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The main reason to be optimistic about Sam Howell: His steady improvement

Nationals tender contracts to four players ahead of Friday’s deadline

Superfan ‘Special K’ is gone but not forgotten at Maryland 

Ask Amy: Matthew Perry’s death and grieving someone you never knew

Miss Manners: Cousin always invites me to dinner and then cancels

Carolyn Hax: Husband with pet fatigue wants to shut down beloved fostering gig

Delicata Squash Salad With Chickpeas and Apple

Creamy Vegan Cauliflower Gratin

Pumpkin chocolate chip oat bars are a whole-grain, feel-good snack

Rick Ross is hiring a flight attendant. We asked real ones about the job.

Our best advice for Thanksgiving travel

Welcome to the Housekeeping Olympics. Start your vacuums. 

This is the growing list of companies pulling ads from X

Starship lost during second test; SpaceX says it likely self-destructed

Disney, Comcast, Lionsgate pull ads from X over antisemitic posts

Chat with Michelle Singletary about what your kids don’t want

Our kids don’t want our paid-off house — or our ashes

Anxious about holiday shopping? Try spending only $100.

Hamas attack thrusts kibbutzniks into strange and terrible twilight

India’s Mideast rethink: From a Palestine stamp to a ‘Modi-Bibi bromance’

Russia frees killers from prison to go to war and kill in Ukraine 

Inspired by man on TV news, boy commits to 10 kind acts for 10th birthday 

His 24-year marathon streak ended. But his fans wouldn’t let him quit.

After a blaze, 12-year-old invented early detection device for fire

After affirmative action, a White teen’s Ivy hopes rose. A Black teen’s sank.

Life under bombardment: A young Palestinian’s audio diary of the war

Six maps explain the boundaries of Israel and Palestinian territories 

Hunter Biden’s career of benefiting from his father’s name

Lawmakers bracing for many congressional retirements, even from younger members

Latino backlash grows over Donald Trump’s friendly Univision interview 

How do you fight shoplifting? Not by locking down everything in CVS.

Don’t just be horrified. Ban AR-15s, bump stocks and large magazines.

The Xi-Biden summit accomplished little. But it really mattered.

The Washington Post is providing this news free to all readers as a public service. Follow this story and more by <a href='https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/health-science-environment-alerts/?method=SURL&location=ART&initiative=FREE'>signing up for health, science, and environment email alerts</a>.

An <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6990255-Governors-Report-14-July-20.html" target=_blank>unpublished report</a> by the White House Coronavirus Task Force dated Tuesday suggests that at least 18 hard-hit states — including California, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas — enact stricter measures such as mask requirements and increased testing. The <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/exclusive-white-house-document-shows-18-states-in-coronavirus-red-zone-covid-19/" target=_blank>report was first published by the Center for Public Integrity</a>.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) on Thursday sued to stop Atlanta from enforcing some of its coronavirus-related rules, including its recent mandate to wear a face covering in public.

The lawsuit alleges that Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) lacked the authority to implement a mask requirement and that she must obey Kemp’s executive orders, including one signed Wednesday night <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/16/kemp-georgia-mask-mandates/" target=_blank>that explicitly bans municipalities from enacting their own mask ordinances</a>.

The governors of Arkansas and Colorado on Thursday issued statewide mask requirements, bringing the number of states with mask mandates to 28 and the District of Columbia. Target, CVS and the grocery chain Publix also announced new policies requiring customers to wear masks, a day a day after <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/15/walmart-face-mask-requirement/?itid=lk_inline_manual_4&itid=lk_inline_manual_8">Walmart</a>, Kroger and Kohl’s did.

The United States reported its highest daily coronavirus case count thus far, surpassing 70,000 confirmed infections Thursday. With <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-hospitals-florida-texas-arizona-california/2020/07/16/dea0ed7a-c79b-11ea-8ffe-372be8d82298_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_9" target=_blank>severe outbreaks across multiple states and regions, medical systems are increasingly showing the strain</a>, with shortages of critically needed personnel, equipment and testing.

