Orange County reported 25 more deaths connected to the novel coronavirus on Saturday, the third-highest day on record as the number of confirmed cases continues to surge.

Health officials said that 109 deaths have been reported in the last two weeks, and 494 since the pandemic began. The deaths reported Saturday included seven people who lived in institutional settings such as nursing homes.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases countywide climbed to 29,011, with 702 new cases reported Saturday. The number of infections in Orange County has grown dramatically over the last month, and is now second only to Los Angeles County.

Across California, transmission rates for coronavirus continued to rise. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 375,000 Friday, and the number of deaths exceeded 7,600.

Gov. Gavin Newsom added Orange County to his coronavirus watchlist because the share of COVID-19 tests that have come back positive, and the number of people infected per 100,000 residents, are too high to meet state benchmarks.

Over a seven-day period, 13.9% of COVID-19 tests came back positive. Over the last two weeks, officials have confirmed 12,531 new cases, an average of 396 positive tests per 100,000 Orange County residents a rate equivalent to that of L.A. County.

Orange and Riverside counties have seen the number of hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 infections nearly triple in the last two months. In San Bernardino County, that number has more than quadrupled. All three counties allowed many businesses to reopen a week before Los Angeles County.

California has mandated face coverings in public settings since June 18. But Orange County has become a hotbed of opposition to that rule, sparking concern from public health officials who say the coverings are among the most effective tools to slow the spread of the virus.

Orange Countys former health officer resigned after receiving weeks of verbal abuse, including a death threat, over her mandatory mask order.

Last week, education officials approved recommendations that would allow public schools to reopen in the fall without requiring social distancing or mandatory mask policies, prompting immediate backlash.

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Almost 500 people have died of COVID-19 in Orange County - Los Angeles Times

Many employers in Oregon are sending healthy workers in for COVID-19 testing when a coworker gets sick. Public health officials wish theyd stop.

Debbie Lamberger said its becoming a regular occurrence: Coworkers arrive in a group of cars at one of Oregon Health & Science Universitys mobile testing sites to request COVID-19 testing, all saying someone at their workplace recently tested positive. Now, their boss has directed them to the testing site.

Thats what these mobile testing sites are for, and OHSU has two: one at Portland Expo Center and one at Hillsboro Stadium.

But upon further discussion, Lamberger, who is OHSUs director of ambulatory operations, told Street Roots, shell discover the patients dont meet the criteria for testing.

Ill say, Have you been within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes? Lamberger said. As soon as I ask the question specifically, people wise up, and they know theres only one right answer if theyre going to get tested.

But, she said, patients tell her they cant return to work unless they can prove theyve tested negative for the virus.

They are often low-wage workers or people who are not covered under Oregons sick time law, Lamberger said. The law offers a week of paid sick time to employees at companies that employ 10 or more people and unpaid-but-protected sick time to workers at smaller businesses.

This means without a test to show theyre negative, they may temporarily lose their source income while they quarantine.

She gave an example of a group of workers at a small construction company she turned away because they didnt meet the criteria for testing.

It does result in hardship for all of these workers who dont have sick time when the lowest-barrier site in the state, which is us, we wont do it, Lamberger said.

Lamberger and Jessica Guernsey, Multnomah Countys deputy director of public health, agreed that in ideal circumstances, testing as many people as possible would be key to helping contain the virus.

Experts touted broadly available on-demand testing as a key component in keeping South Koreas case count low, for example. To date, the country has reported 12,460 recovered cases and just 293 deaths.

Do I agree that testing should keep everyone safe? Absolutely, Guernsey said. Is the reality on the ground consistent, given the lack of testing strategy?

Instead, public health officials are urging employers not to make testing a requirement for returning to the jobsite unless theres a known exposure at a worksite where individuals work in close proximity.

And, theyre prioritizing tests for individuals with symptoms, those with recent close exposures such as family members or coworkers who work side by side as well as individuals in high-risk groups.

We cant make employers not ask people (to get tested), Guernsey said. Were asking them to follow CDC requirements and not refer people for testing if they havent had symptoms or a recent exposure.

ZOOM+Cares chief medical officer, Erik Vanderlip, said his chain of urgent care clinics is also seeing patients who were sent in for testing at the request of their employer.

He said ZOOM+Care is actively working with employers to develop a COVID-19 detection program that will help keep their workplaces safe and productive.

But, its difficult to determine how many employers are making negative COVID-19 test results a condition of returning to work and what industries theyre in.

Employment status is not part of standard intake questions and not something Multnomah Countys health clinics are tracking, Guernsey said.

The states Bureau of Labor and Industries began tracking employment complaints related to COVID-19 at the beginning of April and released a list of 28 complaints to Street Roots.

The list didnt give specific details on the reports, but did categorize them by nature of complaint. Two, for example, were related to sick leave, five were related to disability, one to race, one to sex and one to whistleblowing.

More than half fell under the umbrella of the Oregon Occupational Health & Safety Administration.

According to Oregon OSHA spokesperson Aaron Corvin, the majority of COVID-19-related complaints his agency has received have, by and large, involved allegations of failures to follow COVID-19 restrictions including social distancing, mask wearing and other measures.

More testing is a good thing, Corvin said. Employers implementing robust testing protocols is in line with universal controls meant to address a public health crisis.

According to Lamberger, some large employers have reached out to OHSU about providing onsite testing at workplaces.

Heres the unfortunate catch-22: Weve had a number of employers reach out to us and say, Well pay if you test our employee, but we dont have the staff, Lamberger said.

Instead, OHSU has referred employers to private lab partners, and OHSU is trying to increase its staffing for tests despite reporting financial losses related to the pandemic.

According to Oregon Health Authority spokesperson Delia Hernndez, the state currently has the capacity to process 41,000 weekly tests. Last week OHSU processed about 3,200 tests.

During the week of July 6-12, less than 33,000 people in Oregon were tested for COVID-19 in Oregon. Thats 8,000 fewer than the state says it has the capacity to test.

As of Friday, 323,478 tests had been conducted statewide since the start of the pandemic.

Were doing a swab every 90 seconds, Lamberger said.

So far, local labs are reporting turnaround times for test results that fall within national guidelines.

We turn around test results within 48 to 72 hours from the point at which its collected at one of the mobile sites, OHSU spokesperson Erik Robertson told Street Roots.

Legacy has said it can get test results in two to three days.

But nationally, labs say theyre so overwhelmed with test results that theyre not getting results to patients for a week or more and that chips away at the usefulness of testing.

Multnomah County officialssay turnaround time for test results locally has varied since thepandemic began and it depends on which category a patient is in. The Department of Health and Human Services has defined three patient priority levels, with hospitalized patients and health care workers with symptoms being highest priority.

Right now, those patients are getting test results within 24 hours, Multnomah County spokesperson Kate Wilson said.

Patients in Multnomah County who fall into the second priority category those who arein long-termcare facilities with symptoms, patients older than 65 with symptoms, patients with underlying conditions with symptoms and first responders with symptoms are currentlygetting results within two days, Wilson said.

And finally,for patients in the third priority category those who are critical infrastructure workers with symptoms,individuals not in the other categories who have symptoms,health care facility workers,first respondersand individuals in communities experiencing high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations the turnaround time is 11 to 12 days.

Wison confirmed that the county does notkeep track of the number of people who ask for tests but are turned away.

If we start testing everyone, its going to take two weeks to get tests back and then theres no point in testing, Lamberger said.

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Employers are requiring COVID-19 testing that workers cannot get - Street Roots News

CURRY COUNTY On the afternoon ofJuly 18, Curry County Public Health received notification from Curry General Hospital of two confirmed cases of COVID-19. Public Health reached out to one of the individuals and learned that the person has not been in close contact with anyone for an extended period of time other than his spouse, according to a press release from Curry County Public Health Administrator Sherri Ward.

Contact tracing has been initiated in this case and at this point the individual has been instructed to self-isolate and monitor his symptoms.

The second person who tested positive is from Southern California and has been visiting and staying with family in Crescent City, Calif. That individual was able to get tested at Curry Medical Center in Brookings. This individual will be referred back to California for further contact tracing.

