July 6 coronavirus news

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows this morning doubled down on false comments from the President that 99% of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless.”

Meadows made his first television appearance in his new role on Fox News and gaggled with reporters today.

Remember: Data from Johns Hopkins University suggests a coronavirus fatality rate of 4.6%, not to mention effects on many Americans who are getting very sick but not dying.

Meadows continued, “Probably the biggest thing that I’m looking at is how do we track and how do we make sure that those are protected. And if you look at the vast majority of those 65 years of age and younger, if they don’t have a comorbidity, we’re looking at this as not only not as dangerous as a number of other things that potentially cause a loss of life, and that’s the real key – it’s when you start to take out some of the deaths we’ve had in nursing homes. It’s not to downplay the deaths that we’ve had, but it’s really, to look statistically, to know that whatever risks you may have or I may have or my children or my grandchildren may have, let’s look at that appropriately, and I think that that’s what he was trying to do.” 

He later suggested Trump did not intend to downplay people getting sick as a result of the virus.

“I don’t think it was the President’s intent to downplay that as much as saying let’s look at the risk and let’s look at this in an appropriate way based on facts and figures,” he said.

Airline travel over the Fourth of July holiday weekend surged to new pandemic-era highs.   

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said it screened more than 700,000 people on each of three days this weekend – the first time above 700,000 since mid-March. 

The nearly 2.7 million people screened over the four-day period from Thursday through Sunday were about 28% of the 9.4 million people seen during the equivalent weekend last year. 

The agency has also reported more than 960 cases of coronavirus among its workforce, including six deaths. 

The weekend was the first since April when American Airlines began selling flights up to full capacity. 

United Airlines has also been selling flights up to capacity. Both airlines say they are warning passengers that flights could be full and will allow passengers to re-book without a fee to a less-full flight. 

American said Saturday its three busiest days since the pandemic hit were the first three days of July. 

While airlines note travel volumes are still far below sustainable levels, they have been preparing for growth from the lows hit in mid-April. 

Data from Airlines for America, representing major U.S. carriers, shows airlines have removed 800 planes put into storage during the pandemic as of Sunday. Thirty nine percent of the US fleet is grounded right now, according to the group.   

 US airlines are operating only 46% of their usual capacity, according to the group. 

The White House coronavirus task force will meet at 4:00 p.m. ET today, according to the vice president's public schedule. The event is closed to press.

CNN reported earlier today that the task force did not meet this weekend despite growing cases in the country.

Though the task force has started meeting more regularly in recent weeks after a period with few meetings, it has not resumed meeting on the weekends like it did in the early months of the outbreak. 

Task force officials were invited to the Fourth of July event on the South Lawn where there was little social distancing and few people wore masks, one person said. While several attended the festivities, others declined that invite.

The US marked Fourth of July over the weekend, and while some areas saw both measured celebrations in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic other places were packed with crowds.

Here's what you need to know about the virus this Monday:

New York City enters phase three of its Covid-19 reopening today. In a news release yesterday, the governor reiterated that indoor dining will not be a part of this reopening. 

The governor urged everyone in the state to wear a mask, socially distance, use hand sanitizer and "continue the smart practices that have made our state a national leader in combatting this virus."

"I also remind local governments of their duty to enforce the standards that have made NY's reopening safe and successful," Cuomo said in the statement.

Phase three of reopening allows sports and recreation to resume, including city basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball, dog runs, handball and bocce, according to the city's mayor.

Latest state numbers: New York added 533 cases Saturday, with .84 percent positivity rate. The state reported 8 deaths.

Kenya will begin a phased reopening of the country by lifting a travel ban in and out of the capital Nairobi and the coastal city of Mombasa starting tomorrow, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced in a televised address Monday. 

Domestic air travel will resume starting on July 15, while international travel in and out of Kenya is set to resume Aug. 1.

Places of worship will be allowed to re-open with a strict maximum capacity of 100 congregants for ceremonies of up to one hour.

 The daily national dusk-to-dawn curfew has been extended for another 30 days, until Aug. 5, Kenyatta said.

The latest numbers: On Saturday, Kenya registered its highest single-day caseload with 389 new cases reported, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

Despite an increase of reported infections in recent days, Kenyatta assured "we have reached a reasonable level of preparedness across the country to allow us to re-open." 

So far, Kenya has 7,886 confirmed cases and 160 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health. 

 "Should the situation deteriorate and pose a challenge to our health infrastructure, it shall be clawed back," Kenyatta said about the phased re-opening. 

Late stage clinical trials of REGN-COV2, a combination antibody treatment for Covid-19 from Regeneron, have begun, according to a news release from the company today.

The phase three trials will be evaluating the ability of the drug to prevent infection among uninfected people who have had close contact to an infected person, such as a patient’s housemate. 

The prevention trial is happening at around 100 sites and is expected to include 2,000 US patients. 

The drug has also moved into the phase two/three portion of two trials testing its ability to treat hospitalized and non-hospitalized patients with Covid-19. These trials will involve 1,850 hospitalized patients and 1,050 non-hospitalized patients, and they are expected to be conducted at 150 sites in the United States, Brazil, Mexico and Chile.

The trials are being jointly run with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. 

WATCH:

Pilgrims seeking to perform Hajj this year will have to wear masks and observe social distancing rules at all times, under measures imposed by Saudi Arabia, state media reported Monday. 

Under the restrictions, pilgrims must remain at least 1.5 meters apart, including during the ritual circling of the Ka'aba known as tawaf. Crowding and pushing will be prohibited, Saudi’s official news agency (SPA) said. 

The kingdom is barring entry to holy sites including Mina, Mozdalefah and Arafat to those without a permit some 10 days before Hajj officially begins and until the Hajj season ends on August 2, according to SPA.

Congregational prayers will be performed while worshippers wear masks and practice social distancing; a contrast to how these prayers are normally carried out in accordance with Islamic rites. 

Health checks will be carried out at bus stops, places of residence, and other vital areas, with medical teams available on stand-by around the clock, SPA said. 

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia reported 3,580 new cases of coronavirus and 58 deaths in 24 hours, bringing its total number to 209,509 cases and its death toll to 1,916. 

Spain's large-scale coronavirus study indicates that just 5% of its population has developed antibodies, strengthening evidence that a so-called herd immunity to Covid-19 is "unachievable," medical journal the Lancet reported on Monday.

The findings show that 95% of Spain's population remains susceptible to the virus.

Herd immunity is achieved when enough of a population has become infected with a virus or bacteria -- or vaccinated against it -- to stop its circulation.

The European Center for Disease Control told CNN that Spain's research, on a nationwide representative sample of more than 61,000 participants, appears to be the largest study to date among a dozen serological studies on the coronavirus undertaken by European nations.

It adds to the findings of an antibody study involving 2,766 participants in Geneva, Switzerland, published in the Lancet on June 11.

"In light of these findings, any proposed approach to achieve herd immunity through natural infection is not only highly unethical, but also unachievable," said the Lancet's commentary authors, Isabella Eckerle, head of the Geneva Centre for Emerging Viral Diseases, and Benjamin Meyer, a virologist at the University of Geneva.

Doctors are uncertain whether having antibodies to the coronavirus means someone cannot be infected again. It's not clear how long or how well antibodies protect people from the virus.

Spain's peer-reviewed study began in April while the nation remained on a strict lockdown, and was conducted by leading government research and epidemiological agencies.

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Spain's coronavirus antibodies study adds evidence against herd immunity