Security officials announced Thursday that hackers linked to Russia’s intelligence services were <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/uk-us-and-canada-report-russian-cyberspies-may-be-trying-to-steal-vaccine-research/2020/07/16/d7c0dbd6-c765-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_10" target=_blank>trying to steal information from researchers</a> working to produce coronavirus vaccines in the United States, Britain and Canada.

Facing intense criticism on social media, USA Today has admitted errors in an opinion piece written by White House official Peter Navarro that attacked Anthony S. Fauci, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/07/16/usa-today-facing-backlash-says-navarro-opinion-piece-attacking-fauci-did-not-meet-standards/?itid=lk_inline_manual_11" target=_blank>saying in a post-publication note attached to the piece that it “did not meet USA TODAY’s fact-checking standards.”</a>

With Opening Day only a week away, the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/16/nationals-dc-coronavirus-nats-park/?itid=lk_inline_manual_12" target=_blank>may not get to host the New York Yankees</a> next Thursday at Nationals Park because of coronavirus-related restrictions in the District.

<a href="https://subscribe.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/#/bundle/health?method=SURL&amp;location=ART">Sign up for our coronavirus newsletter</a> | Mapping the spread of the coronavirus: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/">Across the U.S.</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/mapping-spread-new-coronavirus/">Worldwide</a> | <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/states-reopening-coronavirus-map/">Where states reopened and cases spiked</a> | Has someone close to you died of covid-19? <a href="https://hosted-washpost.submissionplatform.com/sub/hosted/5e7bd9faf362630035018215">Share your story with The Washington Post.</a>

Pelicans Williamson Departs Basketball

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Zion Williamson, one of basketball’s brightest young stars, left the NBA’s Disney World bubble Thursday to attend to what the New Orleans Pelicans termed “an urgent family medical matter.”

In a statement, the Pelicans said that the 2019 No. 1 overall pick planned to return to the bubble. It’s not clear when Williamson, who has dazzled fans with highflying dunks since he was a high school phenom, will return.

“We fully support Zion’s decision to leave the NBA campus to be with his family,” Pelicans executive David Griffin said in a statement. “Out of respect for the Williamson family, we will have no further comment at this time.”

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/16/zion-williamson-leaves-nba-bubble-family-medical-emergency/?itid=lk_inline_manual_19" target=_blank>here</a>.

Ben Golliver

Esmerelda Amador

New Yorkers that want to buy an alcoholic drink at a bar or restaurant must also buy food, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-new-regulations-bars-and-restaurants-ensure-compliance-state-social" target=_blank>announced</a> Thursday, as part of a set of measures tightening restrictions on the state’s bars and restaurants.

While only establishments that serve food have also been allowed to sell alcoholic beverages, customers could previously limit their purchases to just beer, wine or liquor.

But after his office received 5,000 complaints recently about a lack of social distancing at bars in and near New York City, the new restrictions are meant to lessen the risk of exposure for customers and employees.

“If you’re not eating a meal, and you’re just drinking, then it’s just an outdoor bar and people are mingling and they’re not isolated at individual tables. And that’s what we’re seeing,” Cuomo <a href="https://cnycentral.com/news/local/gov-cuomo-says-no-alcohol-sales-without-food-too-at-new-york-bars" target=_blank>said during a news conference</a>, according to WSTM.

Any business that violates measures three times will be closed for business, he said, although particularly egregious violations can result in a bar or restaurant immediately losing its liquor license — or being forced to shut down.

A month ago, after flocks of people crowded shoulder-to-shoulder outside bars in New York City following the first phase of reopening, Cuomo <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/15/ny-bars-reopen-cuomo/?itid=lk_inline_manual_27" target=_blank>issued a stern warning to residents</a> and local officials about the dangers posed by such gatherings.

