases and more than 28,000 deaths during the course of the pandemic.

U.S. closes $1.5 billion deal with Moderna for 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

On Tuesday, the White House announced the administration’s agreement with drugmaker Moderna to acquire 100 million doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine for $1.5 billion, according to Reuters. The announcement comes as the U.S. has made several deals over the past weeks, in attempts of having a vaccine ready for use by the end of the year. Moderna’s vaccine candidate, mRNA-1273, is one of the few that have already advanced to the final stage of testing and could be ready by September, according to the company. The price per dose of the vaccine comes to around $30.50 per person for a two-dose regimen, which fits into the normal price range for COVID-19 vaccines. Aside from Moderna, the U.S. has also made deals with Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Pfizer, BioNTech, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline for their potential vaccine candidates. Overall, the U.S. could have more than 500 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, assuming the companies have their respective vaccines approved.

Nurse Kathe Olmstead, right, gives volunteer Melissa Harting, of Harpersville, N.Y. an injection as the world's biggest study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., gets underway Monday, July 27, 2020, in Binghamton, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Paris Marathon is officially canceled

After repeated attempts to still hold the Paris Marathon this year, it was announced on Wednesday that it has been canceled. The race, which was originally scheduled for April and had been postponed to October and then November, was canceled due to the travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus. “Faced with the difficulty that many runners, especially those coming from abroad, had in making themselves available the 14^th / 15^th November, it was decided that it would be better and simpler for those concerned if we organized the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris in 2021,” organizers said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. According to the statement, the runners who had signed up for the race will automatically be signed up for next year.

Here are the latest global COVID-19 numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins:

• Confirmed cases: 20,317,087

• Fatalities: 742,035

• Recoveries: 12,606,499

The continued surge of cases in South America was exemplified by Colombia on Tuesday, as the country set its record for most new positive cases recorded, with 12,830. Neighboring country Peru has also continued to see spikes in cases, as the country has seen three separate days with at least 13,000 new cases in recent weeks.

A recent study revealed that nearly 82% of information about COVID-19 posted on news sites between late December and early April were rumors or conspiracy theories. The study, published by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, said that the misinformation and efforts to stigmatize victims from the coronavirus were linked to a collective hundreds of deaths globally. International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research sociologist M. Saiful Islam told UPI that, "Social media users should not share information without verifying the source." The term "infodemics" has been used by the World Health Organization to refer to when there is an overflow of information from both accurate and inaccurate sources which makes finding trustworthy sources more difficult. Researchers looked at information relating to COVID-19 on fact-checking websites, social media, websites, television networks, and newspapers for the study. Researchers then categorized the information gathered as rumors, stigma, or conspiracy. When the research was complete, 2,276 reports relating to COVID-19 between late December 2019 til early April were identified and given text ratings. Of that, 1,856 of those posts were false reports. One rumor that spread was the consumption of methanol to kill the coronavirus, this rumor has caused 800 deaths and nearly 6,000 hospitalizations.

The Atlanta Braves revealed significant revenue loss in the team's second-quarter financial results due to the coronavirus. Liberty Media, the owner of the Atlanta Braves, disclosed the results on Monday which showed a 95% revenue loss between April-June 2020 when compared to 2019, according to AJC. Last year, the Braves had revenue of $208 million, this year it was only $11 million in the same period. The team reported an operating loss of $26 million for the quarter, last year the team reported a $62 million profit for the same quarter. The Braves have taken many approaches to lower costs to try and save revenue, including reducing the pay of anyone who made more than $50,000 per year. These pay cuts are expected to last until at least the end of the year. The Atlanta Braves are required to disclose financial results due to being one of few American sports franchises to have public stock available.

Con artists have scammed people out of $106 million in coronavirus-related fraud so far this year. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned consumers to be cautious of solicitations to pay for access to stimulus checks, upfront mortgage assistance, or job opportunities. Fraudsters may seek upfront payment for mortgage help, the FTC warned, according to CNBC. Some of that fraud was connected to the prior round of coronavirus relief efforts, so Americans should be wary if there is another round of financial relief. Fraud is typically under-reported by consumers, so the real tally is likely much higher.

Researchers at Duke University lab-tested 14 of the most popular masks being worn around the country by people trying to ward off the coronavirus and found that -- not surprisingly -- the most effective mask for staving off the virus is the fitted N95 mask that is commonly used by health care professionals. The disposable surgical mask also performed well in the scientists' experiment, ranking as the second-best at reducing spread, according to the study, which was released in recent days. But, not all masks are created equal. Dr. Martin Fischer, a research professor in Duke's department of chemistry and the study's lead author, said, "We want to emphasize that we really encourage people to wear masks, but we want them to wear masks that actually work." And not all masks actually work. In fact, the researchers concluded that some very popular types of masks are actually worse than wearing no mask at all.

Scientists at Duke University tested 14 different face masks or mask alternatives and one mask material that's not shown here. (Emma Fischer, Duke University.)

Florida has reported 276 deaths relating to the coronavirus on Tuesday, which breaks the record for deadliest single-day report in the state. Miami-Dade county and Broward County both reported 35 of these new deaths. The Miami Herald notes that it does not necessarily mean that all 276 of those residents died in the past 24 hours. The state does not provide an exact day the death occurred, and it could be from several days earlier and just now being reported. Florida's Department of Health also confirmed 5,831 new cases, which brings the state's total reported cases to over 542,000. In total, 8,553 Floridians have died from the coronavirus.

Life in Wuhan, China, the original epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, is slowly returning to normal. The city, home to 11 million people, ended a 76-day lockdown in April, one of the strictest to be enforced through the duration of the pandemic. Even after the lockdown ended, the city had to deal with rounds of severe flooding. Gridlocked traffic, long lines for food and large crowds at electronic music concerts are some of the ways the city seems normal again. However, some businesses have been slow to recover, AFP reports. "In the first half of the year, we only opened some projects that had been decided before the outbreak," Hu Zeyu, an employee at a real estate company, told AFP. "Business volume has been greatly reduced."  Other residents are enjoying the resumption of daily activities, despite fears virus cases could increase again. "Now I enjoy every day as if it were the last," Wuhan resident Hu Fenglian told AFP. "I don't want to worry too much."  Watch the video below for more. 

Pennsylvania state officials have warned that many state parks and recreation areas are seeing "significant overcrowding" on weekends despite the pandemic. An overcrowding alert was put into place by the Department of Conservation and Nationals Resources, saying that some parks are turning people away and closing overflow parking, according to The Associated Press. Most overcrowding has been occurring in Beltzville State Park in eastern Pennsylvania. State forests have also reported reaching capacity as more visitors are being turned away. Pennsylvania has 121 state parks that span a total of 2.2 million acres of forestland, which officials say is plenty to explore less crowded options.

The World Health Organization emphasized the need for dental patients and staff to be protected from aerosol-generating procedures, according to Reuters. Many dentists are beginning to resume operations worldwide in areas where there are lower numbers of cases. The WHO called for more research into dental procedures that can produce tiny particles that could result in transmission of the virus from one person to another, Reuters said. This includes teeth polishing, three-way air/water spray and ultrasonic cleaning equipment that removes deposits from the surface of a tooth, Reuters said.    

“WHO guidance recommends in case of community transmission to give priority to urgent or emergency oral cases, to avoid or minimize procedures that may generate aerosol, prioritize a set of clinical interventions that are performed using an instrument and of course to delay routine non-essential oral health care,” said Benoit Varenne, a WHO dental officer, according to Reuters. 

