The Latest: Nevada lawmakers suspend session over virus case

Full Screen
1 / 14

2020, The News & Observer

Gov. Roy Cooper listens to Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services during a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, July 9, 2020. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer via AP)

CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada lawmakers have pumped the brakes on their emergency special session because someone in the legislative building has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Gov. Steve Sisolak has convened the session so lawmakers can balance the state budget amid a projected $1.2 billion shortfall stemming from the economic damage of the pandemic.

Recommended Videos



But on Friday staff members announced that someone in the building is infected with the virus, though the person shows no symptoms.

On Saturday, 13 Nevada lawmakers decided they would now participate remotely in the emergency session and both chambers agreed to recess until Monday morning. That will give time for legislators time to get tested and staff to answer a long list of questions that lawmakers have asked in hearings.

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Florida sets 1-week record of nearly 500 coronavirus deaths

— Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has coronavirus

— Tribes struggle to meet deadline to spend virus relief aid

— Johns Hopkins University has filed a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration’s decision to make international students leave the U.S. if they intend to take classes entirely online starting this fall.

— The nation’s capital has declared beekeepers to be essential workers during the coronavirus outbreak.

___

Follow all of AP’s pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

___

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan has wrapped up an annual film festival with an awards ceremony as it stages more public events after keeping its coronavirus outbreak to a few hundred cases.

Actors and others lined up for photo shoots with no social distancing Saturday night, and participants didn’t wear face masks in historic Zhongshan Hall in the capital of the self-governing island off China’s east coast.

Government officials say there have been 451 confirmed coronavrius cases and seven deaths on the island, which has a population of about 23 million people.

Also on Saturday, a baseball game in the city of Taichung drew more than 10,000 fans for the first time this season. Health authorities have been gradually allowing larger crowds since the baseball season began in April with no fans.

___

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas authorities have reported a state-record of 1,061 newly confirmed coronavirus cases for a single day but no new deaths related to the virus.

State health officials said Saturday that the total for COVID-19 cases now stood at 27,864. The state says the death toll remainw at 313 for the outbreak for which tracking began in early March.

The true number of cases in Arkansas is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

Arkansas’ virus cases have dramatically risen since May, when the state began allowing businesses to reopen.

___

SANTA FE, N.M. -- Work safety regulators in New Mexico have ordered Walmart to close a store in the city of Las Cruces after four employees tested positive for the coronavirus in the past three weeks.

The New Mexico Environment Department said Saturday that the order also requires Walmart to test the store’s workers for the cordonavirus and thoroughly disinfect the building,

Walmart spokesman Pedro Mucciolo says in a statement is “taking all measures necessary to safeguard the well-being of those inside our stores, fulfillment centers and distribution centers.″

___

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma has reported 687 more cases confirmed cases of the new coronavirus — the second greatest daily increase since tracking of the outbreak began in March.

Saturday's daily count was second only to the record 858 new cases reported Tuesday. The latest rises brings the total of confirmed cases to 19,779 since tracking began in March. Oklahoma authorities say 15,136 patients have recovered.

Health officials also reported five new deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the state’s death toll for the outbreak to 421.

___

WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — Navajo Nation officials have reported 10 additional deaths from COVID-19 as the tribe’s sprawling reservation remains under the latest weekend lockdown imposed to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

The tribe’s death toll rose to 396 as of Friday.

Tribal officials also reported 56 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases, increasing the reservation’s total to nearly 8,100. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested. Studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

The lockdown began Friday night and ends at 5 a.m. Monday. All businesses on the Navajo Nation are also required to close during the lockdown.

___

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking all its members in Utah to wear face coverings when in public.

The area leaders say the use of masks is a sign of good citizenship.

The Deseret News reports that the Utah Area Presidency sent out the request in an email Friday evening. The area presidency operates under the authority of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, nearly 900 confirmed virus cases were reported Friday in Utah. Overall, Utah has had more than 28,000 confirmed cases and 207 deaths due to the virus as of Saturday.

___

AUSTIN, Texas -- The new coronavirus continues to cut a swath through Texas, with state officials reporting a record 10,351 new confirmed cases for the day.

The increase reported Saturday brought the state's total cases of COVID-19 to just over a quarter-million since the start of tracking in early March.

A record 10,083 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, while 99 new fatalities were reported Saturday. The total is second only to the record 105 reported Thursday and brought the state’s overall death toll to 3,112.

Harris County, which includes the bulk of Houston and many of its suburbs, had the most active cases, with almost 27,000. Dallas County, which includes Dallas and many of its suburbs, came in a distant second at almost 13,000.

___

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is reporting another 13,497 confirmed coronavirus cases for a total of 264,184 including 3,971 deaths. More than a third of cases are in the new hot spot of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and the capital, Pretoria.

Already public hospitals are expressing concerns about shortages of available beds and medical oxygen. The percentage of tests that are positive is now over 25% but the National Institute of Infectious Diseases says that could reflect both the rise in infections and more targeted testing.

The country’s health minister has said the “storm” that authorities have been warning citizens about has arrived.

___

PHOENIX — Arizona health officials have reported an additional 69 deaths from the coronavirus outbreak.

So far, there’s been more than 2,150 confirmed deaths from the virus in Arizona.

The state added 3,038 confirmed cases in the last day, bringing the total to 119,930. Arizona also set a record with 3,485 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 as of Friday.

Hospital caseloads have surged since Arizona became one of the hot spots for the coronavirus after Gov. Doug Ducey relaxed stay-home orders and other restrictions in May.