From the start of the pandemic through mid-June, his office received an “alarming” 25,000 complaints about health-safety violations, he said at the time, mostly calling out restaurants and bars in Manhattan and the Hamptons.

On Thursday, Cuomo added that he would be making a decision on whether New York City would enter Phase 4 of the state’s reopening process by Friday, though no indoor spaces — including malls — would be allowed to reopen.

<a href="https://wapo.st/virusletter"><i>Stay safe and informed with our free Coronavirus Updates newsletter.</i></a>

Teo Armus

FILE PHOTO: People line up outside a Kentucky Career Center hoping to find assistance with their unemployment claim in Frankfort

About 1.3 million workers filed for unemployment insurance for the first time last week — the 17th straight week new claims exceeded 1 million as the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/02/28/what-you-need-know-about-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2&itid=lk_inline_manual_33">coronavirus</a> pandemic continues to drag down the economy.

Nearly 17.4 million workers were continually claiming unemployment insurance for the week ending July 4, the Labor Department said. Another 14.3 million people were claiming Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the program newly created for self-employed or gig workers who are out of work at the moment, bringing the total number of people on all programs to 32 million unemployed.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/16/july-unemployment-insurance-payments/?itid=lk_inline_manual_35" target=_blank>here</a>.

Eli Rosenberg

Germany Merkel

BERLIN — Earlier this year, German Chancellor Angela Merkel had been written off by many as a lame duck. Her coalition and party were beset by infighting, and speculation was rife that she would buckle to pressure to step aside before the end of her final term in 2021.

But a coolheaded and effective response to the coronavirus crisis has pushed Merkel’s approval ratings up as high as 86 percent within Germany. She is in a position of strength and confidence this week as she steers Europe’s effort to address what is predicted to be its deepest economic recession on record.

Merkel, who turns 66 on Friday during the European Union’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/europe-coronavirus-eu-summit/2020/07/16/d08f89ce-c6d5-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_5&itid=lk_inline_manual_40">first in-person summit</a> since the start of the pandemic, is “in the midst of her power,” said veteran German political scientist Hajo Funke.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/angela-merkel-coronavirus-legacy/2020/07/16/fab207c2-c5d1-11ea-a825-8722004e4150_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_41" target=_blank>here</a>.

Loveday Morris

FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is pictured on a television remote in this illustration photograph taken in Encinitas, California

Netflix said Thursday it gained 10.1 million subscribers worldwide in its most recent quarter, suggesting that the shutdowns resulting from the pandemic continue to be good for the streaming business.

Although the tally is smaller than the nearly 16 million subscribers Netflix <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/21/netflix-adds-whopping-16-million-subscribers-worldwide-coronavirus-keeps-people-home/?itid=lk_inline_manual_45">added</a> during the quarter that ended in March, it still reflects an at-home entertainment company that continues to do brisk business as firms that rely on old-fashioned public gathering <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/04/disney-july4-future-hamilton/?itid=lk_inline_manual_45">struggle.</a>

The figure in the United States — 2.9 million — is particularly notable, building on the 2.3 million Netflix added during the first quarter as the pandemic began. Before that quarter, growth in the United States had often shrunk to 1 million subscriber additions or fewer in many quarters.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/16/netflix-subscriber-results-q2/?itid=lk_inline_manual_47">here</a>.

Steven Zeitchik

Virus Outbreak Washington

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on Thursday announced a new 10-person limit for social gatherings in counties that are the furthest toward reopening and warned that he cannot rule out enacting another stay-at-home order this year.

Speaking at a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WaStateGov/videos/214180933136099/" target=_blank>news conference</a>, Inslee said a rise in coronavirus cases, including a surge among young people, indicated that Washingtonians may not be following public health mandates. Counties in the third reopening phase, which allowed gatherings of up to 50 people, now must limit attendee numbers to reduce the spread of the virus, according to the new order.