Growing tensions about mask wearing turned violent in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, after a man punched a 17-year-old theme park employee after being reminded to wear a mask. Police reported the incident took place on Sunday when the teenage employee told an unidentified man and woman that wearing a mask was required when inside Sesame Place theme park, according to NBC Philadelphia. The man then confronted the worker at a ride and punched him in the face, before fleeing from the scene after park security approached them. The 17-year-old suffered a damaged tooth and a jaw injury. The suspect was last seen driving a vehicle with New York registration. Sesame Place is located about 30 minutes north of Philadelphia.

Since restarting their respective seasons in bubble environments, it's been so far so good for the NBA and NHL. Now, Major League Baseball, which has encountered numerous COVID-19 issues since beginning play in late July, may be looking to incorporate a bubble environment for its postseason. According to ESPN, with the league expanding its postseason to include 16 teams this year, MLB officials say at least three separate hubs will be needed to conduct its playoffs. Southern California, Chicago and New York City are being floated as possible sites because those markets each have multiple MLB stadiums. However, Southern California, with stadiums in Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Diego, could end up hosting the entire postseason due to weather concerns elsewhere, ESPN reported.

One month after reopening, Disney World has announced that it will be modifying its schedule starting on Sept. 8 due to smaller-than-expected crowds. Although the hours of operations for the park were already reduced since its July 9 reopening, Disney plans to further reduce them by one or two hours per day, depending on the park. The announcement comes after Disney reported unexpectedly low park attendance and “adversely impacted” earnings, according to The Washington Post. The schedule posted on Disney World’s website shows that parks will have delayed opening times on the weekends. Additionally, Epcot and Animal Kingdom’s hours of operation will be cut by two hours, while Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios will both be losing one hour per day.

New Zealand reported its first new cases of COVID-19 in over 100 days on Tuesday. According to the South China Morning Post, Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern said that four cases were confirmed in an Auckland household, but it's unknown how the people contracted the virus as the family didn't have a history of international travel. Auckland will now be placed under a nearly full lockdown and the city, the country's largest, will move to an Alert Level 3 starting midday Wednesday until midnight Friday. This means people will be ordered to stay at home unless to go out for essential movement such as grocery shopping or exercise. The country's COVID alert system consists of four tiers, with Alert Level 3 being the second-most restrictive. The rest of New Zealand will increase to Alert Level 2 “These three days will give us time to assess the situation, gather information, make sure we have widespread contact tracing so we can find out more about how this case arose and make decisions about how to respond to it,” Ardern said. Watch a video in the tweet below for more.

A medical worker performs a COVID-19 test at a test center at Vnukovo airport outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. Authorities in Russia say they are about to approve a COVID-19 vaccine, with mass vaccinations planned as early as October 2020, using shots that are yet to complete clinical trials. But scientists worldwide are sounding the alarm that the headlong rush could backfire and point to ethical issues that undermine confidence in the Russian studies. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

On Tuesday, Russia became the first country to declare a coronavirus vaccine ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that the vaccine underwent the necessary testing stages, and even added that his own daughter had been vaccinated. “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity, and I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests,” Putin said, according to The Associated Press. “We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world.” Despite Putin’s claims, scientists have expressed concern, as the vaccine was approved before Phase 3 trials. “I wouldn't take it, certainly not outside a clinical trial right now," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, told CNBC’s Squawk Box."It appears that it’s only been tested in several hundred patients at most.” Hear from Gottlieb in the video below.

Almost four out of five chief executives predict that working from home will become more common as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. According to a global survey published by PwC on Tuesday, which took into account the responses of 3,500 of the accounting company’s clients, 78% of the CEOs surveyed expected remote working to endure to some extent, even after the pandemic is over. “A blend of office and home working is most likely to be the future norm,” PwC UK’s chairman Kevin Ellis said, according to Reuters. Additionally, two-thirds of the CEOs also expected an economic recession as a result of the pandemic.

Week over week, the United States saw a 16% decrease in COVID-19 fatalities for the week ending on Aug. 9, according to journalists at Reuters, who crunched the numbers. About 7,200 deaths were reported last week, the first time the U.S. has seen a decrease in four weeks. Still, the number of new cases reported across the country -- 376,000 -- remained high. As for the decline in fatalities, Reuters reported that a sharp drop in deaths in some of the worst COVID-19 hotspots this summer is what helped move the needle. 

Here are the latest global COVID-19 numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins:

• Confirmed cases: 20,092,855

• Fatalities: 736,254

• Recoveries: 12,350,879

Almost exactly five months after the World Health Organization deemed COVID-19 a pandemic, the total number of confirmed cases from the coronavirus topped 20 million. The United States, Brazil and India lead the way with more than 10 million reported cases between the three countries alone.

Dozens of state and local public health officials around the U.S. are quitting or have been fired amid the coronavirus outbreak, a testament to how politically combustible masks, lockdowns and infection data have become. Some suffered from burnout, have been vilified and even threatened with violence. One of the latest departures came Sunday, when California’s public health director, Dr. Sonia Angell quit without explanation. Last week, New York City’s health commissioner quit after voicing her “deep disappointment” with how Mayor Bill de Blasio has handled the outbreak. At least 49 state and local public health leaders have resigned, retired or been fired since April across 23 states, according to review by the Kaiser Health News Service and The Associated Press. The departures are making a bad situation worse, at a time when the U.S. needs good public health leadership the most, said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. “We’re moving at breakneck speed here to stop a pandemic, and you can’t afford to hit the pause button and say, ‘We’re going to change the leadership around here and we’ll get back to you after we hire somebody,’” Freeman said.

How much hand sanitizer is enough? That's one of the many questions some state election officials are wondering right now as they prepare for the presidential election in November. According to CNBC, states have been preparing for months to have enough personal protective equipment on hand at polling stations, even as more states expand vote-by-mail access. In states such as California, Delaware, Minnesota and South Carolina, PPE will be packaged and sent to polling sites along with normal election materials such as voting sheets and machines, according to CNBC. Kathryn Smith, the elections manager for Olmstead County in Minnesota, told CNBC that counties are splitting up PPE deliveries by size. County staff members will deliver larger items like plexiglass shields, while poll workers will hand out hand sanitizer and masks. Minnesota has reportedly spent over $300,000 on PPE for its elections in August and November, CNBC reported. Officials in the state are looking at previous voter turnout estimates to determine how much PPE a specific polling site will receive.

As the upcoming winter brings the return of cold and flu season, the U.S. is missing out on its opportunity to curb the spread of COVID-19. “I think November, December, January, February are going to be tough months in this country without a vaccine,” Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said. According to Stat News, the summer season is typically a low point in terms of spreading coronaviruses, however, the U.S. has been unable to curb the infection rates — and that will pose to be an issue as the heat cools down this year. “We should be aiming for no transmission before we open the schools and we put kids in harm’s way — kids and teachers and their caregivers. And so, if that means no gym, no movie theaters, so be it,” Caroline Buckee, associate director of the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said. “We seem to be choosing leisure activities now over children’s safety in a month’s time. And I cannot understand that tradeoff.”