"It is important that we all follow the OHA and CDC guidelines and Governors directives about social distancing, wearing facial coverings in public buildings and protecting yourselves by staying home to slow the spread and save lives," Ward wrote.

Curry County Public Health will continue to keep the public informed with all the COVID-19 information.

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Another confirmed COVID-19 case in Curry County | Bandon News - Coos Bay World

At her church, she spoke about racial tensions in our country and the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. She also talked about Covid-19 testing shortages and remembered the more than 100,000 people who have died from the coronavirus in the US in the last four months.

A little more than a month later, on July 10, the progressive pastor died of pneumonia caused by the coronavirus. Rev. Gibbs was 57. Her death came five days after she had tested positive, her wife Cassandra White says.

After arriving at Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church, she helped establish the church's gospel ensemble and also formed an African American women's ensemble. Rev. Gibbs worked in various other roles at the church over the last 40 years, including as a member of the church's Board of Directors and as a confidential administrative assistant for its senior pastor.

Rev. Gibbs was ordained in December 2014, and continued to serve as the church's curriculum specialist and Diversity and Inclusion Program coordinator. She then transitioned to her current role as associate pastor in 2015.

Rev. Gibbs married White, the gospel ensemble director at the church, in 2016. According to her wife, Vickey was diagnosed with lupus at a young age and had exceeded her life expectancy.

In an interview with CNN, White said she'll miss her passion for social justice as well as her ability to whip up colorful, beautiful breakfasts for them to eat together.

Rev. Gibbs's passion for social justice extended outside of the church as well, her wife says. White said that Vickey would try to call out racism in daily life and participated in countless marches and events in Houston, even though she knew that she would get sick because of her lupus.

White says that after her passing, she found a list that she had left for her. On top of that list was an apology from Vickey exclaiming her sadness that they did not have more time together. The next item on the list was a reminder to White to tell their grandson, whom Vickey had nicknamed "Boo," every day that she loves him.

White says from early in their relationship she realized that she had to share Vickey with the world, because she had a calling and was destined for greatness.

Rev. Gibbs is also survived by two daughters, Cara and Ariel, and a grandson who she doted on constantly.

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Texas pastor dies of Covid-19 a month after giving sermon on the virus' impact on her community - CNN

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department reported Saturday that since the onset of the pandemic, 11,000 children and teens have been infected with COVID-19.

The Santa Clarita Valley saw 23 more cases be reported across both incorporated and unincorporated communities in the last day, bringing the total number of cases to 3,886.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital released its weekly tallies Wednesday, which showed that more than 150 tests have been conducted in the past 48 hours, totaling 4,482 since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 495 returned positive, an increase of 41 in the past 48 hours, and 4,201 negative, an increase in 191, while 458 remain pending, according to spokesman Patrick Moody. A total of 140 people have recovered and 23 remained at the hospital an increase of eight since Monday.

Additionally, in the last 24 hours, there have been 37 new deaths and 2,770 new cases reported countywide. This brings the cumulative total number of cases to 153,041 and the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 to 4,084.

For the families that are experiencing the profound grief of losing a loved one to COVID-19, we grieve with you and you are in my thoughts, said Barbara Ferrer, director of public health, in a statement issued Saturday. We continue to see concerning data, including data that shows us that younger people are contributing to the increased spread of COVID-19.

Currently, there are 21,888 confirmed cases that have had to be hospitalized, 28% of those people are in the iCU and 18% require ventilators. Data shows that the 18-40 year old age group continue to be hospitalized at the highest rate.

Throughout the country, .7% to 9.1% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Of those who died within the last day countywide, 25 people were over the age of 65 years old, nine people who died were between the ages of 41 and 65 years old and two people who died were between the ages 18 and 40. 31 people had underlying health conditions.

The mortality rate countywide is now at 2.66% among confirmed cases.

Santa Clarita Valley cases

The number of SCV cases, including all area health care providers daily figures and those at Pitchess Detention Center, totaled 3,886 on Saturday, broken down into region, are as follows:

City of Santa Clarita: 1,761

Unincorporated Acton: 37

Unincorporated Agua Dulce: 15

Unincorporated Bouquet Canyon: 1

Unincorporated Canyon Country: 62

Unincorporated Castaic: 1,834 (majority of Castaic cases come from Pitchess Detention Center, exact number unavailable)

Unincorporated Lake Hughes: 1

Unincorporated Newhall: 4

Unincorporated Placerita Canyon: 0

Unincorporated San Francisquito Canyon/Bouquet Canyon: 0

Unincorporated Sand Canyon: 2

Unincorporated Saugus: 11

Unincorporated Saugus/Canyon Country: 1

Unincorporated Stevenson Ranch: 91

Unincorporated Val Verde: 37

Unincorporated Valencia: 29

To view all coronavirus-related stories, visit signalscv.com/category/news/coronavirus.

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Public Health: 11000 children and teens have been infected with COVID-19 - Santa Clarita Valley Signal

World Health Organization Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus today joined the leadership of Spain, paying homage to those who have lost their lives in the country due to COVID-19, saluting the heroic efforts of heath workers and praising the governments resolute and robust response to reverse the viruss transmission.

It is with great respect that I join the King of Spain, the Prime Minister and the entire government of the country to pay tribute to the people who have fallen victim to COVID-19, said Dr Tedros. I extend my deepest condolences to the families of all people who have lost their lives due to this virus in Spain, and around the world.

At one point, Spain was among the countries impacted most by COVID-19. At the outbreaks peak, close to 10,000 new cases were reported in a single day in Spain. Since then, intensive efforts, led by robust surveillance, testing, contact tracing, treatment and isolation, have managed to suppress transmission.

Dr Tedros said this shift was due to the leadership shown by Spain and the strong resolve shown by the Spanish public to adhere to strict restrictions, including lockdowns, physical distancing and other critical measures to contain transmission. These efforts, combined, have successfully changed the course of the countrys outbreak.

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WHO Director-General pays tribute to Spain's sacrifices and leadership to confront COVID-19 - World Health Organization

The wagon on Jennifer Oiss front porch is a symbol of the coronaviruss silver lining. Its red and wooden, with black rubber wheels that once fell off, when Ms. Ois was towing her first child and a frozen turkey home from a store many years ago.

These days, the wagon is crowded with homemade things like fermented turmeric soda, ginger-berry kefir water, lemongrass ice cream and fresh lettuce from the garden, all waiting to be picked up by a neighbor.

Now its got a whole other purpose, says Ms. Ois. Its carrying kindness down her street.

Since visiting her neighborhood on Hiawatha Road a few weeks ago, Ive returned to it many times in my mind. I find it comforting. It reminds me that despite the viruss darkness, it has offered some illumination a slowing of time and a return to lifes essentials. The people on this street have used that time to learn old-fashioned skills like fermentation and growing vegetables, and in the process theyve become a community.

Theyve been lucky, too while some on the street have lost employment to the virus, this part of the city has been relatively unscathed by Covid-19 infections and deaths.

The street is classic east-end Toronto three long blocks of houses huddled together, as if for warmth. It was once part of a 600-acre farm owned by the Ashbridges, an English Quaker family from Pennsylvania who fled to Canada as Loyalists after the American Revolution. It remained a farm outside the city limits for more than a century, until the land was parceled and sold off for shacks for the immigrating poor and for planned subdivisions.

Walking down the street, you can see the signs of that history in the architecture old working-class bungalows wedged beside gentrified two-story brick homes. You can also see locals homesteading in ways that Sarah Ashbridge, the matriarch of the Quaker settlers, would likely recognize.

Ms. Ois is known locally as the fer-mentor. On her stove, a pot of water, grated ginger and molasses cools next to her ginger bug the makings for ginger ale. Her slow cooker is warming milk for yogurt. She pulls colorful jars out of her fermenting cupboard homemade vinegars, kombuchas and pickles.

For many years, she bugged her neighbors to try her hobby, but they were too busy, rushing from work to childrens hockey practices. When the country went into lockdown in March, she found a captive audience with long days to fill and anxiety to expend.

When this all happened, everyone else came into my world, said Ms. Ois, 43, a stay-at-home parent. Many said, I dont know what to do. Well, I know what to do. Im an expert at it.