Inslee warned that if people continue to gather and flout policies like the statewide mask mandate, cases will keep rising and the state may enact more rules.

“If each of us do not adhere to mask wearing, do not adhere to social distancing, do not adhere to these limitations on gatherings, today’s rollbacks may be a forerunner to additional rollbacks,” Inslee said. “We cannot rule out the possibility of another stay-home order this year and perhaps in the not too distant future.”

The governor warned that certain activities, including attending parties and dining in crowded restaurants, were “dangers” and said infections and deaths have emerged from “innocent social get-togethers.”

Inslee referenced <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/how-a-small-birthday-lunch-in-tacoma-became-a-coronavirus-cluster/" target=_blank>a Seattle Times</a> article from Thursday about a couple who “did everything right” until they hosted several friends, including at least one who was sick, in late June. Both became sick but recovered.

Washington reported 1,267 daily infections and six deaths on Thursday — the state’s second-highest day for new cases. The state has tallied 44,313 cases and 1,427 deaths since the pandemic began.

Meryl Kornfield

Los Angeles Angels Summer Workouts

The Washington Nationals are unsure if they will begin this season playing at Nationals Park because of municipal coronavirus protocols, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation, and the team is actively exploring alternative sites — with Opening Day now only a week away.

The main reason for the uncertainty is that players, coaches and staff members have to self-isolate for 14 days if they are exposed to the novel coronavirus, per the city’s health protocols. D.C. is unwilling to bend that requirement for the Nationals, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, and the team is now wary of its ability to compete under those guidelines.

The Nationals are scheduled to host the New York Yankees on July 23, the first game of MLB’s 60-game schedule for 2020. As of Thursday afternoon, the location of the matchup was still being determined. The Nationals are considering two alternate sites, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, including their Class A stadium in Fredericksburg, Va., and, to a lesser extent, their spring training facility in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/16/nationals-dc-coronavirus-nats-park/?itid=lk_inline_manual_63" target=_blank>here</a>.

Jesse Dougherty

Dave Sheinin

The United States reported its highest daily coronavirus case count, surpassing 70,000 confirmed infections Thursday. The country’s previous record was 67,211.

The country also tallied 913 coronavirus deaths Thursday, the highest in more than a week. The nation has counted more than 3.5 million cases and 135,254 deaths since the pandemic began.

South Carolina, Florida and Texas reported single-day record deaths. The number of single-day reported deaths topped 100 in California, Florida and Texas, which were the states reporting the largest number of cases today.

Nebraska, Utah and Oregon each counted single-day case records. In 19 states, officials reported new highs for seven-day averages of daily reported coronavirus infections, while Nebraska tied with its record.

Washington state had not yet reported its case and death counts for Thursday.

Jacqueline Dupree

Facebook Civil Rights Meetings

During a virtual interview with Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-diseases expert, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was disappointed in the government’s response to the coronavirus, including its treatment of Fauci.

“We’re here in July, I just think it was avoidable and it’s really disappointing that we still don’t have adequate testing, that the credibility of our top scientists like yourself and the CDC is being undermined,” Zuckerberg said, “and that until recently, parts of the administration were calling into question whether people should even follow basic best practices like wearing masks.”

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, laid blame with states that did not precisely follow the guidelines for phased reopening and moved too quickly to “normalcy.” Other nations have fared better than the United States because they locked down almost all of the country and waited until new cases were in the double digits before reopening, as opposed to the tens of thousands in the United States, he said.

“There really is no reason why we’re having 40-, 50-, 60-thousand, other than the fact that we’re not doing something correctly,” Fauci said.

Fauci has urged a reset, encouraging state and local leaders to return to the first phase of reopening to start over and more rigorously encourage social distancing and face coverings.

“Let’s regroup. When you’re in a situation … where you should not have jumped over one of the checkpoints, consider pulling back and starting over again in accordance with the guidelines,” he said.

One key thing all leaders should do, Fauci said, is “recommend as strong as you possibly can to get people to wear masks.”