Assaulting an employee who's enforcing masks is now a felony under a new Illinois law that went into effect immediately. Gov. J.B. Pritzker passed the law last week stating the assault will be prosecuted as aggravated battery against workers who are "conveying public health guidance" -- that is, telling patrons of a business to wear a mask or maintain social distancing. "This provision sends the message that it's vitally important for workers to be both respected and protected while serving on the front lines," the governor's office said in a statement on the new law. Several disputes over mask use have turned violent in other states, according to CNN. In New Jersey, a woman assaulted another customer at a Staples store who had asked her to wear her mask over her nose and mouth. In Manhattan Beach, California, a brawl broke out after a woman threw her coffee in a man’s face for not wearing a mask while eating outside. Since Pritzker required anyone leaving their house to wear a mask back in May, Illinois has recorded a few incidents of worker assault. The state also debuted some punishments against businesses that fail to follow the mask mandate: Under the Illinois Department of Public Health's new emergency rules, businesses that repeatedly refuse to comply with mask requirements could incur a fine anywhere between $75 and $2,500.

Royal Caribbean will "very likely" test passengers for COVID-19 as part of potential new safety measures to get cruise ships sailing again. Norwegian Cruise Line is working along with Royal Caribbean in order to look for new safety measures to restart business as safety for passengers as possible. Both companies have teamed up with former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottelieb to serve as co-chair of the group called "Healthy Sail Panel," according to Reuters. Cruise operators in the United States have said they would not carry passengers again until at least the end of October and that booking trends for the second half of 2021 were encouraging. Royal Caribbean has lost over $1 billion since shutting down normal cruise operations early this year.

While air passenger traffic has gone down 75% amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Transportation Security Administration found three times as many guns per screened passenger. TSA reported that the rate of guns found per passenger screened has gone from 5.1 guns per million people in July 2019, to 15.3 guns per million in July 2020. TSA also said that roughly 80% of the guns found in carry-on bags were loaded, according to CNN. The world's busiest airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport, found 27 guns, nearly one per day, in July. Fines for inappropriate transporting a firearm through an airport start at $2,050 for an unloaded weapon and $4,100 for loaded.

The Big Ten will reportedly announce on Tuesday that it is canceling the 2020 fall sports season, which includes football, according to the Detroit Free Press. School presidents of the 14 member institutions voted 12-2 on Sunday in favor of canceling the season, according to the report. Only Iowa and Nebraska reportedly voted in favor of playing. Other conferences such as the Big 12, Pac-12, SEC and ACC have not made an official determination yet on whether or not to have a football season. However, the Big Ten is reportedly looking to get those conferences to follow their decision and is reportedly looking to postpone the season until the spring.  

On Saturday, the Mid-American Conference became the first of the Football Bowl Subdivision to cancel fall sports. Last month, the Ivy League announced that fall sports would not take place. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick explained one of the central issues officials face when it comes to postponing the season. "My view is if we change course, we better be able to articulate the reason for doing so to our student-athletes," he told ESPN. Another unnamed athletic director told ESPN: "I don't know why we are trying to push to play in the fall. It's always made more sense to me to just play in the spring."

However, the decision may not be final yet. On Monday afternoon, after the initial reports of the canceled football season emerged, Nicole Auerbach of USA Today reported that a Big Ten spokesman said "no vote has been held by our presidents and chancellors."

FILE - In this Dec. 7, 2019, file photo, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (1) runs with the ball against Wisconsin during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, in Indianapolis. After the Power Five conference commissioners met Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, to discuss mounting concern about whether a college football season can be played in a pandemic, players took to social media to urge leaders to let them play. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Masks are now mandated in the busiest parts of Paris for everyone over the age of 11 years old. Police say cases have been back on the rise in the region since mid-July, according to The BBC. The specific zones that masks will be mandated in have not yet been made clear, but police say the areas will be evaluated regularly. On Friday alone, 2,288 new confirmed cases were added to France’s tally. ”We are going to ask that [mask-wearing] become compulsory in crowded outdoor places and where respecting a meter's distance between people is difficult," said Anne Souyris, the deputy mayor who is in charge of health.

The St. Louis Cardinals series against the Pittsburgh Pirates has been postponed due to an outbreak of coronavirus among the Cardinals. The Cardinals have now had four consecutive series postponed due to the outbreak and haven't played a game since July 29. On Sunday night, the league and the club said that they "believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play," according to ESPN. Over the weekend, a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs was also postponed following the news that two players and one staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. There have now been 27 games postponed by Major League Baseball due to the coronavirus.

St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Daniel Ponce de Leon hands the ball over to manager Mike Shildt, left, after being pulled in the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday, July 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Despite a decline in new infections, Australia has recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic as a second wave continues to unfold in Melbourne. In the state of Victoria, 19 new deaths from the virus were reported on Monday. The previous single-day record in Australia was 15 deaths on Aug.5, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, was put into a second lockdown over a month ago and has limited its residents to night-time curfews since last week, according to the BBC. Anyone who leaves their home is required to have a permit. Victoria reported 322 new cases on Monday which is down from the peak of 725 seen five days ago. Most deaths have been from an outbreak in nearly 100 aged care homes; however a man in his 30s was also among the victims last week.

An Israeli jewelry company is in the process of creating a gold, diamond-encrusted face mask that will cost $1.5 million -- making it what they claim to be the most expensive coronavirus mask in the world. The mask, according to The Associated Press, will be made of 18-karat white gold and will incorporate 3,600 white and black diamonds and top-rated N99 filters. The buyer of the mask was not identified, but is a Chinese businessman living in the United States. He requested to the company that the mask be completed by the end of the year and be the most expensive mask in the world.“I am happy that this mask gave us enough work for our employees to be able to provide their jobs in very challenging times like these times right now,” said Isaac Levy, designer and owner of the Yvel company.

Parts and a model of a mask is displayed in the Israeli jewelry company Yvel in Motza near Jerusalem, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020. An Israeli jewelry company is working on what it says will be the world's most expensive coronavirus mask, a gold, diamond-encrusted face covering with a price tag of $1. 5 million. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)

Mansions in the Hollywood Hills have replaced the closed nightclubs during the pandemic era in Los Angeles, AFP reports. The parties, which have been described as raucous and lavish, have caused consternation and anger from neighbors and city officials. To try to put an end to the disruptive gatherings, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti granted emergency powers to utility companies to cut electricity and water at the homes which are acting as nightclubs, AFP reported. "The consequences of these large parties ripple far beyond just those parties -- they repeat throughout our entire community, because the virus can quickly and easily spread," Garcetti said.

On Sunday, Brazil reported 23,010 new cases and 572 deaths, according to Reuters. The new report brings the country’s death toll to 101,049, while the total number of confirmed cases is now at 3,035,422. Brazil is the second country, after the U.S., to hit these bleak milestones. On Saturday, Brazil released 1,000 red balloons at Copacabana Beach to honor the lives of the 100,000 Brazilians who lost the battle against COVID-19. Watch the video below.

Sunday marked the 100th day without any new cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand. The New Zealand Herald said the last case of COVID-19 via community transmission was detected on May 1, and the first known case in the country occurred on Feb. 26. It took the country about 65 days to eradicate the threat, the Herald said. According to the Herald, New Zealand specifically followed three measures to help limit the spread of the virus:   

• Strict border controls to stop people who may have COVID-19 from entering the country

• A nationwide lockdown and physical distancing to stop community transmission

• Frequent testing, contact tracing and quarantine enforcement  

Through the entirety of the pandemic, New Zealand has reported 1,569 confirmed cases and 22 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.  

Here are the latest global COVID-19 numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins:

• Confirmed cases: 19,876,302

• Fatalities: 731,570

• Recoveries: 12,127,599

Brazil became the second country to reach the 3 million case mark this weekend, joining the United States in the unfortunate club. In the less than six months after recording its first case, Brazil has seen 101,049 fatalities from the coronavirus and has recorded 2,356,983 recoveries, the most in the world.