She offered kombucha scobies, sourdough starter, and seeds for her neighbors nascent vegetable patches. She left them all in the wagon on her front porch, and texted pictures of her handwritten recipes.

Just down the street, Guillermo del Aguila had set up a hydroponics nursery in his basement for the first time, to supply the seedlings for his familys backyard greenhouse. He was better at it than he expected. He joined in the exchange, issuing his own community offerings: eggplant, sweet pepper, tomato and leek seedlings.

Jon Harris lives a few doors down. Both he and his wife had been deemed essential workers, so time had not stopped still for them. But he found making bread soothing. The baking section of grocery store shelves was bare, but he knew of a commercial mill and put out a call to the street. His first order was for 300 kilograms of flour and 25 pounds of yeast.

Theres something magical happening, said Mr. Harris, 44, an electrician.

He added, I wonder if there is something about watching the world spin around you and thinking about your mortality. We have a little more space to grab onto the things we want to be important.

The trading and pioneer hobbies have continued, even as the city has begun slowly to open up. Ms. Ois set up a swap page on Facebook, and offers went up from neighbors for homemade granola, freezer strawberry jam, lavender, eggs, espresso syrup, bitters for cocktails. Deborah MacDonald ventured to the red wagon to pick up champagne yeast to make raspberry mead, with Ms. Oiss handwritten recipe. She left fresh-baked bread.

I used to joke I didnt know anybody on the street, said Ms. MacDonald, a film producer who often clocked 11-hour days at the office. While there was a sense of community before, many of her neighbors barely knew each other before the virus stitched their friendships.

Weve all helped each other get through this crazy time, said Ms. MacDonald. In some respects its allowed us to forget a little about all the terrible.

Ms. Oiss husband hammered together a greenhouse in their backyard that she called the house Covid built. She and the del Aguila family plan to grow seedlings for their neighbors bursting gardens next spring.

Theres no going back, said Kara del Aguila, Guillermos wife, who considers the street her precious lifeline.

We dont order flowers for delivery anymore, she said. We go to our neighbors homes and knock on the front door and give them something we made.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized again this week this time for taking part in a decision to award a no-bid government contract to a charity deeply connected to his family. The countrys ethics commissioner is digging into the affair, marking the third time Mr. Trudeau has been investigated for breaking conflict-of-interest rules since coming to power in 2015.

Since a New Jersey hedge fund quietly assumed ownership of Postmedia, Canadas largest newspaper chain, the company has cut its work force, shuttered papers across Canada, reduced salaries and benefits, and centralized editorial operations in a way that has made parts of its 106 newspapers into clones of one another, my colleague Edmund Lee reports.

Catherine Porter is the Canada bureau chief, based in Toronto. Before she joined the Times in 2017, she was a columnist and feature writer for The Toronto Star, Canadas largest-circulation newspaper. Follow her on Twitter at @porterthereport

Were eager to have your thoughts about this newsletter and events in Canada in general. Please send them to nytcanada@nytimes.com.

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The Community That Covid-19 Built - The New York Times

The severe impact of Covid-19 on people from minority ethnic groups has been linked to air pollution and overcrowded and poor-standard homes by a study of 400 hospital patients.

It found patients from ethnic minorities were twice as likely as white patients to live in areas of environmental and housing deprivation, and that people from these areas were twice as likely to arrive at hospital with more severe coronavirus symptoms and to be admitted to intensive care units (ITU).

Minority ethnic groups were known to be disproportionately affected by Covid-19: they account for 34% of critically ill Covid-19 patients in the UK despite constituting 14% of the population. But the reasons for the disparity remain unclear.

The research is the first to examine the role of environmental and housing deprivation. Doctors praised the study but cautioned it has yet to be formally reviewed by other scientists and that additional, detailed studies in other areas are urgently needed.

The study also found patients from ethnic minorities were on average 10 years younger than the white patients, though the explanation for this is unknown. Age, frailty and underlying health conditions remain critical factors for all patients in determining the outcome of Covid-19.

The study concluded: Patients of black, Asian and minority ethnicity (BAME) are more likely to be admitted from regions of highest air pollution, housing quality and household overcrowding deprivation. This is likely to contribute an explanation towards the higher ITU admissions reported among Covid-19 BAME patients.

David Thickett, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Birmingham and one of the study team, said. Its no surprise that people living in poor areas and poor housing do badly in a pandemic. Its been true since the Black Death and this reaffirms the importance of deprivation in influencing the pattern of disease.

A Public Health England report released in June showed a link between overall deprivation and worse coronavirus outcomes, but did not examine specific types of deprivation. At the time, the equalities minister, Kemi Badenoch, rejected claims that systemic injustice was the reason for the disparities. There is also compelling evidence of an association between dirty air and coronavirus infections and deaths.

Thickett said the public health message of the new study was better targeting of social distancing and handwashing advice to people in deprived areas and particularly those living in large households. I dont think there was very good engagement with ethnically diverse populations, particularly in terms of language barriers, he said.

The limitation of this study is that its in a single centre. Thickett said. What you really want is data from several different areas. This research is being planned.

Prof Stephen Holgate, the Royal College of Physicians special adviser on air quality, said: This seems a strong study with appropriate methods used. It suggests air pollution may be an important driver, he said.

Dr Aarash Saleh, an NHS respiratory doctor and member of the Doctors Against Diesel campaign said: We need more research like this to understand how air pollution interacts with other societal injustices to exacerbate health inequities, including death from Covid-19. Strategic responses to air pollution are urgently needed and must acknowledge and address the socioeconomic and racial intersections of this public health crisis.

The study, which has been submitted to a medical journal and made available online, followed 400 Covid-19 patients admitted to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. Two-thirds of the patients listed their ethnicity as white, 21% as Asian/Asian British and 7% were Black/African/Caribbean.

The analysis used deprivation data from the English Indices of Deprivation 2019 report published by the government. This divides the country into 33,000 small areas, containing an average of 650 households. Among the seven measures of deprivation are living environment, which comprises air pollution, housing in poor condition and road traffic accidents.

Another measure is barriers to housing and services, including household overcrowding, distance to amenities such as schools and GPs, and housing affordability. The researchers found a strongly suggestive statistical link between those living in the bottom 20% of areas under these measures, being from an ethnic minority and Covid-19 outcomes, said Thickett.

Air pollution and household overcrowding were already known to be associated with higher rates of community-acquired pneumonia and the worst air pollution levels are in neighbourhoods with a high population of minority ethnic residents. Thickett said the research was unlikely to explain why a disproportionate number of NHS staff from ethnic minorities had died from Covid-19: That cant just be due to deprivation, because they are at least in employment.

Prof Chris Griffiths, at Barts and the London School of Medicine, said: This study suggests that markers of socio-economic and environment are linked to pneumonia and ITU admission with Covid-19. This is important, but the [deprivation] measures used are really too broad to be able to point the finger at a specific component of each of these markers. More work is urgently needed.

Teasing out the individual components is difficult, said Prof Jonathan Grigg, of Queen Mary, University of London. He said the study was in line with his research showing exposure to air pollution increases the number of the ACE2 receptors that the coronavirus hijacks to enter the body.

Dr Gilles de Wildt, a Birmingham GP, said: Though the study is not yet peer reviewed, this is such an important area of research. We have all felt the clean air in Birmingham during the lockdown and know that emissions need to be curbed drastically for all healths sake, not just Covid-19.

Thickett said: For most diseases, theres a relationship with deprivation, frailty, [underlying illnesses] and age its not rocket science. What youre looking for is things that you can modify, to make things better for the future.

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Covid-19 impact on ethnic minorities linked to housing and air pollution - The Guardian

For the third Saturday in a row and the second time this week health officials reported a record number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin.

The Department of Health Services reported 978 more people have tested positive for COVID-19, which makes up 7.9% of the 12,424 tests processed since Friday.

The previous record for most new cases reported in a single day was set Tuesday, when the state reported 964 new confirmed cases of the virus. Last Saturday, July 11, 926 new confirmed cases were reported and on July 4, there were 738 new cases.

The state also reported 10 more COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, bringing the state's total to 843. La Crosse County reported its first confirmed death on Saturday, according to the state Health Department.