President Trump has refused to give a full-throated endorsement of mask wearing.

Colby Itkowitz

Virus Outbreak Georgia Kemp

<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6990281-Georgia-mask-mandate-lawsuit.html" target=_blank>The lawsuit</a> alleges that Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) lacked the authority to implement a mask requirement and that she must obey Kemp’s executive orders, including one that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/16/kemp-georgia-mask-mandates/?itid=lk_inline_manual_84" target=_blank>explicitly bans municipalities</a> from enacting their own mask ordinances.

In a previous order, Kemp strongly encouraged — but did not require — face coverings and banned localities from implementing restrictions that were looser or more restrictive than the statewide rules. Atlanta was among more than a dozen cities and counties that defied Kemp to create mask rules anyway, saying the policy was necessary to contain the virus.

Before Kemp filed his lawsuit Thursday, Bottoms said in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=316453229741065&ref=watch_permalink" target=_blank>an online news conference</a> that the governor’s new order would not stop Atlanta from enforcing its mask ordinance.

“I am not afraid of the city being sued and I’ll put our policies up against anyone’s, any day of the week,” she said.

Kemp’s lawsuit also asks the court to bat down <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/mayor-plans-rollback-phase-reopening-guidelines-governor-calls-unenforceable/8OI8sIlbuVy2D8DDvoBrzJ/" target="_blank">Bottoms’s July 10 order</a> that the city return to Phase 1 of reopening, which requires that people return to sheltering at home and that restaurants go back to offering just takeout and delivery.

Marisa Iati

A <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6990255-Governors-Report-14-July-20.html">359-page unpublished report</a> by the White House Coronavirus Task Force dated Tuesday suggests that at least 18 states enact stricter public health measures — including mandating masks, limiting gatherings to less than 10 people and ramping up testing in areas where coronavirus cases have spiked.

The document, published by the <a href="https://publicintegrity.org/health/coronavirus-and-inequality/exclusive-white-house-document-shows-18-states-in-coronavirus-red-zone-covid-19/">Center for Public Integrity</a> on Thursday, recommends that states — including California, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas — toughen rules in hot spots and increase “community-led testing.” The task force also advises that several counties should shut down bars, nightclubs and gyms.

The color-coded report defines more than a dozen states as “red,” meaning more than 100 new infections per 100,000 people were reported last week.

The report specifically recommends that Georgia, Indiana and Minnesota mandate masks statewide, but the governors of those states have not ordered that measure as of Thursday. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/16/kemp-georgia-mask-mandates/?itid=lk_inline_manual_93" target=_blank>has banned</a> localities from requiring people to wear masks in public, even though other Republican governors have moved toward ordering mask mandates.

Alabama should also enforce statewide masking outside of homes, the report suggested. That state announced a face covering requirement on Wednesday.

In a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing last week, response coordinator Deborah Birx described and held up <a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?473708-1/vice-president-reiterates-presidents-call-open-schools-fall&vod=">a report</a> that appeared to be an earlier version of the one made public Thursday. She said the state-by-state report is updated weekly and sent to governors.

Kemp’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Center or The Washington Post.

Peter Navarro

Facing intense criticism on social media, USA Today has admitted errors in an opinion piece written by a White House official that attacked Anthony S. Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious-disease expert, saying in a post-publication note attached to the piece that it “did not meet USA Today’s fact-checking standards.” 

Published online Tuesday evening and in print on Wednesday, the <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/todaysdebate/2020/07/14/anthony-fauci-wrong-with-me-peter-navarro-editorials-debates/5439374002/">opinion piece</a> was authored by Peter Navarro, who heads the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, and was paired with the provocative headline: “Anthony Fauci has been wrong about everything I have interacted with him on.”

On Wednesday evening, editorial page editor Bill Sternberg added a note that explained the piece’s origins as well as its mistakes.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2020/07/16/usa-today-facing-backlash-says-navarro-opinion-piece-attacking-fauci-did-not-meet-standards/?itid=lk_inline_manual_102" target="_blank">here</a>.