Hialeah Fire Department Firefighter-Paramedic Laura Nemoga, right, winces as medical assistant Jesus Vera performs a COVID-19 test, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, at Hialeah Fire Station #1, in Hialeah, Fla. The tests were provided free of charge to first responders by Prime Care Medical Centers and Solis Health Plans. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Nine people have tested positive from North Paulding High School in Georgia, after a photo went viral of the school showcasing packed hallways and students without masks. Six students and three staff members have tested positive for the virus, The Washington Post reported. Principal Gabe Carmona wrote that the individuals were at the school "for at least some time" last week. “The health and well-being of our staff and students remains our highest priority and we are continuing to adjust and improve our protocols for in-person instruction to make our school the safest possible learning environment," Carmona said. Prior to the confirmed cases, two students were suspended by the high school after they shared photos online that displayed the crowded halls. After receiving backlash, the school decided to reverse the suspensions.

After testing positive, then negative, for the coronavirus on Thursday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested negative for the virus again on Saturday. The reason for the original discrepancy between tests has not yet been made clear, according to CBS News. DeWine announced his negative test results, as well as the negative test result of his wife Fran, on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone who sent along good wishes for our family and staff! We're #InThisTogetherOhio," he wrote. 

Within the span of two weeks, 97,000 U.S. children have tested positive for the coronavirus. Out of over 5 million U.S. cases, CBS News reports that more than 338,000 cases were reported in children. As cases continue to rise, school districts across the country are in the spot where they must decide if they will proceed with in-person learning in the coming weeks. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has already announced that in-person learning will proceed for the fall, and that officials have worked “incessantly" to make it a reality. ”They’ve looked at examples from all over the world of what will keep the school community safe, and they've made a series of choices of how to do things from the health and safety lens first, while also making sure we can educate our kids," he said. Meanwhile, Lawrence County, Indiana, is using hospital grade disinfectant to clean school busses, while 35% of students in the county are reportedly opting out of in-person learning. 

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith announced he will need open-heart surgery to fix a defective valve that he's had since birth. The condition was discovered by doctors after they performed additional tests administered following his coronavirus positive diagnosis. "Earlier this week I found out I need open heart surgery to fix a bicuspid aortic valve that I was born with," Smith's statement read. "Although this will unfortunately end my 2020 season, it is really a blessing that we found this as my heart is severely enlarged and wouldn’t have lasted much longer. I found this out after I tested positive for COVID and had to have further testing done as protocol. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but I could really feel him on this one!" Smith continued saying "There is a surgery that will allow me to continue to play football as soon as I am healed and cleared and I didn’t think twice about going with that one. By no means am I ready to be done playing football, there is still so much more I want to accomplish on the field. I'm going to attack this like everything else I have in life. Already looking forward to the comeback!"

More than four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. surpassed 5 million confirmed infections, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. also leads the world in deaths with 160,000 confirmed dead. There have been more than 65,000,000 tests conducted in the United States.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the government has a “moral duty” to ensure all children return to school next month. Johnson continued by stating that keeping schools closed across the country is “socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible.” Writing for the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Johnson said it was "crucial" for children's welfare, health and future that they return to the classroom full time. "We can do it -- and we will do it. Social justice demands it."

Most U.K. students have been at home and out of the classroom since the U.K. went into lockdown in March, though some primary-age children have returned. “This pandemic isn’t over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent,” Johnson wrote. “But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.” Johnson said time spent out of the classroom could lead to lower educational attainment and have a lasting impact on children's future life chances. "Most painfully of all, the costs of school closure have fallen disproportionately on the most disadvantaged, the very children who need school the most," he wrote. Teachers' unions have voiced concerns over the safety of staff and students when schools reopen.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to The Discovery School in West Malling, Kent. (Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard/PA Wire)

Here are the latest global COVID-19 numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 19,486,171

• Fatalities: 723,854

• Recoveries: 11,822,887

President Donald Trump signed four executive orders on Saturday regarding coronavirus relief. One of the orders will provide $400 a week in additional unemployment benefits, which is lower than the $600 a week extra those on unemployment were receiving until it expired on July 31. The other orders will "Through these four actions, my administration will provide immediate and vital relief to Americans struggling in this difficult time," Trump said.

Thousands gathered in Sturgis, South Dakota on Friday for the annual 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. The event could be one of the largest gatherings since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to NBC News. Despite the large crowd, masks were not mandatory, but they were encouraged. “I don’t want to die, but I don’t want to be cooped up all my life either,” Steven Sample, 66, said. Sample rode his bike from Arizona for the rally. While some residents of the community expressed their displeasure that the event is taking place, City Manager Daniel Ainslie said there was not much officials could have done. "We can't block off the entrances to our community, and so on a daily basis we're getting hundreds of thousands of people saying, 'It doesn't matter what happens, we're coming to your town,'" Ainslie said. 

Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci said there are five or six things that are crucial in fighting the spread of COVID-19, and he will continue to advocate for them "until I'm exhausted," according to CNN. "Universal wearing of a mask, physical distancing, avoid crowds, outdoor better than indoor, washing your hands and hand hygiene -- and if you're in a situation where it applies to you, stay away from bars," Fauci said. Additionally, he said mask wearing and reopening the country will go hand in hand, rather than contradict each other. "One is not the enemy of the other. One is a gateway to get to the other," he said.

A 21-year-old man from Brevard County, Florida, experienced organ failure after recovering from a mild case of COVID-19. Spencer Rollyson developed mild symptoms of the virus in May, however two weeks after testing negative for the virus he began to experience some serious symptoms, including fever, nausea, severe headaches, abdominal pain and chest pain, according to Florida Today. After his fever topped 103.4 degrees Fahrenheit, Rollyson went unconscious doing a telehealth appointment and was placed in intensive care on a ventilator, where he was later diagnosed with organ failure. After a five-day stay in the hospital he was able to return home, but he has to take two blood-pressure medications and has to avoid a high heart rate for a year to reduce the chances of going into cardiac arrest. "I thought I was going to die. I was literally sitting in the hospital like, ‘I’m going to die,' " Rollyson said. "Please take this virus seriously. I had no prior health issues and it almost (took) my life. Be safe!"

Princeton University’s fall 2020 semester will now be virtual for all undergraduates, the school announced on Friday. The university previously stated it would stagger its semesters, with freshmen and juniors returning in the fall and sophomores and seniors in the spring. “With deep regret and sadness, I write to update you about our plans for the fall, and, in particular, to explain why Princeton has decided that its undergraduate program must be fully remote in the coming semester,” Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in a release. “In brief, the pandemic’s impact in New Jersey has led us to conclude that we cannot provide a genuinely meaningful on-campus experience for our undergraduate students this fall in a manner that is respectful of public health concerns and consistent with state regulations,” Eisgruber wrote. Eisgruber cited the virus’s spread around the country, even as things have improved in New Jersey, as a reason for the reversal, according to NJ.com. “When I last communicated with you, just over a month ago, we anticipated welcoming undergraduates from the Classes of 2022 and 2024 to campus in late August. We noted at the time, however, that we would continue to monitor the course of the pandemic, and that we might have to change our plans if it worsened,” Eisgruber said. Princeton has worked hard to have students return campus, Eisgruber said.