As of Saturday, 41,485 people in Wisconsin have tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Saturday, around 77% of all people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Wisconsin had recovered. There are 8,633active cases, or nearly 21%. The remaining 2% of people have died, according to the state Health Department.

Statewide, 315 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized as of Saturday morning, which is 51morepeople than were hospitalized last Saturday, according to theWisconsin Hospital Association. Of those patients, 90are in the intensive care unit, another increase from last Saturday, when 75 people were in the ICU. More than 150 patients are waiting for the results ofCOVID-19 test.

RELATED:Wisconsin's moratorium on power and utility shutoffs will end July 25. Here are resources if you need help with your bill.

RELATED:Many families in Wisconsin are 'close to becoming homeless' as effects of pandemic continue and help dries up

RELATED:Get ready for a bumpy ride with new mask requirements

Most counties were deemed to have "high" COVID-19 activity in the state Health Department's weekly ratings, released Wednesday. The ratings are based on a combination of total new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks and the percent change in new cases between the past seven days and the seven days before that.

County ratings were as follows (parentheses reflect a change in the activity level from last week's ratings):

Contact Natalie Brophy at 715-216-5452 or nbrophy@gannett.com. Followher on Twitter @brophy_natalie.

Read or Share this story: https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/2020/07/18/wisconsin-coronavirus-978-new-confirmed-covid-19-cases-another-record/5464723002/

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COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Wisconsin as state reports 978 more people have tested positive - Appleton Post Crescent

The rising cases of COVID-19 in Ohio and around the nation and new information about the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website were among topics covered in the latest pandemic update to the Ohio State University community.

Executive Vice President and Provost Bruce A. McPheron and Dr. Hal Paz, executive vice president and chancellor for health affairs and CEO of the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, also detailed Ohio States commitment to address racial injustice in their weekly message to the campus community.

McPheron and Paz delivered the joint message on July 18.

Dear Ohio State Community:

We hope you and your families are well. We are now well past the second half of summer term, and our gratitude once again goes to our university community for your hard work and perseverance under extraordinary circumstances.

Our front line professionals and support staff across the university continue to make us proud. Our Wexner Medical Center, in particular, has been a beacon of patient care and research advances in our region and beyond.

We all know that cases of COVID-19 have been rising in the past few weeks in Ohio and in many other states. The increase in cases is very concerning, and we are continually assessing and evaluating our operations in response to the current situation. As we look toward a return to on-campus operations in the autumn, our priorities are to keep students, faculty and staff as safe as possible while empowering them to advance their vital work in teaching, learning, research, creative inquiry and patient care. Our success depends on all of us wearing masks, physically distancing, practicing good hygiene and maintaining reduced traffic and population density on our campuses and in our facilities.

As always, we are Together As Buckeyes. This weeks updates are below.

Student, faculty and staff health and well-being

The Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website has been updated with additional guidance on student health and well-being as well as faculty and staff health and well-being. Topics covered include:

For more, visit the mental health and wellness webpage. These resources are in addition to several others listed at the bottom of this email.

The university state of emergency is extended through July 25, enabling Ohio State to continue to utilize Disaster Leave (Policy 6.28).

Federal reversal of rule impacting international students

Ohio State is encouraged by news that the federal government will be maintaining flexibility for international students to continue their education in the autumn.

This week, a rule was reversed that would have required international students to transfer or leave the country if their schools held classes entirely online. Before the reversal, Ohio State had signed on to an amicus brief filed on behalf of 180 colleges and universities in support of a lawsuit challenging the rule. We expect additional information on the revised guidelines soon.

As the university has stated, our international students are a vital part of our vibrant academic community. We remain committed to supporting their contributions to every discipline, and we will continue to advocate on their behalf.

Focus on racial justice

This week, the university announced the membership of a university-wide Task Force on Racism and Racial Inequities. It is co-chaired by James L. Moore III, vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, and Tom Gregoire, dean of the College of Social Work.

The task force has been convened to provide tangible recommendations to create a more equitable, healthy, supportive and nurturing community. The group includes students, faculty and staff, and its members will be engaging broadly with the Ohio State community to identify and propose action steps. Read more at the task force website.

As shared last month, Ohio State has established a $1 million seed fund for interdisciplinary research and creative work that can contribute to the elimination of racism and solve its underlying causes and consequences.

Yesterday, the university extended a call for proposals to principal investigators. Ohio State will issue grants of up to $50,000 in two phases over the next two years. The first set of grants will be awarded in December 2020. To review the request for proposals and apply, visit the Office of Research website.

Additionally, the Wexner Medical Center and the health sciences colleges are working to address racism as a social determinant of health through the AntiRacism Action Plan. The plan will work to accelerate structural and systemic change supporting equity in health and well-being. More information is available at the medical centers Anti-Racism Action Plan website.

Summer commencement speaker

Approximately 1,600 Buckeyes will graduate on Aug. 9 during our virtual summer commencement, and we were pleased to share this week that Michael

Redd, an Olympic gold medalist and member of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame, will serve as speaker.

A pre-ceremony program featuring messages from graduates, deans and other university leaders will begin at 1:30 p.m., with the virtual commencement ceremony starting at 2 p.m. The pre-program and ceremony can be viewed by livestream. As a reminder, an in-person ceremony to honor our graduates will occur when it is safe to do so. For more, visit Ohio State News.

As always, thank you for all that you do -- and Go Buckeyes!

Sincerely,

Bruce A. McPheron, PhDExecutive Vice President and Provost

Harold L. Paz, MD, MSExecutive Vice President andChancellor for Health Affairs CEO, Wexner Medical Center

COVID-19 Resources

Wellness Resources

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COVID-19 update: Rising cases in Ohio and other states, health and well-being resources, support for international students - The Ohio State...

Here's what dining out looks like under amended safer-at-home order Fort Collins Coloradoan

In the nearly two months since Colorado restaurants reopened to in-person dining,at least sevenFort Collins eaterieshave temporarily closed due to COVID-19cases among their staffmembers.

But the spread of the virus likely isn't happening within restaurants,according to Larimer County health department spokesperson Katie O'Donnell.

"Our restaurants, breweries, tasting rooms have all been taking our protocols seriously," O'Donnell said, referring to the laundry list of regulations mask wearing and social distancing among them restaurants must follow to remain open during the pandemic.

What were really finding is employees hang out together outside of work," O'Donnell said, indicating the likely spread ofCOVID-19 among restaurant employees is happening when they are in close contact at after-work gatherings.

Since emerging from strict stay-at-home ordersand, in some cases, mandated closuresthis spring, Larimer County has not required a businessto close over COVID-19, O'Donnell said. All closures have been donevoluntarily, some after consultation with the health department, she added.

Tracking COVID-19 in Colorado: Larimer County and statewide case, death and hospital data

Businesses are not required to report positive COVID-19 cases among staff to the county health department, though they are welcome to consult the department on next steps, O'Donnell said.

The county's contact tracing team has the task of identifying sites of potential COVID-19 outbreaks as well asnotifying people who may have come in close contact with anyone who recently tested positive for the virus, O'Donnell said.

Restaurants are not required to collectinformation from diners for contract tracing purposes either, but it isencouraged, O'Donnell added.

According to the state health department's most recent outbreak data, three restaurants have been the site of COVID-19 outbreaks in Fort Collins: Chick-fil-A, 3605 S. College Ave.; Pueblo Viejo Mexican Restaurant, 185 N. College Ave.; and The Still Whiskey Steaks, 151 N. College Ave.

An outbreak is defined as twopositive COVID-19 cases reported at a business or facility within two weeks.

Chick-fil-A's outbreak has since been resolved, according to the state's data. Pueblo Viejo reopenedJuly 9 after a weeklong closure, and The Still Whiskey Steaks reopened Thursday, alsoafter a week of remaining closed.

The latest: 2 Larimer County nursing homes, 1 Fort Collins restaurant report COVID-19 outbreaks

Last week, MoJeaux's Bar & Grill, 820 City Park Ave., announced it would temporarily close after the roommate of one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.

