Coronavirus updates: Phoenix mayor says Arizona opened too soon; Trump set to hold rally in N.H. next week

John Bacon and Jessica Flores, USA TODAY
·13 min read

Florida surpassed 200,000 coronavirus cases Sunday while the FDA commissioner declined to support President Donald Trump's views on the pandemic and the the mayor of Phoenix said Arizona reopened too soon, fueling a boom in new cases among young people.

"We reemerged at zero to 60," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "Our 20- to 44-year-olds, which is my own demographic, really led the explosion."

Trump hosted a "Salute to America" on Saturday in Washington that included a massive fireworks display on the National Mall in Washington. Trump assured the crowd that 99% o COVID-19 therapies were "harmless" and that a vaccine or therapy would be developed "well before the end of the year." A rally for New Hampshire on July 11 was announced Sunday.

Food and Drug Administration (Commissioner Stephen Hahn, speaking Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," was asked about Trump's assertions. Hahn declined to concur, saying data shows the virus is a "serious problem" and that science would determine when vaccines or therapies are ready. Hahn also said it is too soon to determine whether the Republican National Convention can be safely held in Florida next month amid a surge of COVID-19 cases there.

Here are some recent developments:

  • Broadway actor Nick Cordero, who was hospitalized for more than 90 days after contracting the coronavirus, died Sunday. He was 41.

  • The World Health Organization said member states reported more than 212,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Saturday, the highest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.

  • Cases in Texas and Florida to hit record highs again on Saturday. The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 8,076 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, marking the first time Texas crossed the 8,000 threshold for new cases in a single day. And Florida reported 11,458 new cases of the coronavirus Saturday, also a record for most new cases in one day.

📈Today's stats: The U.S. recorded 45,283 new cases of the coronavirus Saturday, snapping a streak of multiple days with more than 50,000, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. The daily death toll was 242. It was not immediately clear what impact the holiday had on collecting the totals. The U.S. has seen more than 2.8 million confirmed cases and more than 129,000 deaths. Globally, there have been more than 11.3 million cases and more than 532,000 deaths.

📰 What we're reading: American colleges and universities offer petri-dish conditions for the coronavirus. For nearly 20 million college and university students, as well as parents and faculty, the uncertainty of what campus life will be like in the fall can be overwhelming. Some schools have set up sophisticated testing plans; others are planning to keep classes online.

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Broadway actor Nick Cordero dies from coronavirus after three months in ICU

Nick Cordero, the Broadway actor who found a multitude of new worldwide fans who rallied behind him as he struggled with the coronavirus, died Sunday at age 41.

Cordero was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles in late March for what was initially thought to be pneumonia. A first coronavirus test came up negative, though a subsequent test was positive for COVID-19.

Over the course of 13 weeks, he faced a multitude of serious complications, including a leg amputation, infections in his lungs and the insertion of a temporary pacemaker.

"I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him," his wife Amanda Kloots wrote in an Instagram post. "Nick was such a bright light."

President Trump to hold outdoor rally in New Hampshire July 11

President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold an outdoor rally Saturday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire amid the coronavirus pandemic. The rally will be held at the Portsmouth International Airport, just three weeks after Trump's first rally since March in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"There will be ample access to hand sanitizer and all attendees will be provided a face mask that they are strongly encouraged to wear," says the news release.

The president has visited Arizona and gave a July 3 spech at Mount Rushmore since his Tulsa rally.

Mexican town making sure border wall works both ways

Residents of the town of Sonoyta, across from Lukeville, Arizona, briefly blocked the main road leading south from the U.S. border over the weekend as the virus outbreak grew more grim in Arizona. Sonoyta Mayor José Ramos Arzate has issued a statement “inviting U.S. tourists not to visit Mexico.” Local residents organized to block the road with their cars on the Mexican side Saturday. Ramos Arzate wrote that people from the United States will be allowed in “for essential activities," so the checkpoint and inspection point will continue to operate.

Houston, Austin leaders ask for authority to tighten restrictions

Leaders of Houston and Austin are asking Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott to empower local governments to order residents to stay home as a surge in confirmed cases puts pressure on the state's hospital capacity. Austin Mayor Steve Adler, a Democrat, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that he wants Abbott, a Republican, to return control to local governments. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, also a Democrat, says a stay-at-home order is needed. Texas reported its highest daily increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases Saturday with 8,258.

"We are on a trajectory right now that we could be inundating our intensive care units here within a week to 10 days. We may have to take drastic action," Adler said. "If this is happening in Austin and Dallas and Houston and San Antonio all at the same time, we are in trouble."

Adler said Austin is planning for the possibility that ICU units could reach capacity in coming days as cases continue to rise. The Austin area has about 1,500 hospital beds for coronavirus. It had 434 people hospitalized in those beds on Saturday night, Adler said.

If the escalation in coronavirus cases doesn’t stop, then authorities will have to consider “whether or not to pull back from the reopening of the economy,” Adler said.