Nearly 300,000 Americans could be killed by COVID-19 by December, a new model shows. University of Washington health experts put out a forecast this week that showed the startling new projection of 300,000 U.S. deaths related to COVID-19 by December 1. The university's Institue for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) said that cases have been falling in multiple states that were once epicenters, such as Arizona and Florida. However, cases are still rising in multiple states including Colorado, Missouri, Ohio, and Virginia. Top White House infectious disease advisers have warned about erupt new hot spots for the virus in major U.S. cities if officials were not vigilant about counter-measures, according to Reuters. IHME said that 70,000 lives could be saved if more people followed wearing masks.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers, provided by researchers at Johns Hopkins University:

• Confirmed cases: 19,401,935

• Fatalities: 721,762

• Recoveries: 11,755,309

The chances of a highly effective coronavirus vaccine are “not great,” according to Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci. According to Fauci, the chances that scientists could develop a vaccine with 98% effectiveness in protecting from the virus is low and scientists are looking into a vaccine that could be 75% effective in preventing infection, however 50% to 60% would also be acceptable. "You've got to think of the vaccine as a tool to be able to get the pandemic to no longer be a pandemic, but to be something that's well controlled,” he said, according to CNBC News. The FDA announced that as long as a vaccine has 50% effectiveness, similar to an influenza vaccine, it would be authorized.

A 7-year-old boy from the Chatham County, Georgia, has died from COVID-19, Georgia health officials reported on Thursday. He is the youngest person in the state to have died from COVID-19, according to The Atlantic Journal-Constitution. The same day, Georgia surpassed 4,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths. The Georgia Department of Public Health released that the boy had reported no chronic conditions, though declined to release additional information. “This is a tragic reminder that this is a very serious disease and serious for anyone who contracts it at any age,” Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a clinical associate professor at the Georgia State University School of Public Health, told the AJC.

Florida’s death toll has risen past 8,000 on Friday, Florida’s Department of Health confirmed. The death toll among residents was 7,927, while the deaths among non-residents reached 124, totaling to 8,051. Statewide cases have reached 518,075, with 7,686 new cases confirmed on Friday alone, according to The Miami Herald. On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vocalized his support for extracurriculars such as sports to take place along with the reopening of schools. “These are moments they are not going to get back,” DeSantis said, according to The Tampa Bay Times said. “I am standing with our coaches and our athletes. This is something critical.”

Amid what could be another wave of the virus in France, the nation is struggling to keep up with testing as labs closed for staff to take summer vacations, according to France24. “First, there is a lack of workers to do the testing. If we don’t ask all the health workers to be available by mobilizing all of them, there are just not enough people,” emergency services doctor Christophe Prudhomme told The Associated Press. France has already seen over 235,000 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and over 30,000 deaths.Now, in a time when testing is key for the country to accurately account for cases, the disorganization has thrown scientists at the forefront of French testing efforts like François Blanchecotte, president of the Union of Medical Biologists, for a loop. “We are at a crossroads,” Blanchecotte told France24. “We’ve seen a situation of disorder in Paris, in which labs were not ready to face thousands of people at the same time. It’s a nightmare to get an appointment.”

More than 100 Mississippi students were forced to quarantine after just one week of school. Last week, schools in Corinth, Mississippi, reopened for in-person learning for the first time since they were closed months ago. By Friday, one student had already tested positive for the virus, sending more than 100 students to quarantine at home, according to CBS News. Since then, six students and one staff member have now tested positive in the school district. The Corinth School District does not plan to reverse reopening plans after the incident, but officials intend to have options for students to learn from home. The district has run daily temperature checks of students and staff members as they enter the buildings and parents are advised to conduct daily health checks of their kids before sending them to school. Mississippi has more than 63,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and leads the nation in cases per capita.

Pfizer has reached a deal to manufacture Gilead's coronavirus drug remdesivir. A multi-year agreement has been put into place between the two companies in order to increase the supply of the drug. Remdesivir has been shown to help shorten the recovery time of some patients who have been hospitalized from COVID-19, according to CNBC. There are still no FDA-approved coronavirus drugs, but remdesivir has been used by doctors for COVID-19 patients. A few months ago, the FDA allowed remdesivir an emergency use authorization which allowed it to be used to treat coronavirus patients. Gilead plans to manufacture more than 2 million treatment courses and several million more in 2021. Pfizer recently started a late-stage trial of its own potential coronavirus vaccine in recent weeks. The terms for the agreement have not been disclosed.

The first Phase 3 clinical trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine is underway, and a news anchor in Georgia was the first volunteer in the U.S. to receive a dose. Dawn Baker, a news anchor at WTOC in Savannah, Georgia, was administered the potential vaccine in late July that was developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, CNN reported. "I never thought that I'd do something like this," Baker said. "I just hope that they're really, really good results. I know a lot of people are doing a lot of different vaccine trials." Phase 3 of this trial is expected to include around 30,000 participants and will consist of two doses over the course of four weeks, according to CNN. If there are promising results from the Phase 3 trials, it will help to pave the way for the vaccine to become available in the health market.

New York schools have been authorized to bring back students for in-person learning this year. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement on Friday, and explained that the success the state had in bringing down the infection rate was the reason behind the decision. “Everywhere in the state, every region is below the threshold that we established,” Cuomo said, according to The Associated Press. “If there’s a spike in the infection rate, if there’s a matter of concern in the infection rate, then we can revisit.” The way in which schools will instruct students is up to each school district. Some have decided to limit in-person instruction to a few days a week. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said students returning to classrooms will allow the economy to begin to go back to normal, as parents will be able to return to work. “It will not be easy but I think most parents feel strongly that even some time in school is a lot better for their kids than none,“ de Blasio said.

On Thursday, the NFL announced which players had chosen to sit out for the 2020 season. Although big names such as Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes will be playing, several teams did lose important players for the upcoming season. The Patriots are the most affected team in terms of opt-outs, as a total of eight players decided to sit out for the season, according to CBS Sports. Other teams that lost some of their star players include the Chiefs, Bills, Jets, Giants, Eagles, Dolphins, Bears, Vikings, Broncos, Cardinals and Browns. Some teams, however, were not affected by the new opt-out guideline. Teams that saw zero opt-outs include the Chargers, Falcons, Rams and Steelers. Although the deadline for opting out has passed, the NFL announced that players will still have the opportunity to opt out after the deadline if “a close family member gets seriously sick with COVID or if they themselves are newly diagnosed with a high-risk condition.” Click here for the entire list of opt-outs for the 2020 season.

Task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned that nine cities across the country could experience an increase in coronavirus positivity rates this week. Although areas across the south have been particularly hit by COVID-19 in the past month, Birx said that there are now new areas of concern as the virus continues to spread. “We are concerned that both Baltimore and Atlanta remain at a very high level,” Birx said, according to CNN. “Kansas City, Portland, Omaha, of course what we talked about in the Central Valley (in California).” Birx then added that there is “a slow uptick in test positivity in cases in places like Chicago, Boston and Detroit and DC.” With the virus being more “extraordinarily widespread” than it was in the early days of the pandemic, back in March and April, authorities are worried about the future, and claim that the country is in entering a new phase of the pandemic.

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

• Confirmed cases: 19,111,123

• Fatalities: 715,163

• Recoveries: 11,578,821

India became the third country in the world to record at least 2 million cases on Friday morning and the tragic threshold was coupled with a strike from local community health volunteers who are saying they haven't been properly equipped or prepared to respond to infection surges in rural areas, according to The Associated Press. Authorities in states such as Uttar Pradesh, an area with 220 million residents, are reimposing lockdown mandates after initially fully reopening in early July.