On Saturday, Tony's Bar,224 S. College Ave., announced via Facebook it would temporarily closeover COVID-19. And on Monday,The Human Bean coffee chain notified customers that a barista at its 821 N. College Ave. location had contracted COVID-19, prompting the drive-in coffee shop's temporary closure.

"It was a no-brainer," The Human Bean owner Frank Sherman said on the decision to close. "We're not going to push any of the limits, we're not going to play with any of our employees' health. We're not going to monkey around with this thing. It's too serious."

As businesses weigh their decisions to close over COVID-19, John Arnolfo knows what they're going through.

It wasn't that long ago that Arnolfo owner of beloved Old Townbreakfast joint Silver Grill Cafe was sitting at a Silver Grill table discussing what to do after one of the restaurant's employees tested positive for COVID-19 in late June.

"It was really tough," Arnolfo said."What do you do?Whats the right thing to do?"

Arnolfo said the restaurant immediately contacted the county health department and later shared the names and phone numbers of customers it had been keeping for contact tracing purposes. Silver Grill Cafe voluntarily closed for eight days.

"We felt that was the right thing to do, and as it turned out, I think it was," Arnolfo said, adding that about half a dozen of the restaurant's 30 employees were asked to quarantine. Employees were paid during the closure, Arnolfo said.

When Silver Grill reopened earlier this month, it was with new, stricter social distancing and mask rules for itsemployees, who are now barred from congregating between shifts and on breaks and must keep masks on at all times, except for when they're eating.

Dining out?: Here's your coronavirus guide to dining out in Fort Collins

"What we learned about the second shutdown is contact between employees and customers is minimal, but its the interaction between employees outside of work (that can cause a spread)," Arnolfo said.

After bearing the financial brunt of two separate closures in the last five months, Arnolfo said Silver Grill Cafe is taking steps to make sure another one doesn't happen.

"Its critical that we stay open," he said."Im sure youve heard all the news, read all the papers a second, third shutdown would really be detrimental to any business large or small, so were working through it."

As people continue to ease back into in-person dining, O'Donnell said the Larimer County health department is keeping an eye out for restaurant-related complaints filed through its online business complaint form. Its contact tracing team also continues workingto identify where and how COVID-19 is spreading in the county.

So far, no restaurants mentioned in the county's complaint forms have been the site of an outbreak, but it'slikely just a matter of time, O'Donnell said.

She stressed the importance of businesses following recommended public health guidance.

"If our businesses aren't enforcing (that guidance), then our cases are going to continue to rise," O'Donnell said.

Larimer County recently saw asingle-day record for COVID-19 cases when 37 new cases were reported Sunday.

"The biggest thing were starting to messageis that if our cases continue to rise, were looking at our variance getting revoked, which would drastically impact what business are allowed to be open," O'Donnell said.

"As our whole community has gotten a little lax, we need to remember this is important," O'Donnell added.

Erin Udell reports on news, culture, history and more for the Coloradoan. Contact her at ErinUdell@coloradoan.com. The only way she can keep doing what she does is with your support. If you subscribe, thank you. If not, sign up for a subscription to the Coloradoan today.

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COVID-19 hits Fort Collins restaurants: How it's spreading and how it's handled - Coloradoan

At 25, Troy Kettwick seemed young enough and healthy enough to avoid the worst of COVID-19.

But this spring, the former four-sport high school athlete spent more than three weeks in the hospital, including 12 days on a ventilator fighting for his life after contracting the deadly novel coronavirus.

It can happen to anybody, said Kettwick, who says he didnt have a history of medical problems. You dont know if this is something thats going to hit you to the point where there are fatal consequences.

While young adults are far less likely to die from COVID-19 or suffer from a serious illness, doctors and health officials say extreme cases like Kettwicks illustrate how the virus can affect them, even though many wont show symptoms at all.

Among all age cohorts, people in their 20s have emerged as the single largest group testing positive for COVID-19 in Minnesota. They accounted for about 20% of new cases in May, but nearly one-third of new cases more than 3,400 from early June to early July.

Kettwick is one of 46 Minnesotans in their 20s who have required intensive care. Two in the age group have died of COVID-19, and neither had underlying health problems, said Kris Ehresmann, the director of infectious disease at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Thats why we keep trying to point out to people that this is not like you can say, Oh, this only affects people with blue eyes and I know for certain that my eyes are green and so I dont have to worry, Ehresmann said.

Certainly, we have data that shows us that certain populations are at greater risk, but no population is at zero risk. And by zero risk, I dont just mean zero risk for developing the disease I mean zero risk for having a really serious outcome.

Beyond general factors, doctors still dont know much about what puts an individual at greater risk for serious illness, said Dr. Ravindra Ganesh, an internal medicine physician at Mayo Clinic who is part of a care team with infectious disease doctors that is focused on treating COVID-19 patients. While many in their 20s who are infected wont have symptoms or develop life-threatening problems, they can spread disease to others, including people who are at higher risk.

I dont want people in their 20s to feel like theyre invincible, because its not you its everybody else that you impact, Ganesh said. Limit your time around other people. The distance is very important. And then the masks are absolutely protective.

Uptick in young adults

Health officials reported Saturday five more COVID-19 deaths in Minnesota and more than 450 new cases on a volume of 16,492 completed tests. Daily tallies for case counts have been rising in July, but the seven-day trend for new cases shifted lower on Saturday.

Residents of long-term care and assisted-living facilities accounted for three of the newly announced deaths. Statewide, 1,538 people have died from the virus.

The latest numbers show 265 patients were hospitalized, compared with 252 on Friday; 117 patients required intensive care, an increase of seven from Friday. The number hospitalized in Minnesota has been holding steady in July.

COVID-19 is a viral respiratory illness. Those most at risk are those 65 and older, residents of long-term care facilities and people with certain underlying medical conditions ranging from cancer to kidney disease.

But state health officials noted an uptick in infections among young adults last month as restrictions on drinking and dining establishments eased and more people ventured out to bars, restaurants, music events and parties.

In the 20 to 29 age group, 334 of 10,275 cases required hospitalization, according to data released Thursday by the Health Department. The 3% hospitalization rate is much lower, however, than the rate among people 60 to 69, where roughly 1 in 4 are hospitalized.

Allison Seaburg, 28, of St. Paul, tested positive after symptoms emerged in March. The illness started with a sore throat but progressed to chills and shortness of breath.

Months later, Seaburg, an avid marathoner who runs daily and attends fitness classes, says shes still not back to her pre-COVID pace.

Even if youre a healthy individual, you can still get it and it can still impact you significantly, said Seaburg, who works as a therapist and suspects she was exposed by travel.

Jordann Crowley, 29, of Rochester, said she has no idea how she contracted the virus. She came down with a mild sore throat and cough the weekend of July 4th and had difficulty catching her breath. Symptoms progressed to body aches, headache and loss of taste and smell one of the odd virus hallmarks for some patients.

When I got my positive result, I was just frantically telling everyone around me to go get tested, said Crowley, who is better now but staying isolated at home. My first knee-jerk reaction was: I feel horrible. I mean, it wasnt my fault and I didnt ask to get infected, but you still have this guilt.

Kind of scary

Kettwick, an IT recruiter for a staffing firm, also isnt sure how he was exposed.

In late March, his symptoms progressed over a few days to outright fatigue and a fever of nearly 104 degrees. His fiance drove him to urgent care, where a test revealed pneumonia. She then drove him to United Hospital in St. Paul, where staff donning masks, shields, gloves and gowns met the car outside the emergency room.

Aside from a few minor ailments growing up, Kettwick said he had always been healthy, with no history of diabetes, asthma, a heart condition or other factors that put people at greater risk for COVID-19.

In high school, he competed in football, basketball, baseball and track. In college, he played on a club-level baseball team. He wasnt quite as active in recent years but still played basketball, slow-pitch softball and worked out from time to time.

After two days in the hospital, Kettwick was admitted to intensive care after his breathing worsened. On the third day, a doctor put him on a ventilator.

It was kind of scary, I think, for all of us, said Dr. Justin Cohenour. Heres this [25-year-old] coming in otherwise healthy no previous medical issues, and hes really sick and intubated

He could have died. If we didnt have all the makings of modern medicine that we have, he would have died.

