August 4 coronavirus news

By Adam Renton, Brad Lendon, Amy Woodyatt, Ed Upright, Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 12:02 a.m. ET, August 5, 2020
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11:40 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Mexico reports more than 6,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Karol Suarez in Mexico City

A woman puts a face mask on a mannequin while waiting for customers at her shop in Mexico City, on August 3.
A woman puts a face mask on a mannequin while waiting for customers at her shop in Mexico City, on August 3. Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty Images

Mexico reported 6,148 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, bringing its total number of infections to nearly 450,000, according to the country's Health Ministry. 

The ministry also registered 857 new related fatalities, raising the total death toll to 48,869. 

On Monday, Mexican Education Minister Esteban Moctezuma announced that the 2020-21 school year will begin with remote learning on August 24.  

“It will begin with remote learning for not having the conditions to do it in person,” he said, adding that “we all want to return to the schools with our friends and teachers that we miss; however, the health risk remains high.” 
11:06 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Texas woman blames Trump and state governor for husband's coronavirus death in his obituary

From CNN's Artemis Moshtaghian

Stacey Nagy, a Texas woman who lost her husband David to the coronavirus, called out the President and state governor Greg Abbott in no uncertain terms in his obituary.

"Family members believe David's death was needless," the obituary read. "They blame his death and the deaths of all the other innocent people, on Trump, Abbott, and all the other politicians who did not take this pandemic seriously and were more concerned with their popularity and votes than lives."

Nagy told CNN on Tuesday night that she initially hoped putting her husband’s obituary in their local newspaper might spur members of her community to respect the seriousness of the pandemic, and was surprised when her words spread nationwide online.

“I posted it in my little town’s little newspaper, and hoped that a few of the residents would read it and start wearing masks, and I had no idea that it would have turned out the way it did," she said.

“I felt that had things been handled properly from the very beginning, we would not be where we are now," she added. "And it’s frustrating when you know that somebody’s died that didn’t need to die, or at least they didn’t need to die in the way they did, and in the time that they did. After this whole thing happened, I was so angry, and I just had this need to express myself and to put blame where blame belongs.”

Loving husband: Nagy told CNN how her husband lived, in addition to the manner in which he died.

“Dave was a character, he was a fun-loving person, and he loved his family dearly,” Nagy said. “You know, I could be in the kitchen washing dishes at the sink and he would come up and start kissing the back of neck, giving me chills in the back of my neck, and he was the love of my life, and I love him. He was a part of me, and I feel lost without him.”

10:31 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

25 people tested positive for Covid-19 at an Oregon day camp

From CNN's Gisela Crespo

A coronavirus outbreak at a day camp in Oregon has now infected 25 people, all under the age of 20.

The patients are 11 campers and 14 counselors at Trout Creek Bible Camp, located near the community of Corbett in eastern Multnomah County, county spokeswoman Kate Yeiser said.

The first case was reported to public health authorities on July 17, Yeiser said.

Joe Fahlman, director of the camp, said the first case was a volunteer who did not have much contact with other groups. The camp opened on June 22 and followed the state's guidelines for summertime day camps, including maintaining cohorts of 10 people or fewer together, Fahlman said. 

The camp decided to close its doors for the following week on July 21, and ultimately decided to cancel the remainder of the summer sessions on July 27.

Mask rules: Oregon did not require the public to wear masks indoors until July 1, and the mandate did not extend to children under 12. The state moved to expand its mask mandate to outdoor public spaces when 6 feet distance cannot be maintained on July 15. 

Fahlman said the children who attended the camp mostly did outdoor activities within their cohort.

9:29 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

The US has reported 54,000 new cases so far today

A respiratory therapist collects Covid-19 tests in specimen sampling tubes inside Cashman Center on August 3, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A respiratory therapist collects Covid-19 tests in specimen sampling tubes inside Cashman Center on August 3, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The United States has now recorded at least 4,768,083 cases of coronavirus and 156,753 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Tuesday has seen 54,543 new cases and 1,351 reported deaths so far. The total figures will continue to be updated for several more hours as the day comes to a close.

These totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

9:11 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Argentina reports highest spike in new coronavirus cases and deaths 

From CNN's Stefano Pozzebon in Bogota 

A doctor takes samples for a PCR test to a man with Covid-19 symptoms at the mobile health unit in Villa Fiorito, Buenos Aires outskirts, Argentina, on August 3.
A doctor takes samples for a PCR test to a man with Covid-19 symptoms at the mobile health unit in Villa Fiorito, Buenos Aires outskirts, Argentina, on August 3. Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images

Argentina saw its highest daily jump in coronavirus cases and related deaths on Tuesday, with 6,792 new infections and 166 fatalities.