Jeremy Barr

Coronavirus Pandemic California

Across the country, <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2017/Full_Report/Volume_1,_Chapter_1_US/st99_1_0052_0052.pdf">young farmers</a>, first-generation farmers and <a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Highlights/2019/2017Census_Farm_Producers.pdf">farmers of color</a> say they have been left out of coronavirus relief for the agricultural industry, because of the federal government’s one-size-fits-all approach.

The oversight, which they say has left them on wobbly financial footing, threatens to cut off a promising growth area of small-scale farms and younger farmers against a wider backdrop of consolidation and aging of American agriculture.

The U.S. Agriculture Department’s most recent <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/04/13/advocates-hoped-new-report-would-find-diversity-ag-it-found-old-white-people/?itid=lk_inline_manual_16&itid=lk_inline_manual_107">five-year census</a>, released last year, found a surge in the number of farms under nine acres, which increased by about 22 percent from 2012 to 2017, as well as<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-growing-number-of-young-americans-are-leaving-desk-jobs-to-farm/2017/11/23/e3c018ae-c64e-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html?utm_term=.4836e664c04d&amp;itid=lk_inline_manual_15&amp;itid=lk_inline_manual_16&itid=lk_inline_manual_107"> farmers and ranchers below the age of 35</a>, whose numbers increased roughly 11 percent to about 285,000. (They’re thoroughly outnumbered by the 396,000 producers age 75 and older, however.)

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/16/cfap-ppp-farmers-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_108" target=_blank>here</a>.

Laura Reiley

Virus Outbreak Florida Cruise Ships

Cruises will not set sail from U.S. ports until at least Oct. 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/No-Sail-Order-Cruise-Ships-Second-Extension_07_16_2020-p.pdf">announced Thursday</a>.

The extension of the CDC’s no-sail order is the second since the restriction was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/03/12/princess-viking-cruise-lines-halt-all-sailings-temporarily-response-coronavirus/?itid=lk_inline_manual_112" target="_blank">put in place on March 14</a>. The industry’s trade group, Cruise Lines International Association, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/06/19/cruise-industry-stretches-suspension-sailing-us-ports-least-sept-15/?itid=lk_inline_manual_112" target="_blank">said in June</a> that its members would voluntarily suspend sailings until Sept. 15 or later, if necessary.

The CDC’s announcement comes as novel coronavirus cases have surged in several states from where cruises sail, including Florida, Texas and California.

Empty ships are docked at the port in Miami, the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/travel/cruises/la-tr-cruises-worlds-busiest-cruise-ports-20170721-story.html">busiest cruise port in the world</a>, as the county it is in has reported 75,425 infections — 19,464 since last week — according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/national/coronavirus-us-cases-deaths/?itid=lk_inline_manual_114">data analysis by The Washington Post</a>.

From March 1 to July 10, the CDC has counted nearly 3,000 cases of the coronavirus or coronavirus-like cases on cruise ships and tallied 34 deaths. Of 123 cruise ships on U.S. waters, 99 have reported infections, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/No-Sail-Order-Cruise-Ships-Second-Extension_07_16_2020-p.pdf" target=_blank>according to the CDC</a>. The health agency said nine ships have ongoing outbreaks.

The purpose of the order is to limit the spread of the coronavirus among passengers and staff and throughout the United States as ships travel between U.S. ports and abroad.

A Philadelphia-area youth sports coach coached several games and attended a Fourth of July party while infected with the novel coronavirus, a county official said.

The Montgomery County, Pa., coach did not always maintain social distancing or wear a mask, Valerie Arkoosh, chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, said Wednesday at a news conference. She said the coach refused to give contact tracers the names of attendees at the party.

