August 9 coronavirus news

North Paulding High School sophomore Hannah Watters, who shared a photo of the crowded hallways at her school, told CNN's Boris Sanchez Sunday night that she has received threats over her release of the photo. 

Hannah said she and her family and friends have been receiving screenshots of group chats in the school with threatening language against her.

One message said "I know where this girl lives," Hannah said. Other threats, she said, included, "We're going to jump every girl named Hannah in the 10th grade," and "Hannah is going to have a rough day at school on Monday."

She said that she understands that seniors are worried they may have their last year of high school taken away from them and that she doesn't want that. Hannah only released the photo to keep people safe, she said.

"I just hope that sooner or later everyone can understand that I'm not trying to shut it down and when I did expose the school district, it wasn't to cancel the senior year, not to go after anyone. It was just to keep us all safe." Hannah said. "Because you wouldn't have your senior year because sooner or later the school was going to shut down and if we shut down or just go online for a week earlier, we can contain it quicker and we can use the rest of your senior year, the rest of the school year normally."

Following the news that the school will close for cleaning for the next two days after nine new cases were identified, Hannah said many people have told her they are getting tested.

Over 350 cars were stopped at New York City “quarantine checkpoints” in the first three days after being established, according to Laura Feyer, press secretary for NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Feyer said there were 353 total stops across the city from Wednesday through Friday. Approximately 1,100 masks were distributed as well, Feyer said.

On Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that several checkpoints would be set up around the city to give travelers from travel advisory states information about the quarantine and to remind them that it’s mandatory. Travelers who fail to quarantine are subject to a $10,000 fine and individuals who refuse to fill out the New York State Department of Health travel form are subject to a $2,000 fine, de Blasio said.

The checkpoints will also be at major bridge and tunnel crossings, New York City Sheriff Joseph Fucito said Wednesday.

Major League Baseball has postponed the St. Louis Cardinals’ three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, scheduled to begin Monday, due to recent positive Covid-19 test results. 

The Cardinals have now had 13 consecutive games postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak within the team that has seen at least eight players and six staffers test positive for Covid-19.

Here is the full MLB statement:

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot tweeted a picture of a crowded beach Sunday, saying that the crowds and "reckless behavior" will make the city shut down parks and the lake front.

"Don't make us take steps backwards," Lightfoot tweeted.

North Paulding High School in Georgia will have digital learning only on both Monday and Tuesday, according to a letter from the school district sent to parents this evening.

“The school will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on Monday and Tuesday and the district will consult with the Department of Public Health to assess the environment and determine if there are any additional close contacts for confirmed cases who have not already been identified,” the letter read.

At least nine cases of Covid-19 have been reported at the Georgia high school that came under scrutiny last week after a student shared a photo of a crowded hallway, according to a letter from the school's principal.

Brazil has reported 572 people have died of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, a day after the country surpassed a total of 100,000 coronavirus deaths.

On Sunday, Brazil’s Health Ministry said the total number of people recorded to have died from the coronavirus is now 101,049.

The ministry also announced 23,010 new cases were registered on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 3,035,422.

Brazil continues to trail only the United States in terms of the world’s highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths. 

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pleaded with residents to wear masks during a press conference Sunday, calling it "common sense."  His statement comes after announcing new rules on Friday designed to better enforce mask requirements and give local authority guidelines to enforce compliance.

“Imagine if someone could walk into a restaurant, light a cigarette, blow smoke in your face, and all the smoker had to say is 'well it’s my choice,’" Pritzker said.

Illinois reported 1,382 new cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths on Sunday, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

In the past two days, the state has seen the numbers of new cases surpass 2,000, which was a record high since IDPH reported 2,508 new cases back on May 24.

The Texas Department of Health and Human Services reported 4,789 new coronavirus cases and 116 new deaths Sunday

There are now a total of 486,362 coronavirus cases and 8,459 deaths in the state of Texas, according to the health website.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has used an online post to criticize coronavirus lockdown measures and news coverage of the pandemic, in his first comments almost a full day after Brazil surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths.

In a series of tweets Sunday, Bolsonaro pointed to a story published by the UK’s Daily Mail that criticizes lockdown measures to address the spread of coronavirus.

The Daily Mail article suggests “it is thought that as many as 16,000 people died because they didn't get medical care between March 23 and May 1.” The story claims – without evidence – that those people didn't go to hospital during lockdown because they feared catching the virus.

Bolsonaro went on to criticize Brazil’s biggest TV station without specifically naming it, saying the TV station “only spreads panic in the population and the discord among the powers” and “disdained, debauched and discouraged the use of hydroxychloroquine."

Brazil surpassed 100,000 coronavirus deaths on Saturday and cases in the country are now more than 3 million, according to the latest numbers by the country's Health Ministry.

Bolsonaro's only mention of the 100,000 coronavirus deaths reached in his country on Saturday was to criticize the TV station's coverage of the topic.

“In a cowardly and disrespectful manner to the 100,000 dead Brazilians, this TV celebrated that date yesterday, as a true World Cup final, blaming the President of the Republic for all the deaths," he wrote.

He added that “misinformation kills even more than the virus itself. Time and science will show us that Covid's political use of this TV has brought us deaths that could have been avoided.”