August 20 coronavirus news

The Brazilian Congress has decided that the use of masks is mandatory in closed places like commercial establishments, many workplaces, religious temples and schools. In a joint session of both houses — Senate and Deputies Chamber — the legislature overturned President Jair Bolsonaro's veto on such requirements.

In votes on Wednesday, senators and deputies also upheld the right of mayors and governors to fine those who disobeyed the requirement.

The Congress also overturned Bolsonaro's vetoes of a law that sets out the federal government's duties to protect indigenous people during the pandemic. The legislators upheld aspects of the law assuring universal access to drinkable water, emergency access to beds in hospitals, the acquisition of ventilators and the delivery of free food to indigenous people and communities of slaves' descendants. 

On her Twitter account, Joenia Wapichana —  the first indigenous woman to occupy a federal deputy seat in Brazil — celebrated the Congress' action.

"With the Federal Law number 14.021 restored, the Government of Jair Bolsonaro is OBLIGED, by law and by the decision of the STF [Federal Supreme Court], to give due urgent and emergency attention to prevent a new genocide in indigenous peoples, due to the pandemic". 

Wapichana was referring to the Supreme Court's decision which required the federal government to implement safety measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Thursday that the R-number — or reproduction number — in the nation "could currently be above one."

A reproduction rate of one means each person with coronavirus will infect an average of one other person, so above one is the level at which each coronavirus patient infects more than one other person.

In the last 24 hours an additional 77 coronavirus cases have been confirmed with the total number of cases totaling at least 19,534. 

The death toll in Scotland now stands at 2,492 and no new coronavirus deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours, Sturgeon added.

"The figures we have been reporting in recent weeks show that incidence and prevalence of the virus continue to be at low levels in Scotland as a whole. However, the range for our R-number has recently increased and our most recent estimate suggests that it could currently be above one," Sturgeon said.

Another 1.1 million Americans filed initial claims for unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis last week, dashing economists' hopes for a second-straight week with fewer than 1 million claims.

Economists were optimistic that the US jobs market would be on a steady trajectory toward recovery. But last week's claims returned above 1 million after the previous week's report was the first below 1 million since March, the Department of Labor reported Thursday 

Continued jobless claims, counting people who have filed claims for at least two weeks in a row, remain very high at 14.8 million.

Some context: After months of shocking economic data, these eyewatering big numbers might not seem as shocking anymore as they really are. But the road to recovery remains long and arduous. The Federal Reserve said in its July meeting minutes Wednesday that any rebound of the jobs market depends on a reopening and businesses, which in turn depends on the path of the virus and what we do to contain it.

Watch:

American Airlines announced Thursday it plans to suspend service to 15 cities in October citing “low demand.”  

Airlines have thus far been mostly blocked from stopping service to a destination as a condition of accepting CARES Act payroll funding. But those restrictions expire on Oct. 1. Despite pressure from aviation worker unions, Congress has not extended the funding.  

American said the cuts are not permeant and are “only in place for the October schedule.”  The suspensions will be effective on Oct. 7.

Here are the 15 cities, according to the airline:

The US has reported more than 5.5 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, and more than 22 million cases have been recorded worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University's latest tally.

If you're just reading in this morning, here's the news you need to know from around the globe:

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday that officials cannot order the closure of religious schools that are following the rules around Covid-19.

It came after Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear recommended that school districts delay in-person instruction until September 28, saying that he would issue an executive order to close schools where there was “a severe proven threat to the health of the people in the school, and a failure to take any action to address it."

Religiously affiliated schools and concerned parents wondered whether the Governor, or other state and local officials, “may lawfully co-opt their informed decisions to reopen for in-person instruction,” and asked the Attorney General’s office to issue an opinion on the matter.

Cameron said officials could not close schools that were “in compliance with reasonable social distancing and hygiene guidelines set forth by recognized national or international health agencies and organizations."

His opinion states that the Governor, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and other officials are prohibited from closing religiously affiliated schools because of the First and 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and state law.

For the first time in roughly five months, AMC Theatres will pop the popcorn, dim the lights, and start the show. 

But will anyone buy a ticket? 

AMC, the world's largest movie theater chain, is reopening more than 100 US locations on Thursday after closing their doors in March. Other major chains like Regal Cinemas and Alamo Drafthouse will also return this weekend, while Cinemark started its phased reopening last weekend. Roughly 1,400 of the 6,000 venues in North America are currently open, according to Comscore. (Track how box-office sales have been hit on our recovery dashboard.)

It's a monumental moment for theaters and the film industry at large. The next few weeks and months will give Hollywood an idea of whether the movie theater industry can bounce back after being ravaged by coronavirus. 

It's not going to be easy.

Read the full story here:

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A teenage girl in Southern California has died from the coronavirus, Orange County health officials announced Wednesday. 

The girl had "significant underlying medical conditions," officials said in a news release without providing further details about the child or her health conditions.

Across the state, more than 638,000 people have tested positive for the virus, including 63,000 cases among children younger than 18, state data show. 

The number of Covid-19 cases among children nationwide recently increased 90% over four weeks, according to data released last week by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"We've had 90 deaths in children in the United States already, in just a few months," Dr. Sean O'Leary, vice-chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, told CNN last week.

Read the full story here:

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Southern California teen girl with underlying health conditions dies of Covid-19, officials say

Europe has been reporting more than 26,000 daily new coronavirus cases on average since governments started relaxing measures implemented to stop the spread of the disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 

The increase can be explained in part by the fact that "authorities have been easing some of the restrictions and people have been dropping their guard," WHO Europe chief Hans Kluge said during a news conference on Thursday. 

Kluge said that with 3.9 million coronavirus cases, the region accounts for 17% of the global total. While Europe made great strides in suppressing the virus after it was hit "early and hard," Kluge affirmed that the "risk of resurgence has never been far away."

He said that "new cases have been steadily increasing every week in the region" since restrictions began easing. Europe recorded 40,000 more cases in the first week of August compared to the first week of June, when cases were at their lowest, he added.

Kluge said that the key challenge was "that localized outbreaks and clusters are now occurring with greater frequency, often in closed settings." The WHO Europe chief said that these outbreaks should not interfere with the plans for children to return safely to school, and announced a meeting for all 53 countries in the region on ensuring safe, high-quality education.

Suggested measures include opening schools in areas with low virus levels, adjusting schedules and keeping students numbers low in areas with widespread cases.

A new season: Kluge said it was "critical that countries monitor flu activity and restore and reinforce routine surveillance to include both viruses, and that they promote flu vaccination for at-risk groups." He emphasized the greater stores of knowledge countries have for dealing with the virus in the fall.

Kluge said he was "very concerned that more and more young people are counted among reported cases," telling Europe's youth that they "have their part to play" in suppressing the virus and advising against large gatherings.