Arkoosh did not reveal the coach’s name, gender or other identifying details, or say if the coach knew about the infection during the interactions. But she described the case as an example of a troubling phenomenon of people refusing to comply with contact tracing and isolation measures.

“These are the types of activities that, when you see these big outbreaks in some of our other states, this is how this happens,” said Arkoosh, who is a physician.

Contact tracers recommended that 12 players and three coaches quarantine due to contact with the infected coach. But some parents took children who should have been quarantined to play in other games.

Rumors spread about the Fourth of July party, and the county got calls from attendees who wanted to know if they’d been exposed. But because the contact tracers didn’t have direct information, they couldn’t confirm one way or the other.

In another instance, Arkoosh said, more than 100 people attended a graduation party without practicing social distancing or wearing masks. Some shared drinks or vape pens.

Several cases have been identified as being possibly tied to the party, and health officials believe more people may have been exposed. But, Arkoosh said, health officials have been unable to notify them because no one will share names.

“These are really serious problems,” she said. “Noncooperation with contact tracers can result in outbreaks that are substantial and can infect many, many, many people in our community.”

She added, “So I say again: We are in this together.”

Brittany Shammas

Pence

Federal health officials are rewriting one of the basic tenets for ensuring that people infected with the novel coronavirus are unlikely to spread it to others, saying that most people who get covid-19 do not need to get retested after their symptoms go away.

According to Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services who is the Trump administration’s coronavirus testing coordinator, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are preparing updated guidance that reflects this change in thinking.

For infected people who isolate themselves at home while they have symptoms, retesting “is medically unnecessary,” Giroir said, calling the idea of retesting “a remnant” from the pandemic’s earliest days.

“We know if you are 10 days from onset of your symptoms and three days from symptoms, you are no longer infectious,” he said Thursday on a conference call with journalists.

Critically ill patients who are hospitalized with covid-19, or those with immune deficiencies that might make it harder for their bodies to get rid of the virus, still need retesting, Giroir said. But, he said, “the great, great majority of people do not need that.”

The new guidance “is not a result of shortages,” he said, at a time when the pandemic is surging in many parts of the country, leading to greater demand for coronavirus tests and longer lag times for results. “It is unnecessary.”

Amy Goldstein

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany criticized Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Thursday in response to his panning of President Trump’s coronavirus response, accusing Hogan of “revisionist history.”

Hogan had criticized the president over his handling of the pandemic in an essay adapted from a forthcoming book. Hogan wrote that he had procured test kits directly from South Korea in April because it “was clear that waiting around for the president to run the nation’s response was hopeless.”

McEnany argued that Hogan had previously “praised the great communication that the president has had with governors.”

“So, 24 hours before this dramatic opening scene of his op-ed, he literally was praising the president of the United States for delivering on testing,” McEnany said.

Despite McEnany’s assertion, Hogan was critical of the Trump administration on testing at the time. In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on April 19, for instance, Hogan said the lack of testing was “probably the number one problem in America, and has been from the beginning of this crisis.”

Felicia Sonmez

Jared Polis

The governors of Colorado and Arkansas on Thursday issued statewide mask requirements for public, indoor spaces — meaning 28 states and the District have now enacted mandates on face coverings.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) on Thursday pointed to a worsening covid-19 crisis in the state based on a “significant uptick” in newly reported cases in recent days. He added that modeling from medical experts shows a “dire picture going forward if we don’t change our actions” — namely, an increase in mask wearing and social distancing. The new mandate, he announced, would be imperative to protect the state’s public health as well as its economy.

The mask order, which requires people age 10 and older to wear a face covering while in public, indoor spaces, comes after Polis previously said he could not enforce such a mandate, according to the <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2020/07/16/colorado-polis-mask-order-mandate-covid-coronavirus/" target=_blank>Denver Post</a>.

“There is a small window of opportunity. If we don’t act at the current rate … the state would exceed its ICU capacity in September,” Polis said Thursday. “We’re really on the knife’s edge." 