That raises the national totals to 213,535 cases and 3,979 deaths.

The spike in figures marks a rapidly accelerating trend in new cases in Argentina.  

At a weekly briefing Tuesday, the Pan American Health Organization expressed serious concern over the recent surge of Covid-19 cases in the country.  

7:35 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Eighth Brazilian minister tests positive for coronavirus

From Marcia Reverdosa in São Paulo

Brazilian minister Jorge Oliveira tested positive for Covid-19, he announced on Twitter Tuesday.

Oliveira, who heads the General Secretariat of the Presidency, became the eighth minister of President Jair Bolsonaro's government to be diagnosed with the virus.

"I'm in isolation since today, and I'm on a remote schedule. I have mild symptoms and will do a medical follow-up," he wrote.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 178 coronavirus cases have so far been registered among the staff of the Presidency — an increase of 65% in a period of just under a month, according to the presidential press office.

7:24 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Trump attends first coronavirus task force meeting since April

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal  

President Trump tweeted that he had a “great meeting today with the CoronaVirus Task Force in the Oval Office.”

He included four pictures of task force members in the Oval Office.

From the photos, it looks like only three members of the task force wore face masks during the meeting. Two of them were Drs. Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci. 

The last time the President is known to have attended a task force briefing was in April. 

6:56 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

Trump says he is "looking at" possibly using executive action on unemployment benefits

From CNN's Allie Malloy and Phil Mattingly

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 4.
US President Donald Trump speaks to the press in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 4. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump told reporters that he is “looking at” possibly signing an executive action if no deal is made by the end of this week on unemployment benefits but said that “progress” is being made on the Hill.

“We are looking at it. We’re also looking at various other things I’m allowed to do under the system, such as the payroll tax suspension. And so we’re allowed to do things,” Trump said in the briefing room Tuesday. 

Trump also sounded more encouraged by discussions today on the Hill saying, “We’re talking with the Democrats. They seem to be much more interested in solving the problems in some of the Democrat-run states and cities that have suffered greatly through bad management.”

“As far as the various things that I may or may not sign — I may not have to sign. Progress has been made as you know, very well on the Hill. We’ll see what happens, including the payroll tax suspension,” Trump added.

It remains unclear what, if any, legal authority the executive branch has to address those issues in a substantive manner. Congressional aides and lawmakers, who remain in the dark on the details, are skeptical the efforts have any validity. 

6:39 p.m. ET, August 4, 2020

State attorneys general urge federal action to increase supply and affordability of remdesivir

Gilead Sciences headquarters sign is seen in Foster City, California on April 30.
Gilead Sciences headquarters sign is seen in Foster City, California on April 30. Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images

Attorneys general from 34 states wrote a letter Tuesday to federal officials urging them to intervene to increase the supply and affordability of remdesivir, the only drug authorized by the government to treat Covid-19.  

The attorneys general warned Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services; Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health; and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration that the supply of the drug is “dangerously limited” and that the recently announced prices of the drug “will impede access to treatment.”  

Gilead Sciences owns the patent on remdesivir, and so is currently the only company allowed to sell it. In their letter, the attorneys general asked that the federal government enact the Bayh-Dole Act, which would effectively allow other pharmaceutical companies to make it as well.  

“We respectfully urge the federal government to exercise its rights under the Bayh-Dole Act, which will allow the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the FDA to ensure that Americans can afford and access a sufficient supply of remdesivir during this pandemic,” they wrote. 

The attorneys general pointed out in their letter that remdesivir was created with taxpayer funding.

“Remdesivir has benefited from millions of dollars of public funding, including a $30-million NIH-funded clinical trial estimated for this fiscal year alone,” they wrote. “But despite the large infusion of taxpayer monies, Gilead is unable to guarantee a supply of remdesivir sufficient to alleviate the health and safety needs of the country amid the pandemic.”

The Bayh-Dole Act would allow the federal government, using the “march-in” provision, to pass the license of a patented drug that was developed with federal funding to a third party who would compete with Gilead in an effort to increase supply and lower prices. Under the law, the Bayh-Doyle Act can be used if a patent holder fails to “alleviate health or safety needs” of consumers.