July 21 coronavirus news

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Mexico surpassed 40,000 Covid-19 deaths Tuesday, after the country's health ministry reported 915 new deaths from the virus.

The country's death toll now stands at 40,400. 

The ministry also reported another rise in infections, with 6,859 newly confirmed cases bringing Mexico's total number to 356,255.

Almost 900,000 new Covid-19 cases and nearly 22,000 deaths were reported last week in the Americas, with Brazil, Mexico and the United States reporting most of the new cases and deaths, Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization said on Tuesday.

The US’s 3,000 counties expect this year’s coronavirus pandemic to hit their budgets to the tune of $202 billion, meaning cuts in services, jobs and infrastructure projects, according to a survey published Tuesday.

Already, 71% of counties have cut or delayed capital investments such as infrastructure and economic development projects, the US' National Association of Counties (NACo) said in its report. And 68% reported they have cut services such as public safety and health services.

“Counties anticipate (a) $202 billion impact to budgets through FY2021, with widespread economic consequences,” the report reads.

The group said counties employ 328,000 hospital workers, 374,000 law enforcement officers, 93,000 firefighting staff and 200,000 public health workers. Jails, airports, 911 call centers, child and domestic protective services and services for the elderly could all be impacted.

Tuesday’s reported deaths from coronavirus have topped 1,000 in the United States for the first time in two weeks, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of 9:45 p.m. ET, 1,056 deaths have been reported, along with 62,752 new cases of the virus. On July 7, the death toll was 1,195 -- the only other time in July that threshold has been crossed. Today’s death count will not be finalized for a few more hours.

So far this year, one-quarter of all days (59 out of 202) have seen a death toll from the virus exceeding 1,000.

Colombia's health ministry reported 7,033 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday, bringing the country's total to 211,038 cases. 

The ministry also reported 239 new fatalities, bringing the nationwide total death toll to 7,166. 

Despite the growing number of cases, Health Minister Fernando Ruiz defended Colombia's strategy not to impose a nationwide lockdown and instead try to isolate the hotspots across the country. 

Speaking on television on Tuesday, Ruiz said, "This approach is much more effective than shutting down the whole country." 

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday responded to President Trump's briefing earlier in the day, in which he warned the pandemic would probably get worse before it gets better, saying he had realized his early actions and rhetoric were in error.

"If he had said months ago 'let's wear a mask, let's socially distance' instead of having rallies.... then more people would have followed his lead," Pelosi added. "He is the President of the United States."

In today's briefing that lasted around 30 minutes, Trump again said he believed the virus would disappear and insisted the American response to the pandemic was "much better" than in other places.

But he also offered more realistic projections that his advisers hope will make him appear like a sober-minded leader.

"It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better," Trump said, echoing a prediction he made at the start of April of a "rough" two weeks ahead.

Pelosi suggested that Trump ought to have taken the tone he took today in March, instead of waiting until the virus surged across the country.

"If it's important to wear a mask now, it would have been important to wear it in March instead of telling us that by April, we would all be going to church together," she said. "I wish that were the case."

Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials announced Tuesday that fan attendance of approximately 25% of capacity will be allowed at the 2020 Indianapolis 500, and all attendees will be required to wear face coverings.

Race officials originally announced in late June a planned attendance of 50% of capacity, but said Tuesday that policies and procedures put into effect by Indianapolis Motor Speedway led to this new reduced attendance.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, Indy 500 organizers were hoping to draw more than 300,000 attendees this year. Twenty-five percent of that total would still make the 2020 Indy 500 the most attended sporting event in the US since the onset of the pandemic.

The race is scheduled for August 23 after being postponed from its original date of May 24.

Race officials plan to unveil a nearly 100-page plan of guidelines and protocols for how the race will be run on July 22.

The University of California, Berkeley will begin fall semester with “fully remote instruction,” the university announced in a statement to its faculty and staff on Tuesday.

Citing trend lines and the increase in coronavirus cases across California and Alameda County, the university said a “dramatic reversal in the public health situation” is unlikely before the semester begins on August 26.

“We continue our preparations to implement hybrid and/or flexible modes of instruction as soon as public health conditions allow,” UC Berkeley said. 

The fully remote option is open for all students, according to the statement. UC Berkeley plans to continue with remote education after Thanksgiving, even if some in-person instruction becomes available.

UC Berkeley is the first among 10 campuses across the state to announce its decision to begin the semester entirely online.

Brazil reported 41,008 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,159,654, the country's health ministry said.

The ministry also registered 1,367 new fatalities due to the virus, raising the total death toll to 81,487.

Earlier Tuesday, the Pan American Health Organization said Covid-19 "is showing no signs of slowing down" in the Americas.

"There have been a total of 7.7 million cases and more than 311,000 deaths reported in the region as of July 20," PAHO Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said in Tuesday's briefing.