The mandate goes into effect <a href="https://coloradosun.com/2020/07/16/colorado-statewide-mask-order-jared-polis/" target=_blank>Friday</a>.

In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday introduced a similar mask requirement. In a daily briefing, he said the mandate for face coverings comes as the covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the state are “numbers that speak for themselves and indicate that we need to do more.” 

He said that medical experts are pleading with the public to help combat the virus, and that lawmakers agree that a mask mandate may be the only way the state can return to normalcy. If students are asked to wear masks in school in the fall, he added, then it’s up to parents to set an example by wearing one themselves.

Like in Colorado, the requirement applies to indoor, public spaces as well as outdoor settings where there is insufficient room to practice social distancing, Hutchison said. It goes into effect Monday, and children younger than 10 years old are exempt from the mandate.

“This whole fight against covid-19 is likely to get harder and not easier,” he said. “We have to meet the challenge together, everyone must do their part, and this is a way to enlist the support of everyone in this fight.” 

Michael Brice-Saddler

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany renewed the Trump administration’s push for schools to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic, declaring Thursday that it’s “very damaging to our children” to be kept at home.

“The science should not stand in the way of this,” McEnany said at a White House news briefing. She later added: “The science is on our side here, and we encourage localities and states to just simply follow the science."

McEnany pointed to a study that she said shows that the risk covid-19 poses to children is “far less” than the risk posed by the seasonal flu.

Despite the administration’s urging, municipalities across the country have delayed or canceled in-person classes for the fall, citing the recent spike in coronavirus cases and the ongoing risk to students, parents, teachers and other staff.

Young black woman smiling while sitting at laptop computer. 

Some classes at Rice University in Houston are likely to take place outdoors in the fall as administrators seek to decrease the chance of a novel coronavirus outbreak on their campus.

The school announced Thursday that some classes will take place in large tents — though the semi-permanent structures will hardly resemble camping shelters.

The setups will have space for 50 people to socially distance, as well as lighting, cooling, heating, ventilation and walls. Kevin Kirby, Rice’s vice president of administration, said in <a href="https://coronavirus.rice.edu/news/covid-19-response-weekly-update-physical-distancing-requirements-and-its-impact-campus" target="_blank">a statement</a> that the tents are “designed to withstand hurricane force winds."

Students are being asked to bring their own portable chairs to class.

The university has also bought five less-permanent tents to further expand classroom capacity, <a href="https://www.khou.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/rice-university-plans-to-have-some-classes-in-outdoor-tents/285-5a107e66-9abb-4c92-94bd-83668835cfa1" target=_blank>KHOU reported</a>. The university said it will re-purpose its four semi-permanent structures for future use after the pandemic wanes.

Rice’s outdoor setup is another example of the creative solutions that colleges are exploring in an attempt to safely welcome students back to campus in the fall. The concerns are especially acute in Texas, where the number of new coronavirus cases has quintupled since June.

Kim Bellware

Virus Outbreak-Florida Governor

Florida’s emergency operations center — a clearinghouse for disaster-related information and a command center of sorts for the pandemic response — closed Thursday for cleaning after a string of infections among staff working there.

One official with knowledge of the events, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the evolving situation, said 13 people working at the center had tested positive for the virus. A spokesman for the Division of Emergency Management, Jason Mahon, said the total was actually 11, later revising it to 12. He said the cases had cropped up over the previous several weeks.

The emergency operations center was put on Level 1 — the highest level of activation — when Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) declared a state of emergency in March, and it will remain at that level as employees work remotely. The state has become the global epicenter of the pandemic, reporting the highest one-day total of new cases by any state since the beginning of the outbreak Sunday.

Read more <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/coronavirus-cases-shut-down-floridas-emergency-operations-center/2020/07/16/492c112a-c782-11ea-8ffe-372be8d82298_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_174" target=_blank>here</a>.

Unpublished White House report recommends stricter coronavirus measures in hard-hit states

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