___

PARIS — The wife of a French bus driver who died of injuries after he asked four passengers to wear face masks wants “exemplary punishment.”

Four people are in custody for the assault of Philippe Monguillot on July 5 at a bus stop in Bayonne, southwest France.

The Bayonne prosecutor says Monguillot was assaulted after he asked four passengers on his bus to wear face masks, which are required aboard French public transportation because of the coronavirus. He was insulted, pushed off the bus and violently beaten and kicked in the head, the prosecutor said.

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday dispatched the interior minister to meet the driver’s widow after his death was announced Friday. He had been hospitalized in critical condition.

Veronique Monguillot told minister Gerald Darmanin that she and her three daughters were “destroyed” by the death.

___

NEW DELHI -- Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says he has tested positive for the coronavirus and is hospitalized in Mumbai.

In a tweet on Saturday, the 77-year-old Bachchan said his family and staff have also undergone tests and are awaiting results.

His 44-year-old son and fellow actor, Abhishek Bachchan, tweeted Saturday night that he also has tested positive for the virus and is hospitalized. He described their symptoms as mild.

The elder Bachchan has acted in more than 200 Indian films over the past five decades. He is also a former politician and television host.

___

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida set a one-week record of nearly 500 confirmed coronavirus deaths.

The state health department reported 96 new deaths Saturday, bringing the total for the week to 496 or an average of nearly 71 per day.

A record 120 deaths were reported Thursday. Three weeks ago, Florida’s weekly average for deaths stood at 30 per day.

The state on Saturday confirmed 9,960 new coronavirus cases and 421 addition hospitalizations. Since March 1, when the first Florida infections were recorded, the state has reported 254,511 confirmed cases and 4,301 deaths.

The previous weekly record average of 60 deaths per day was set May 8. Throughout May and into June, the state reopened much of its economy with some restrictions.

Testing has increased, but the percentage of people testing positive has risen. A month ago, fewer than 5% of tests came up positive on a daily average. Over the past week, the daily average exceeded 19%.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has scheduled a news conference Saturday to discuss the outbreak.

___

ROME — Italy has confirmed another 188 coronavirus infections, a third in the hard-hit Lombardy region.

Public health officials say the outbreak remains under control in Italy, the onetime epicenter of the outbreak in Europe, but they are paying attention to clusters of domestic and international infections.

Italy halted all air traffic with Bangladesh and 13 other countries after more than two dozen cases were linked to charter flights of returning Bangladeshi immigrants. On Saturday, eight of the 19 new infections in the Lazio region around Rome were linked to the Bangladeshi community cluster.

Another cluster has been identified in a TNT delivery company in Bologna, where 12 of the region’s 47 new infections are linked. TNT has registered more than 40 total cases.

Another seven people with the coronavirus died in the past day, bringing Italy’s total confirmed deaths to 34,945.

___

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Tribes across the United States are wrestling with competing needs, restrictive laws and inadequate staffing as they try to meet a tight federal deadline on spending billions of dollars in virus relief funds.

Congress set aside $8 billion for tribes that must be spent by the end of the year and meet strict federal guidelines. Otherwise, the tribes risk having to send it back.

Officials on the vast Navajo Nation have received $714 million in aid but approved just $60 million for health care, protective equipment and front-line workers against the virus.

Rifts between the tribal government’s legislative and executive branches have delayed putting more of the money to use.

Under the Treasury Department guidelines, the money can’t be spent on items already budgeted, back-filling lost revenue or per-capita payments. Tribes nationwide are lobbying their congressional delegation to extend the spending deadline and allow for more flexibility.

___

NEW YORK — The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with the coronavirus has fallen to the lowest point in nearly four months.

However, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is concerned a resurgence in cases is inevitable amid outbreaks in other states.

Cuomo told WAMC radio on Friday the state’s quarantine rules for travelers returning from hard-hit areas are difficult to enforce. He says the only question is how high New York’s rate will rise.

State officials reported 799 COVID-19 hospitalizations on Saturday, which is the lowest number since March 18.

___

ATHENS, Greece — Greek authorities announced 41 new cases of coronavirus over the past 24 hours on Saturday, with 11 detected in incoming tourists.

There were no new confirmed deaths.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases stands at 3,772 and 193 deaths.

___

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina state senator says he’s tested positive for COVID-19, the first known public case for a General Assembly member.

Sen. Danny Britt, a Robeson County Republican, told The Associated Press he received the positive test on Friday.

Britt, an attorney and National Guard officer, was on the Senate floor on Wednesday as the chamber debated bills and cast votes. The full legislature isn’t expected to return to work until September.

Building administrators at the legislative complex in downtown Raleigh have initiated health and social distancing measures since April. There is no mandate for wearing masks indoors in the two buildings. That’s frustrated Democrats who serve in the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

Nationwide, at least 75 legislators in at least 28 states have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak, according to an AP tally.

___

NEW DELHI — India’s coronavirus cases have passed 800,000 after the biggest spike of 27,114 cases in the past 24 hours, causing nearly a dozen states to impose a partial lockdown in high-risk areas.

The new confirmed cases took the national total to 820,916. The Health Ministry on Saturday reported another 519 deaths for a total of 22,123.

A surge in infections went from 600,000 to more than 800,000 in nine days. The ministry says the recovery rate was continuing to improve at more than 62%.

Eight of India’s 28 states, including the worst-hit Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and New Delhi, account for nearly 90% of all infections.

The most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, with nearly 230 million people, imposed a weekend lockdown. Several others announced restrictions in districts reporting major spikes.