Just hours after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19, a second test returned with negative results. “In a second COVID-19 test administered today in Columbus, Governor Mike DeWine has tested negative for COVID-19,” a statement said on DeWine’s Twitter account. “First Lady Fran DeWine and staff members have also all tested negative.” DeWine was first tested ahead of a planned visit by President Trump on Thursday, which has turned into standard protocol amid the pandemic. His meeting with the president was canceled after the initial result. DeWine said that it was a “big surprise” since he and his wife take extensive measures to avoid contracting COVID-19, Politico said.

Ten countries in Africa make up 80% of the continents coronavirus testing. South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Mauritius have conducted more than 200,000 tests each, with almost 9 million total tests having been conducted throughout Africa as a whole, meaning testing is up 9.4% from the previous week. “This number indicates we reached 90% of our goal for the partnership to accelerate COVID testing,” John Nkengasong, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said during a news conference. Experts believe the low testing levels across the majority of the continent has likely resulted in a large amount of unreported cases. Some countries are too poor to properly instate widespread testing, while others have not released their data at all, according to Reuters. In South Africa, the death toll continues to increase, and funeral directors are now having to turn to new methods in order to account for the growing number or bodies. Watch it here:

Penn State University announced they will hold the 2020 football season with no fans in attendance due to a new Pennsylvania regulation on large gatherings. “As of today, the current large gatherings guidance from the Governor’s Office limits capacity to 250 people for outside events and 25 people for inside events,” a letter to season ticket holders from Penn State Athletic Director Sandy Barbour read. “Therefore, under the current conditions and current state orders, our fall sports events would be conducted without fans in the general seating areas of our facilities.” In the letter, Barbour specifically states that the decision to hold fall sports without fans in attendance will be redacted if the guidance for Pennsylvania is lifted. Season ticket holders can request a refund, according to The Center Daily Times. Any season ticket holder that does request a refund will loose their place in the event that the state guidance changes and will not receive a refund for the Nittany Lion Club donation that is required to be made before purchasing the tickets.

New Castle County, Delaware, is now taking an unorthodox approach to encourage residents to wear masks, by putting giant surgical masks on 11 paramedic and public works vehicles in the county. The initiative, called #TeamMask, aims to encourage people to wear masks while in public spaces. The vehicles were selected because they are the ones driven most often, according to Delaware Public Media. The masks will stay on the vehicles for the next three months. "Team Mask is about keeping our residents safe," said County Executive Matt Meyer. "Unfortunately in this day and age it's little bit controversial to stand up and say 'Hey everybody wear a mask.' It is uncontroversial among the medical profession, among scientists that simply putting on a mask help prevent the spread of a deadly virus so we want to do everything we can, use every creative tool we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus."

Dermatologists are taking a new look at some of the side effects of the coronavirus after some patients have experienced changes in their skin. Changes in the skin are not evident with every case of COVID-19, but some people that have been infected have reported hives, red or purple toes, rashes and mottled bumps on fingers, CNN said. Lesions in the mouth have also been reported, but more research is needed to determine if this could be considered a symptom of the coronavirus. “Many viral infections can affect the skin, so it’s not surprising that we are seeing these rashes in COVID-19,” Dr Veronique Bataille said. “However, it is important that people know that in some cases, a rash may be the first or only symptom of the disease. So if you notice a new rash, you should take it seriously by self-isolating and getting tested as soon as possible.”

A case study conducted in Ohio revealed that one person may have infected nearly 100 people with COVID-19. Back in mid-June, a 56-year-old man with COVID-19 attended a church service, which lead to 53 other people in attendance testing positive, said Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who himself announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. "It spread like wildfire, wildfire. Very, very scary," DeWine said. "We know that our faith-based leaders want nothing more than to protect those who come to worship." Of these 53 people, 18 went on to spread the virus to at least one other person. In all, 91 cases of COVID-19 were able to be traced back to the one man, according to CNN. This case study is a prime example of community spread of the coronavirus.

(Ohio Department of Health)

Despite longstanding claims of being coronavirus-free, a recent guideline introduced by the government indicates that North Korea could be experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is quarantining thousands of people and shipping food and other aid to Kaesong, a southern city that is currently under lockdown, according to officials. However, foreign experts remain skeptical and have released more information that seems to contradict the country’s claim of having no cases of the virus. According to a report released by the World Health Organization, North Korea said it has quarantined 63 first contacts of the suspected Kaesong case and 3,571 second contacts in several state-run facilities for 40 days.

Additionally, since the end of December, North Korea has quarantined and released a total of 25,905 people, according to The Associated Press. However, due to the lack of information released by the government, it is unclear how serious the country’s situation is. “Though a really extensive local outbreak might not have occurred yet, it’s likely that a considerable number of people has been infected,” said Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification. “Even though North Korea locks itself down, there should be suspected cases there and authorities must aggressively diagnose them. But North Korea has never been transparent about whether it has such a capacity and the will to do so.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has tested positive for COVID-19. According to a statement posted on the governor's Twitter account, DeWine, 73, took a test as part of the standard protocol to greet President Trump on the tarmac at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. The governor currently has no symptoms and is said to be returning to the state capital of Columbus, where he and his wife, First Lady Fran DeWine will be tested. The governor is expected to quarantine at his home for the next 14 days. DeWine was expected to meet with Trump to visit a Whirlpool Corp. manufacturing plant in northwest Ohio on Thursday, The Associated Press reports. DeWine is the second sitting governor to test positive for the illness after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt announced in July that he had COVID-19. 

In this Feb. 27, 2020, file photo, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gives an update on COVID-19 at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

As federal unemployment aid expires, many unemployed workers are forced to look for ways to pay their bills, even if it means risking their lives. New York City-based Uber driver Johan Nijman is one of the thousands of Uber and Lyft drivers across the U.S. being forced to choose between physical and financial health as he tries to make a living while unemployed. “I never thought that after working so hard for song long that I would ever find myself in a situation where I had to ask for food one day,” Nijman told Reuters. Nijman, who is a type 2 diabetic, puts his life at risk every time a new passenger gets into his car but was forced to resume driving after the unemployment benefits he had been receiving since mid-March expired. Other drivers, like Sacramento-based Melinda Pualani, are still waiting for their unemployment claims to process, and are forced to resume work to make a living. “Driving again was simply a necessity because I used up most of my saving and still have to keep food on the table,” Pualani said.

The number of weekly unemployment claims for the week ending Aug.1 was just under 1.2 million, the U.S. Department of Labor said in its weekly update. This is a decrease of about 249,000 from the previous week's revised level. The numbers are the lowest of the pandemic era, and below what analysts had predicted, which was about 1.42 million, CNBC reported. Still, the number is considerably higher than the pre-pandemic record of 695,000 in 1982, CNBC said. The figures come as many are now without the extra $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit that expired at the end of July. The Associated Press reports that this is the 20th straight week that over 1 million people have sought jobless aid.

Safety guidelines were tightened in Amsterdam after the number of infections doubled in a week in the Netherlands. On Wednesday, wearing a mask became required in certain busy areas of the city, including the Red Light district.The new mandate comes as the number of infections reached 55,000 and 6,150 people have died due to the coronavirus. “We’re starting this experiment because we’re worried about the increasing number of coronavirus infections,” the Amsterdam city council said, according to AFP. Council workers went to the streets on Wednesday, to make sure everyone was wearing a mask, and even handed out masks to those who did not have one. However, as seen on a video posted by AFP, not everyone followed the new measures, especially in the Red Light district. In the video, many people can be seen walking without masks as they walk past the officers. “Unfortunately, it fits in a bit with the profile of the city,” a Red Light district resident said. Watch a video in the tweet below for more.

