Coronavirus pandemic in the US

Our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the US has ended for the day. Follow the latest developments from around the globe here.

Beaches in Los Angeles and San Diego counties will remain closed this weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus as a heatwave brings record warm temperatures to Southern California.

The continued closures have prompted local officials to remind the public to continue to stay home despite the temptation to hit the sand during the summer-like weather.

In Los Angeles county, the stay at home order states that all public beaches, piers, public beach parking lots, and beach access points remain shuttered.

The closures could prompt Southern Californians to head to Ventura and Orange counties where most beaches are open, but parking lots and piers are closed to curb visits from out-of-towners.

Both the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff are increasing patrols to enforce social distancing rules at beaches. Two lifeguard chiefs and representatives with three law enforcement agencies praised Southern California residents for adhering to social distancing guidelines and for their cooperation.

There has been a concerted effort among aides and allies to get President Trump to stop conducting the daily coronavirus briefings, multiple sources told CNN.

Many close to him believe the daily briefings hurt him more than they help him. This comes after the White House spent the last 24 hours attempting to clean up remarks from the President that researchers should look into injecting people with disinfectant or ultraviolet rays to cure coronavirus.

"I see the disinfectant — where it knocks it out in a minute, one minute. And is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?" Trump asked Dr. Deborah Birx Thursday night.

Trump left the briefing after just 22 minutes on Friday and took no questions from reporters after tweeting he would be holding a press conference. 

A source close to the coronavirus task force said Trump was upset about the “flack” he was taking after his comments about people injecting disinfectants as a coronavirus cure. 

One White House official said they asked the President to stop conducting the daily briefings last week but he resisted. Another ally told CNN that this concern is not new among those close to him.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis may withhold emergency funding from Weld County after a local leader said any business would be allowed to reopen on Monday.

The state is moving to what it calls a “Safer at Home” plan on Monday that involves loosening some restrictions, but the plan promoted by Weld County Commission Chairman Mike Freeman would allow all businesses to open with only suggested social distancing guidelines. 

“Weld County is prepared to let all of its businesses, including those involving face to face transactions such as restaurants and retail establishments, to open on Monday,” Freeman wrote on Facebook.

Polis says the state is allowing local counties to request their own exceptions to the state’s coronavirus restrictions, but he says Weld County has not even attempted to ask for a variance. 

In an interview with the Greeley Tribune in Weld County, Freeman said he considered tight coronavirus restrictions to be unenforceable. 

“People are trying to do the right thing, but people have reached the end of their ropes,” Freeman told the newspaper.

The Supreme Court denied a request Friday from New York and other states to block the Trump administration’s controversial “public charge” rule during the pandemic.

The rule makes it more difficult for immigrants to obtain legal status if they use public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps and housing vouchers.

Earlier in the term, a 5-4 court said the rule could go into effect nationwide while legal challenges played out, but the states had asked the justices to reconsider that decision given the implications of the virus. 

The court denied the request with no noted dissents, but the justices did indicate the states could ask district courts for relief.

Some context: New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New York City had filed one petition asking the justices to block the rule nationwide, arguing that while they are trying to stop the spread of Covid-19, the government’s rule is deterring some immigrants from accessing health care and public benefits that are “essential tools for protecting the public at large” by limiting the “spread and severity” of the virus.

“Such narrow and temporary relief” is warranted, New York Attorney General Letitia James argued.

In the petition, James provided examples of the impact of the rule on immigrants.

“A physician in Connecticut has spoken with patients who had symptoms consistent with Covid-19,” James wrote, “but were afraid to obtain COVID-19 testing or seek treatment due to concerns about the Public Charge Rule and fears that they could not afford to pay for treatment.”

She said the unwillingness for immigrants to come forward jeopardized their safety but also the public at large.

There are at least 890,524 cases of coronavirus in the US and at least 51,107 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally of cases. 

On Friday, Johns Hopkins tallied 21,579 new cases and 1,130 reported deaths. 

The totals includes cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories.

The 2020 California State Fair and Food Festival has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, event organizers announced in a press release Friday.

This year’s event, which was scheduled for July 17-August 2 at Cal Expo in Sacramento, would have been the 166th year of the award-winning fair. This is the first time the annual California State Fair has been canceled since WWII, Cal Expo said.

More than 700,000 people were expected to attend this year’s event, according to Cal Expo Deputy General Manager Margaret Mohr. The cancelation of the fair has a huge economic impact on Cal Expo and the region, she added. 

Cal Expo hires over 800 seasonal employees for the event each year.

The venue for the event currently serves as a drive-thru coronavirus testing site, as well as a temporary emergency isolation trailer facilities for the homeless population, according to the press release.

“California Exposition and State Fair is a proud member of the statewide community and we will continue to do our part to combat COVID-19,” Pickering said.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont slammed President Trump for his comments Thursday which suggested that disinfectant could be a treatment for coronavirus.

Lamont added: "And I urge each and every one of you, don't even take it as a bit of humor and sarcasm. Make sure your kids know that this is something that's dangerous and should not be allowed.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not set a deadline for when to reopen the state.

“I’m not concerned about specific dates as much as I’m concerned about getting it right,” DeSantis said at a news conference Friday.

The governor’s Reopen Task Force was scheduled to deliver their recommendations to DeSantis today.

DeSantis said he plans to take a look at the task force’s recommendations through the weekend and then roll out the plan in the “next many days.”

“When that [the reopening] would start has absolutely not been determined yet,” DeSantis said.