After 12 days on the ventilator, Kettwick built up his strength with the help of physical therapy. But even after going home, his heart rate became elevated on daily walks.

Now, three months later, hes jogging and playing softball again, said his fiance, Rachel Rolling. The couple plan to marry in August but say the happy ending shouldnt keep others from dismissing the risks of COVID-19.

Youve got to take the proper precautions, youve got to be conscious of it, because you just dont know, Kettwick said. And its not just you, where you feel like youre young [and] youll get through it. Youve also got to be conscious of the people around you.

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Young adults drive new Minnesota COVID-19 cases, and some are getting very ill - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Landon Mathis(Photo: Chris Gadd/The Herald)

The mayor of Burns tested positive for COVID-19 recently making him the second municipal mayor in Dickson County whos been infected with the coronavirus.

Landon Mathis, who has served as Burns mayor since 2012, said his test results came back positive Satur after waiting about a week. Mathis said hes quarantined 10 days since discovering his girlfriend tested positive, and hes feeling fine.

Mathis said his physician, Dr. Desmond White, did an excellent job of explaining the latest CDC guidelines and plans togo back to business soonwhile wearing a mask.

In March, White Bluff Mayor Linda Hayes tested positive for COVID-19.

Dickson County Mayor Bob Rial recently began requiring people entering county buildings to wear a mask, and is exploring mandating masks in public places.

The mayor in neighboringMontgomery Countyissued a mask requirement order Friday.

The Tennessee Department of Health reports that Dickson County currently is shown to have had 343 cases of confirmed or probableCOVID-19, and 217 active cases.

Related: Dickson Co. mayor orders electronic meetings through August

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Second mayor in Dickson County is COVID-19 positive - Tennessean

A popular Western Massachusetts brewery received a cease and desist order from the Massachusetts Department of Labor accusing the business of operating in violation of Massachusetts COVID-19 orders.

Brew Practitioners, a craft beer brewery in Florence, received the letter on Friday and was ordered to shut down immediately.

Upon receiving the letter, majority owner Tanzania Cannon-Eckerle and co-owner and head brewer Joe Eckerle closed their patio and indoor seating for the weekend to determine their next steps.

Is this reserved for black brewery owners or just female brewery owners. I cant figure out which of my labels has upset the health department so much, Cannon-Eckerle wrote on the Brew Practitioners Facebook page regarding the cease and desist letter. Especially since I just passed their Covid-19 Safety Inspection with flying colors.

Speaking with MassLive, Cannon-Eckerle expressed concern that her business was being held to higher restrictions by local health authorities than are outlined in the Massachusetts reopening plans.

Brew Practitioners opened on Main Street in Florence five years ago with half its space dedicated to brewing operations and half featuring a taproom with indoor seating. One of the smallest breweries in the region, the business has a maximum capacity of 49 people inside and seating for about 25 on its patio.

After three years of operation, the business was asked in 2018 to seek a retail food permit to accommodate brewing beer on site and the sale of small food items, such as chips and pretzels.

What felt like an unnecessary permit at the time initially was considered a blessing upon viewing the states reopening plan.

I saw the perameters for Phase 2 reopening and low and behold, I have a retail food permit, its sticking on my wall, Cannon-Eckerle said, who - in addition to serving as a co-owner of the brewery - is a an attorney with experience in labor and employment law.

The Massachusetts reopening plan features four phases: Start, Cautious, Vigilant and The New Normal.

In the start phase, construction, manufacturing and places of worship were among the first to allowed to resume, with significant restrictions to encourage social distancing. Doctors and dentists were allowed to start seeing patients again and beaches reopened on Memorial Day.

In the Cautious phase, retail, outdoor dining, hotels and other industries were allowed to reopen as early as June 8 under strict restrictions.

The Cautious phase, or Phase 2, was divided into two parts. The first part allowed outdoor dining to resume. Indoor dining was allowed again on June 22.

Restaurants are required to socially distance tables at least six feet apart and seat parties of no more than six people with no people seated at the bar. Face coverings are required for all workers. Customers may remove face coverings while seated at tables.

While initially bars were categorized as allowed to reopen in Phase 3 of the state plan, they were moved to Phase 4, joining nightclubs as among the last to reopen. The state will enter Phase 4 after a vaccine and/or treatment for COVID-19 is developed.

Brew Practitioners argues that the business is not a bar that only serves drinks, but brews on site in addition to serving small food items. The business recently added popcorn, homemade salsa and chips to its menu.

I bought a popcorn machine. Im creating food on site. Theres nothing in the regulations that says I need to create a gourmet meal, Cannon-Eckerle said.

The more popular option for customers is to order meals from Cafe Evolution, a vegan cafe with which the brewery shares a parking lot, or the pizza shop across the street which offers table service delivery for Brew Practitioners customers.

Cannon-Eckerle said theyve attempted to partner with food trucks to offer additional food options on site, though believes its an unsustainable option for breweries, especially one as small as hers.

I cant control if they come or go or if they get a better offer, said Cannon-Eckerle, who said theyve had food trucks lined up only for them to rebook for larger breweries.

If Brew Practitioners isnt allowed to welcome customers back, Cannon-Eckerle fears her business wont survive. She estimates their canned beer sales make up about 5% of their business.

She has appealed the cease and desist with state officials. I can sit down and be quiet and wait for someone to tell me I cant run my business or I can actively fight to keep my business open.

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Brew Practitioners in Florence opens

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Brew Practitioners in Florence ordered to shutdown by state citing COVID-19 reopening plan - MassLive.com

Carmen Garcia waits in line Friday to be tested for the coronavirus at a mobile testing truck in Miami Beach, Fla. The units were brought to the area as coronavirus cases spike in Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

Carmen Garcia waits in line Friday to be tested for the coronavirus at a mobile testing truck in Miami Beach, Fla. The units were brought to the area as coronavirus cases spike in Florida.

In Florida, hospitals are being stressed by the surge of coronavirus cases. Florida reported 11,466 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 128 deaths of residents. It was the fourth day running the state saw more than 100 deaths.

The spike in cases is most acute in the Miami area. Miami-Dade County accounts for nearly a quarter of Florida's 327,241 cases.

On Friday, Miami-Dade County's daily "dashboard" report showed the number of patients admitted with COVID-19 at nearly 120% of intensive care unit capacity.

But Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez said ICUs still have beds available. "Hospitals have the ability to add hundreds of ICU beds," he said, by discontinuing elective surgeries and converting recovery rooms into ICU rooms. "We have 450 ICU beds normally, but you have the ability to add another 500. Hospitals are adjusting on a daily basis."

Gimenez said there are no plans, for now, to activate a 450-bed field hospital set up at a convention center in Miami Beach.

Gimenez said hospitals have seen new COVID-19 admissions stay steady in recent days, a sign he hopes that cases may be peaking. In the meantime, the county is working to enforce public health rules, including mandatory face coverings. This week, it adopted an ordinance allowing police and code enforcement officers to issue $100 citations.

"That means you must wear a mask inside public places and outdoors," Gimenez said, "you must social distance or you may get fined."

In the hours after the order was passed, Miami-Dade County officials said they handed out dozens of citations and closed three businesses.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he supports guidelines requiring face masks in Miami-Dade and other counties. But for weeks as cases have surged statewide, DeSantis has resisted calls that he issue a statewide order requiring face coverings.

On Friday, 12 Democratic members of Florida's congressional delegation sent a letter to DeSantis calling again for a statewide mask order and stay-at-home orders in the hardest-hit counties. In their letter, the lawmakers, including Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Donna Shalala, said that "closing part of Florida's economy again would be painful." But "if we continue with the rate of infection we currently have in Florida, our economy will contract and shutter on its own."

In Miami-Dade County, Gimenez said he's waiting to see if stepped-up enforcement and other measures, including a late-night curfew, are effective at stopping large gatherings and other behavior that public health experts said are driving the surge in Florida and elsewhere. Any decisions to order further shutdowns, he said, will be based on data, especially hospitalizations.

"This is a balancing act," Gimenez said. "Starting to shut down again could cause irreparable damage, irreparable harm to people and their livelihoods on a permanent basis."