From Scotland to Greece, countries all across Europe are announcing new restrictions as the number of new coronavirus cases slowly rises. This week is being called “wake-up week” in Greece after hundreds of new cases were reported across the country. "The virus is here, it feeds on our complacency," Stelios Petsas, a government spokesman in Greece, told Mega TV. In France, the city of Toulouse implemented face mask requirements, with Paris expected to follow suit, AFP reported. Across the border in Switzerland, government officials expanded the quarantine list to 46 countries to include Singapore, Romania and Spain. People entering Switzerland from one of these countries must quarantine upon entry. To date, Europe has reported over 211,000 coronavirus-related fatalities, according to AFP.

Passengers, wearing full protective gear to protect against the spread of coronavirus, push their luggage to check-in, as they check in to travel to Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the Zaventem international airport in Brussels, Wednesday, July 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a report Wednesday highlighting more good news about Moderna's developmental coronavirus vaccine, which late last month entered its Phase 3 trial on humans. Moderna's vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, triggered antibodies in mice during a series of tests, which protected them from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Scientists from Moderna, the NIH and the NIAID collaborated with researchers from three universities. "The findings show that the investigational vaccine induced neutralizing antibodies in mice when given as two intramuscular injections of a 1-microgram (mcg) dose three weeks apart," the NIH said in its report. Scientists said subsequent tests of longer intervals between first and second dosages showed the mice were protected from developing infections in the lungs and noses. "The investigational vaccine also induced robust CD8 T-cell responses in mice," the NIH reported, which previous research has shown could provide long-term immunity from COVID-19.

FILE - In this Monday, July 27, 2020 file photo, a nurse prepares a shot as a study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc., gets underway in Binghamton, N.Y. Who gets to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine? U.S. health authorities hope by late next month to have some draft guidance on how to ration initial doses, but it’s a vexing decision. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot announced that the nation’s third-largest school district will rely on remote instruction in the fall. Lightfoot had previously presented a hybrid instruction plan, which included both in-person and remote instruction. However, on Wednesday, Lightfoot announced the change in plan, due to the recent increase in confirmed cases in Chicago. “Here in Chicago, we are in a better place than most other areas in the country and in the surrounding area,” Lightfoot said at a City Hall news conference, according to The Associated Press. “But the fact of the matter is, we are seeing an increases in cases. The decision to start remotely makes sense for a district of CPS’ size and diversity.” Officials in the area will reassess the situation this fall to determine whether in-person classes could be possible for the second quarter of the school year.

New York City will be setting up checkpoints across the city to check travelers from states or locations on the Tri-State travel advisory list for quarantine violations. Travelers who fail to quarantine for a period of 14 days upon entering New York City could now face up to $10,000 in fines. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the COVID-19 traveler registration checkpoints will be located at key entry points into the city, to ensure compliance with the state’s quarantine requirements for travelers coming from certain states. “New York City is holding the line against COVID-19, and New Yorkers have shown tremendous discipline,” de Blasio said, according to ABC7. “We’re not going to let out hard work slip away and will continue to do everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe and healthy.”

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

• Confirmed cases: 18,830,344

• Fatalities: 708,278

• Recoveries: 11,381,042

Should India see at least 35,500 new cases on Thursday, the world's second largest country will surpass the 2 million case threshold, becoming the third country in the world to have reached that total, following the United States and Brazil. India hasn't seen a day with fewer than 35,000 new cases since July 16 and the recent surge in cases has yet to plateau. After the U.S., Brazil and India, no other country has seen more than 900,000 cases.

For the second week in a row, the NBA has reported no new cases of COVID-19 among players. “Of the 343 players tested for COVID-19 on the NBA campus since test results were last announced on July 29, zero have returned confirmed positive tests,” the NBA said in a statement on Wednesday. The NBA has resumed play in ‘the bubble’ in Orlando, Florida, where players remain in secure zones isolated from outside contact, significantly reducing the risk of contracting the coronavirus. This news comes just two days after the NHL made a similar announcement. Each member of the 24 NHL teams in contention for the Stanley Cup have tested negative for COVID-19 where they are being kept in a ‘bubble’ in either Edmonton or Toronto depending on the team’s conference. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is creating a resurgence for restaurant drive-thrus. According to CNBC, Starbucks, Chipotle and Shake Shack are just a few of the chain restaurants to prioritize building drive-thrus at their new locations since customers are looking for contactless access to their favorite dining establishments or convenience stores. Shake Shack is reportedly planning on building drive-thru lanes for the first time as is the popular convenience store Wawa. ShakeShack is planning on adding drive-thru lanes for ordering as well as picking up online orders. “Look, in the moment of safety, people want to stay in their cars,” Shake Shack CEO Randy Garutti told analysts on a July 30 conference call, according to CNBC. “That’s not going to last forever. But obviously, this country has proven that the drive-thru in its old form works. We want to do in this new form.”

As lockdowns eased across the U.S. following the first wave of the coronavirus, many restaurants added outdoor seating to adhere to new restrictions and to help add extra room between tables so guests could follow social distancing guidelines. As the seasons transition to fall, some restaurants may be watching the temperature closely to make sure that it is not too cold for guests to sit outside.    AccuWeather has released the 2020 fall forecast, and warmer-than-normal conditions are in the forecast for a majority of the U.S.This is good news for restaurants that are relying on outdoor seating as they will be able to utilize that extra space throughout September and well into October before chilly weather settles in. The projected warmth will also help construction companies that had to stop work in March and April. “A good portion of the fall season is gonna be beneficial to the workers that work outside and have more projects that have to get done and finished because remember, they started out late due to [COVID-19],” AccuWeather Expert Long-Range Forecaster Paul Pastelok said. Click here to read AccuWeather’s complete U.S. fall forecast. 

Joe Biden won't travel to Milwaukee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention, neither will any of the other speakers who will address the convention. Democrats will hold a virtual convention amid coronavirus concerns. Biden will deliver his acceptance speech via video stream from his home state of Delaware, the officials reported. The decision on speakers not traveling to Milwaukee was made "in order to prevent risking the health of our host community as well as the convention’s production teams, security officials, community partners, media and others necessary to orchestrate the event." Organizers said in a statement that there had been ongoing consultation with public officials about the decision. “While we wish we could move forward with welcoming the world to beautiful Milwaukee in two weeks, we recognize protecting the health of our host community and everyone involved with this convention must be paramount,” Joe Solmonese, the convention's chief executive said in a statement.

Tom Lawton, a doctor at the Bradford Royal Infirmary in Yorkshire, England, ran 22 miles to work and back while wearing a face mask, to prove that it doesn’t cut oxygen levels. He recorded the results and showed that his oxygen levels never fell below 98% of what it would usually be. “There are a lot of people outdoor who just don’t want to wear a mask and will find any excuse they can,” Lawton told Newsweek. “But the people I’m more concerned about are people with respiratory illness, who would like to wear a mask, who would like to do their bit, but are scared because there have been reports it causes hypoxia (a condition where the body is deprived of oxygen).” Lawton added that wearing a mask does not affect people with respiratory illnesses and it is safe for them to use. In the U.K., the government has made mask-wearing mandatory at supermarkets and shops, as of July 24. Those who refuse to wear a mask will face a fine of up to £100.