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Florida Sees Its 4th Day Running With More Than 100 COVID-19 Deaths - NPR

CLEVELAND, Ohio Mayor Frank Jacksons administration announced Saturday that 70 more cases of COVID-19 coronavirus have been confirmed in the city.

No new deaths were reported. Eighty-three Cleveland residents have died as a result of the coronavirus.

One previously reported case was removed from the tally as it was determined the individual was not a Cleveland resident.

The new cases lift Clevelands total confirmed cases to 3,640 and involve patients ranging in age from less than 7 years old to their 90s.

Cleveland Department of Public Health has identified one additional 40 probable cases, bringing that total to 528 cases. Those cases lifted the citys total caseload to 4,168. Those infected have ranged in age from less than 1 year old to more than 100 years old.

Fourteen percent of those cases required hospitalization, according to the Cleveland Department of Public Health.

Fifty-four percent of the cases involve women. About 60% of all those infected are African American. About 17% are white. Asian residents comprise about 1% of the cases. Race is unknown for 13% of the cases.

The Cleveland Department of Public Health will work to identify any people who were in close contact with the newly confirmed patients to determine who now would require testing or monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19.

Confirmed and probable coronavirus cases have increased 1,542, bringing the total number to 73,822, according to the Ohio Department of Health on Saturday.

The state reported, on Friday, a new record high of 1,679 new cases in 24 hours.

The previous record was last Friday, when there were 1,525 new cases.

The number of deaths increase from Friday by 20 to 3,132.

As of Friday, Cuyahoga County reported 6,674 cases of coronavirus. That figure includes 743 classified as probable cases. There were 336 reported deaths. The numbers exclude the cases from the city of Cleveland.

The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions updated tally on Saturday reported 3,630,587 cases and 138,782 deaths in the United States.

Those numbers tend to lag other reporting sites.

Johns Hopkins University of Medicine reported that as of Saturday evening 3,698,209 people had become infected with the coronavirus. By its tally, deaths in the United States totaled 139,949.

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Cleveland reports 70 more people confirmed as positive for COVID-19 coronavirus - cleveland.com

They call themselves the COVID couple.

For nearly three weeks, Dan and Michelle Negri have been fighting the dreaded disease caused by the new coronavirus while trapped inside their Brentwood home.

Their battle has been physically and mentally draining and its one they hoped they would never have to face.

Its emotionally wrecking us, said Dan, 41.

While their infection hasnt left them hospitalized and dependent on a ventilator to survive, its been the worst few weeks of their lives.

I feel like Ive fallen from an 11-story building onto concrete, said Michelle, who is 39 and feels the experience has been worse than other health scares shes had in the past, including spinal bacterial meningitis and pneumonia.

As a way to cope with the day-to-day struggle, Michelle started a now widely read blog at http://www.apeaceofthought.com called The COVID Couple in which she chronicles their misery and urges everyone to do their part and wear a face mask in public.

The virus and masks have been divisive issues, but shes heard enough.

As Walmart and numerous other national retail chains announced last week that all customers will now be required to wear masks to slow the spread, Michelle said its time for people to stop politicizing the safety measure thats been recommended by state health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nobody likes to wear a mask, but its the responsible thing to do. Its the right thing to do. Anyone without a mask on in public is basically playing a very dangerous game of Russian roulette. Theyre just pointing the pistol at everybody else, she said.

The Negris war with COVID-19 began when Dan was exposed to the virus at work.

The timing couldnt have been worse.

Michelle, who owns Bombshells Salon and Spa in Epping, had just reopened on June 2 after being forced to shut down on March 19. Before opening her doors again, she had expressed her concerns to the New Hampshire Union Leader about safety and how she felt the state had ignored some of the recommendations from salon owners when it announced they could begin reopening in May.

While back at the salon on June 24, Michelle got a call that her husband may have been exposed to a confirmed positive case.

Fearing that she, too, may have been exposed through him, Michelle immediately cleared her appointments, closed up the salon and began quarantining at home as a precaution.

The next day, the couple got tested, but those tests were negative, or possibly a false negative.

Five days later, Dan experienced his first symptoms.

I woke up with a fever and knew right away that I had it, he said.

The fever sent him and his wife back to a COVID-19 respiratory care unit to get another test. This time their tests came back positive.

While her salon has reopened and is being run by her coworkers, Michelle isnt sure when shell be able to return. She said that fortunately it doesnt appear that any of her clients were exposed because its believed she contracted the virus after she was already in quarantine, but more than two dozen were notified as a precaution.

The diagnosis was something Dan had not been expecting as the pandemic was beginning to grip the country and he and his wife seemed to be taking all the right precautions.

It wasnt supposed to happen this way. We were the most careful people youll ever know. We were staying away from everybody. We do drive-thru only for coffee once a day. We go through so much hand sanitizer every day, he said.

Dan described his experience as an emotional roller coaster.

One day he feels better, but the next hes in pain from walking outside to their garden.

He feels weak, has dizzy spells, and some days can barely lift his arms.

As his body tries to fight off the virus, anxiety has made it even worse and has sent him to the hospital.

Its absolutely crazy how this has beat me down. If I exert myself at all, I get so fatigued so fast and you start feeling your heart rate go up, he said.

A few days after her husband began showing symptoms, Michelle experienced her first sign of trouble. Her eyes burned. With every blink, she said she could feel a hot flash of burn.

Soon she began feeling like she had cobwebs in her chest, and then the headaches started. Michelle described them as paralyzing headaches that would happen several times a day and last for hours.

The headaches reminded her of the ones she had 10 years ago when she was diagnosed with meningitis.

By the third day, she had lost her sense of taste and smell and her entire body ached.

I didnt get out of bed for four days. I was so weak, she said, adding that she couldnt even get up to hit the bathroom.

Being isolated from family and friends has also been hard.

Michelle said her 16-year-old daughter, Madelyn, relocated to an in-law apartment at their home in hopes of avoiding the virus, but she developed mild symptoms as well.

As she searches for a light at the end of a dark tunnel, Michelle said she hopes more people will start to take the virus seriously.

Shes frustrated by some of the commentary flying around on social media and elsewhere as people weigh in on COVID-19.

It hurts to see people be so mean and so thoughtless about it, she said.

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Brentwood couple battling COVID-19: 'It's emotionally wrecking us' - The Union Leader

Eighty-five infants who are under the age of 1 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Nueces County, CNN reports.

The county, which includes Corpus Christi, has become emblematic of the recent surge of coronavirus cases in the state. When the pandemic first started ravaging the state, Nueces County stayed relatively healthy while the Amarillo region suffered.

Now, however, the beachfront location has one of the fastest-growing outbreaks in the state, adding well over 2,000 new cases for each of the past two weeks.

We currently have 85 babies under the age of one year in Nueces County that have all tested positive for COVID-19, Annette Rodriguez, director of public health for Corpus Christi Nueces County, told CNN.

These babies have not even had their first birthday yet, she said. "Please help us stop the spread of this disease.

Rodriguez did not provide additional information on the childrens conditions.

As The Texas Tribune previously reported, Nueces County Medical Examiner Adel Shaker said last week that a baby boy, less than 6 months old, had tested positive for COVID-19 and died.

In the last seven days, Nueces County has seen the fastest growth in new cases than any other metropolitan in the state, Corpus Christi city manager Peter Zanoni told CNN.

You can see the trend line is relatively flat until July, and this is where we have had that huge spike in cases, and this is why its turned into a major problem for Nueces County, he said.

As of late, Texas has become a new hotspot for coronavirus cases, reporting a record high 174 deaths on Friday, according to data from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

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85 Texas babies have coronavirus in Nueces County, according to report - The Texas Tribune

UPDATE (11:53 a.m. PT) The Oregon Health Authority announced three new COVID-19 deaths Saturday, and 353 new diagnoses. Since the start of the pandemic, 14,149 people have been diagnosed with the coronavirus in Oregon and 257 havedied.

The more densely populated Portland-metro area continues to drive the rise in cases, with 149 new confirmed and presumptive new cases in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties onSaturday.

Away from Portland, Marion County reported 31 diagnoses, Lane County reported 37, and Umatilla County reported35.

The state provided these details about the people whose deaths it announcedSaturday:

Related:COVID-19 In Oregon: By TheNumbers

Top Republican lawmakers are asking Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to reconsider her decision to tether Clackamas County to Multnomah and Washington counties as the stateeases COVID-19 restrictionsin the midst of thepandemic.

Coupling Clackamas County with the two most urban and densely populated counties in Oregon is unwarranted and unnecessarily burdens our local communities and businesses who are already struggling during this economic downturn, House Republican Leader Christine Drazan, R-Canby, said in a statement. The county commissioners have asked for this policy to be reconsidered, and today we echotheirplea.

But Clackamas Countys Board of Commissioners stepped back from asking the governor to take a new look at its application to further ease restrictions, amid a statewide surge in newdiagnoses.

Read more: Oregon Republicans Push To Reconsider Portland-area ReopeningStrategy

The Oregon Employment Department has introducedanonline formit hopes willmake it easier for Oregonians to apply for its Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program the unemployment benefit program for self-employed individuals, contract and gigworkers.

The agency said the new form, created in partnership with Google, will allow the more than 100,000 people who have already applied for so-called PUA benefits to get their weekly paymentsfaster.

The form seeks to automate the weekly certification process that PUA applicants must complete. The form also should ensure that all applications are received with complete information, according to the Employment Department. The agency said the previous process included a PDF which resulted in some forms mistakenly being submitted blank, itsaid.

This is an encouraging step forward for Oregonians whove been waiting for benefits, as well as for the department. I am pleased we have made these changes and pledge that we will continue finding better ways to serve you, Oregon Employment Department Acting Director David Gerstenfeld said in astatement.

Bend city leaders have worked for decades to build the communitysreputation as a central Oregon travel destination. But now local officialsare asking would-be tourists to stay away until after LaborDay.

City Manager Eric King issued a non-binding administrative order Friday strongly discouraging travel to Bend for recreation, vacation or other discretionary reasons, in order to limit the spread ofCOVID-19.

The order asks people to avoid staying in hotels, RV parks or any other short-term lodgings, unless for reasons of health, safety, employment or other essential travel. It also asks the people who run these lodgings not to allow tourists and vacation travelers to make new reservations until after Sept.7.

Read More: Citing Coronavirus, Bend Asks Tourists To StayAway

This map shows new cases of COVID-19 in each ZIP code in Oregon.ZIP codes are colored by the number of cases per 10,000 residents.ZIPs are shaded to show contrast; rates in Oregon remain lower than most of the U.S.

Health officials in Clark County, Washington, said Friday that another 44 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and a man in his 60s has died. Its not clear if the man who died had underlying healthconditions.

To date, 1,434 residents of the southwest Washington county have tested positive for COVID-19 and 34 people havedied.

According to the latest available data, Washington has 44,313 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,427 known deaths. As of Wednesday, coronavirus has led to the hospitalization of 4,944peopleinWashington.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has warnedthat if case numbers dont improve, he may have to start shutting down the economy again. Counties throughout the state will have to remain in their current phase of reopening until atleastJuly28.

Read this article:

Live Updates: Oregon Announces 3 New COVID-19 Deaths - OPB News

As the distributor of unemployment benefits, the Oregon Employment Departmenthas a key role in trying to softenthe effects of the economic collapse on Oregonians.

But months after its ownworkersfirst raised concerns that they were at risk of catching the virus in agency offices, and as new coronavirus cases surge across the state, a dozen employees have tested positive for COVID-19in seven of the agency'soffices.

The agency's acting leader, David Gerstenfeld, acknowledged Wednesday thatongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 among staff could delay the agency's already slow distribution of benefitsfor the estimated 243,000 people still unemployed in Oregon.

"We are very concerned for our employees," Gerstenfeld said. "And certainly if more and more employees are not able to work, whether for COVID-19 or any other reason, that could have an impact onhow quickly we can process claims."

The pressure continues to mountfor the agency to make progress on claims, as some Oregonians have been waiting months for money.

Last week, 13 peoplesued the agency and Gerstenfeld in Multnomah County Circuit Court, asking the court to compel the agency to hasten the process of getting benefits out to applicants.

On Tuesday, state lawmakers voted to set up a separate program through the state's main administrative agency tosend $500 checks to Oregonianswho haven't gotten any unemployment benefits.

Working to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19

Two agency workers tested positive for COVID-19 back in April.As of Thursday, 12 more have tested positive, according to a spokeswoman for the department.

In late March, as the pandemic started to take hold in Oregon and Gov. Kate Brown ordered most Oregonians to stay at home,workers expressed worries that their offices weren't safe.

In April, four employees filed complaints with the state's occupational safety and health agency, alleging that employment department workers were not six feet apart,that the agency didn't designate someone to oversee social distancing, and that the agency wasn't allowing workers to telecommute. Workers also complained that there were no cleaning supplies and that they were denied hand sanitizer, bleach wipes and disinfectants.

After the complaints were filed, an occupational health consultant from Oregon OSHAspoke withthe Employment Department's property and risk manager, Timothy Dunks, and documented in an April 16 letter to Dunks the steps the agency took to protect employees.

"It was impressive to learn about everything you have implemented to protect employees from COVID-19," wrote the consultant, Jennifer Ekdahl. "It seems you're doing everything you can and I commend you for that."

The agency moved cubicles to space everyone at least six feet apart,designated managers to enforce social distancing and split shifts so that fewer workers were in the office.

And hand sanitizer was set up in common areas and in restrooms, and the agency obtained and supplied "cleaning chemicals" every day to "offices that need it" and increased the number of times that surfaces are cleaned, according to the letter.

Despite these steps, though,as COVID-19 cases in Oregon rise daily, 12 more agency employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

"This is not about risk elimination," Aaron Corvin,a spokesman for Oregon OSHA, wrote in an email to the Statesman Journal."This is about risk reduction. Employers who fully apply COVID-19 guidance will reduce the likelihood that their employees get COVID at work but they will not eliminate it."

"I think this has been an evolving situation for everyone," Gerstenfeld said."And certainly, as we're seeing everywhere in the state and in most parts of the nation, that the virus is continuing to spread, we did think it was appropriate to continuously reexamine what we can do to further protect our workers and further limit the spread."

Masks to be provided as "additional preventative measure"

The agency told workers on July 10 that it would startrequiringthemto wear masks to work.

The requirement will go into effect when the agency receives a shipment of masks it can provide to workers. The masks are expected to arrive next week and be distributed on July 23, said spokeswoman Ariane Le Chevallier.

State workers are exempt from the mask mandate in areas where they're not dealing with the general public,according to the governor's office. That guideline was issued "with input and approval" from state health officials, a spokeswoman for Gov. Kate Brown said.

"Face coverings are not currently mandated in office settings where the public is not being served in person, but we're doing this as additional preventative measure," Gerstenfeld said of the mask requirement. "We've been encouraging employees to wear face coverings if they can. And we've been encouraging employees whose jobs can be done remotely to telework."

This week, 20 workers at the agency started working from home as part of an agreement with a union representing workers to test out remote work.

A share of the 20people working from home are people employed at the Worksource office in Gresham, which was closed July 8 for two weeks because six workers there were confirmed to have COVID-19. All workers who are able towork are teleworking, said Le Chevallier.

"I think this incidentwith the Gresham office just highlights the need for the employment department to get people out of these crowded offices and out into their homes where they can continue to be productive," said Steve Demarest, president of SEIU 503, the union representing workers there.

There is no deadline or specific timeline for the test run, but the union and agency will likely decide together whether it's successful, Demarest said.

But if the disease keeps spreading in Oregon's employment offices, that could further disrupt the already slow distribution of benefits to Oregonians.

"Right now, if they had to shut down one of the (unemployment insurance) centers, it would just be catastrophic for processing claims," Demarest said.

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him atbpoehler@statesmanjournal.comor Twitter.com/bpoehler.

Claire Withycombe is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at cwithycombe@statesmanjournal.com, 503-910-3821 or follow on Twitter @kcwithycombe.

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COVID-19 outbreaks at Oregon employment department could slow claims further - The Register-Guard