The coronavirus continues to spread across India, as the union health ministry reported 52,050 cases on Tuesday, marking the sixth consecutive day cases have surpassed 50,000 in the country. As of Tuesday, the total number of confirmed cases now stands at 1.85 million, according to OneIndia. To help control the spread, the health ministry announced that more tests will be conducted. “In its fight against COVID-19, India scales a new high of 6,61,715 tests in the last 24 hours,” the Health Ministry shared in a tweet on Monday.

An uptick in COVID-19 cases has resulted in new restrictions in Aberdeen, Scotland. “This virus hasn’t gone away - if you doubted that, then today we have evidence of how true that is,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said. The new round of restrictions includes the closure of pubs and restaurants, Reuters said. People planning to visit the city are also being told to delay their trips. “It is still out there and it is still highly infectious and it is still highly dangerous,” Sturgeon said. “The outbreak in Aberdeen is a sharp reminder of that. It shows what can happen if we let our guard drop.” In one week, officials will review these restrictions and decide whether to extend them or to allow pubs and restaurants to open once again.

The University of Connecticut will not hold a football season this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. The school is the first within the Football Bowl Subdivison (FBS) landscape to announce that it is canceling its season. The program recently left the American Athletic Conference and was scheduled to play as an independent this season, ESPN reported. "After receiving guidance from state and public health officials and consulting with football student-athletes, we've decided that we will not compete on the gridiron this season," UConn athletic director David Benedict said. "The safety challenges created by COVID-19 place our football student-athletes at an unacceptable level of risk."

Members of the team returned to campus in July and since then none have tested positive for COVID-19, the school said. "We engaged and listened to the concerns of our football student-athletes and feel this is the best decision for their health, safety, and well-being," head coach Randy Edsall said.  "Our team is united in this approach and we will use this time to further player development within the program and gear ourselves to the 2021 season." In an additional statement, the players said they agreed with the decision not to play. "We have many health concerns and not enough is known about the potential long term effects of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, we have not had the optimal time to train mentally & physically to be properly prepared to compete this season. We love this game and love competing.  We came to campus in the beginning of July knowing there would be challenges presented by the pandemic but it is apparent to us now that these challenges are impossible to overcome." 

Connecticut offensive lineman Matt Peart (65) hugs Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall during senior day festivities before the start of an NCAA college football game against East Carolina Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Stephen Dunn)

As the coronavirus continues to spread, Hawaii Pacific Health CEO Ray Vara warned that the growing number of COVID-19 cases could soon overwhelm hospital capacity. “If we continue on these current trends of triple digit numbers for another seven to 10 days, we’re going to begin stressing those capacities pretty quickly,” Vara said on Monday, according to The Associated Press. Hawaii Pacific Health, which operates four hospitals across Hawaii, has built analytical models of the virus spread for months, with the goal of preventing the illness from overwhelming the state’s health care system. However, recent public gatherings and the lack of mask-wearing could be leading to a fast spread of the virus that could outstrip capacity at hospitals.

As the virus continues to spread in the Philippines, stay-at-home orders have been re-introduced in Manila and four surrounding provinces. For the next two weeks, residents of the area will be asked to stay home as infections in the country surge past 100,000, according to the BBC. As an additional measure, public transport has also been suspended, local flights have been canceled and restaurants are restricted to takeout. The new lockdown came after 80 medical associations in the country urged President Rodrigo Duterte to toughen restrictions due to the fast spread of the virus. On Sunday, the Philippines reported 5,032 new infections, forcing hospitals to turn away patients as they scramble to treat as many people as possible.

Disney’s two upcoming blockbusters, Mulan and Black Widow, will be available to purchase on Disney+ for a premium access fee of $29.99 as the company reported a better-than-expected $5 billion loss. Starting Sept. 4, Disney+ subscribers will be able to pay the premium fee to watch Mulan from the comfort of their homes, while Black Widow will be available for steaming starting Nov. 6 for the same fee. This is Disney’s first time experimenting with offering a movie via a premium access fee on its streaming services, and if it is proven to be successful, executives say that this could lead to a new revenue stream for the company, which took a nearly $5 million charge due to the coronavirus pandemic. “The majority of businesses worldwide have experienced unprecedented disruption as a result of the pandemic,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek told analysts, according to Reuters. “Most of our businesses were shut down, and this had a huge impact.” Watch the video in the tweet below for more.

The coronavirus turmoil of 2020 may extend far beyond New Year’s Eve, Dr. Larry Brilliant predicted. The former World Health Organization doctor told USA Today that he believes COVID-19 will be still be in steady circulation come 2024. “We will still be chasing the virus four years from now,” he said on Monday. “It will be like the smallpox eradication program. The polio eradication program. Having yellow fever in some countries and not in others.” Calling it a “bad and rocky ride,” Brilliant, who was part of the team that helped eradicate smallpox in the 1970s, said that he believes the coronavirus death toll will linger for decades, although he added that effective vaccines will help people recover more quickly.

The holidays will seem a bit different this year in the Big Apple as a longstanding holiday staple has been canceled. On Monday, Madison Square Garden Entertainment announced that the iconic Rockettes' Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall will not take place this holiday season due to uncertainty around COVID-19. "We are disappointed for everyone involved with the show, as well as for the many fans who make the Christmas Spectacular a cherished part of their holiday tradition. We look forward to welcoming audiences back for the 2021 production, which is on sale now," MSG Entertainment said in a statement. The Rockettes, which began in 1925, have drawn 75 million people to the show since it started in 1933. “Christmas has officially been canceled,” Samantha Berger, a Rockette who has performed for 15 seasons wrote on Instagram. “Until Next year,” she said, while adding two broken heart emojis. “Please Wear a Mask.”

You’ll have to forgive Chris Rogan for not knowing the date. After a 132-day hospital stay battling COVID-19, the 29-year-old was released from a New York hospital on Tuesday morning. Over the course of his traumatic stay, which began in late March, Rogan was intubated twice, coded once, had a tracheotomy and had to have to leg amputated due to blood clots, according to ABC 13. “It’s definitely shocking, because when I went down there, it was only 150,000 cases,” he said. “When I woke up, it was 2.5 million. I was like, ‘What? Are you serious?’”

To minimize face-to-face contact, a pizza restaurant in Spain launched an app that gives a new dining experience to customers. To adapt to social distancing rules, customers at Funky Pizza, in Palafrugell, a coastal town north of Barcelona, can browse the menu, order and pay via the “Funky Pay” app on their phones, the first of its kind in the country. Staff manage the orders from screens behind the bar, however a waiter does have to bring the order to the table. “Through this system we have tried to keep physical distance with our clients, which is what people are looking for during COVID,” restaurant owner Carlos Manich, said according to Reuters. Upon entry, the restaurant reminds customers they must wear face masks at all times when not at their tables. “The application is very user-friendly ... and you can also track your order and see when it is in the kitchen or when it will be arriving,” customer Claudia Medina said while eating at the restaurant, according to Reuters. Some customers weren’t fond of the new app and like to connect with the staff. “I think we lose the feeling with the waiter, for example when you order you can’t ask about different preferences or quantities,” customer Javier Comas said.

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

• Confirmed cases: 18,560,630

• Fatalities: 701,027

• Recoveries: 11,155,926

The world surpassed the 700,000 fatality threshold on Wednesday morning, less than seven months after China reported its first COVID-19 death. The United States, which saw its first death on Feb. 29, has seen the most in the world, with 156,830 fatalities. Only one other country, Brazil, has seen more than 50,000 deaths.

For previous updates on the coronavirus pandemic from July 24 to August 4, click here.