N.J. Gov. Murphy: 'We cannot afford to go through hell again'

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for a federal mask requirement, saying Sunday it should be the core of a national strategy to combat a rise in new cases. Murphy, speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, said virus cases are on the upswing again in his state as residents return from vacations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and areas of Florida. New Jersey suffered mightily, along with New York, in the early days of the pandemic but had seen much improvement in recent weeks. Now the numbers are turning higher again.

“If you’re leaving your house, put on a mask," Murphy said. "We went through hell, we cannot afford to go through hell again."

Florida surpasses 200,000 cases despite efforts to tighten restrictions

The state of Florida added 10,059 cases of the novel coronavirus Sunday, pushing the total number of cases beyond 200,000 for the first time. The total number of COVID-19 cases statewide is now 200,111, according to data from the Florida Department of Health. The state has more than tripled the total number of coronavirus cases since its Phase 2 reopening began June 5. The state, which had been opening up, has begun reinstituting some restrictions.. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez called the high numbers of positive tests “extremely worrisome.”

“It’s clear that the growth is exponential at this point,” he said. “Our county closed down the beaches for the July Fourth weekend in the hopes that all these rules will have an impact – a positive impact.

– Rachael Thomas, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Phoenix mayor laments boom in new cases, says state reopened too soon

Arizona's quick reopening made some residents overconfident about safety, spurring the state's surge in new cases, Gallego said Sunday. Crowded nightclubs handed out free champagne to partygoers not wearing masks, she said on ABC's "This Week."

"We opened way too early in Arizona," she said "We were one of the last states to go to stay-at-home and one of the first to reemerge. And we reemerged at zero to sixty," Gallego said on ABC's "This Week." "We had crowded nightclubs handing out free champagne, no masks. Our 20- to 44-year-olds, which is my own demographic, really led the explosion, and we’ve seen such growth in that area. We’re seeing a lot of people go to large family gatherings and infect their family members."

She later added, "I think when nightclubs were open, it sent the signal that we had, again, defeated COVID and, obviously, that is not the case."

New Jersey beaches, waterparks draw crowds

Some of New Jersey's beaches, casinos, amusement parks and water parks, reopened just ahead of the holiday weekend, drew big crowds. In Seaside Heights, few people were wearing masks or observing social distancing. Amanda Vourtis, 27, was spending the Fourth of July with a friend on the borough’s world famous Boardwalk. Vourtis, 27, carried hand sanitizer and a mask in her beach bag.

“I take my own precautions,” Vourtis said. “I think everybody’s aware. I hope everybody does the same as I do and takes precautions for themselves.”

– Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press

FDA commissioner declines to back Trump timeline for vaccine

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn was unwilling Sunday to back President Donald Trump's boast that a COVID-19 vaccine would soon be ready or the president's claim that 99% of infections are harmless. Trump said Saturday that the nation was unleashing "scientific brilliance and we'll likely have a therapeutic and/or vaccine solution long before the end of the year." Hahn, speaking on ABC's "This Week," cited "unprecedented speed" in the development of a vaccine but said science and data will determine when it is ready.

"While the FDA is committed to expediting this work, we will not cut corners in our decisions,"Hahn said, adding that the agency is "making clear through this guidance what data should be submitted to meet our regulatory standards."

In Arizona, end to rent relief could leave thousands homeless

Thousands of Arizonans struggling to pay rent because of the COVID-19 pandemic could lose their homes this summer when Gov. Doug Ducey's executive order delaying evictions expires, government data suggests. Renters who were sick with the virus, lost jobs or had to stop working because schools were closed have had a reprieve since late March. Congress also banned evictions until July 25 on rentals with federally backed mortgages. But as the end of those programs approach, Arizona is far from free of the pandemic's grip.

"We are on a huge economic cliff and being kept from falling off with stimulus money," said Mark Stapp, director of the Master of Real Estate Development program at Arizona State University. "It's going to take (additional) stimulus money to prevent many Arizona renters from becoming homeless and landlords (from) going under."

– Catherine Reagor and Rebekah L. Sanders, Arizona Republic

Fingers crossed, colleges march into fall semester

Administrators at thousands of America’s roughly 4,300 colleges and universities are anxiously pushing to resume classes as soon as next month despite the pandemic. An early vaccine could dramatically ease stress levels while a resurgence of infections – possibly coupled with a flu outbreak – could send students scurrying home. For now, school presidents are betting on a smorgasbord of viral testing systems and hybrid teaching – a mix of online and in-person classes – and strict guidelines for social distancing and masks.

“This is all terra incognita,” said Terry Hartle, senior vice president with the American Council on Education. “They don’t teach this in college presidents’ school … Every school is taking steps they couldn’t have imagined a year ago.”

– Dennis Wagner

NBA teams head to Orlando this week for a season unlike any other

NBA teams begin arriving at the Disney campus in Orlando on Tuesday to prep for resuming the pandemic-halted season July 30. The teams will be isolated in an NBA bubble and all the made-for-TV games will be played at the site. All teams will receive daily tests, with social distancing rules needed for ping-pong games (no doubles) and card games (dispose after every use). Protocols include one week of quarantine upon arrival and two weeks of quarantine following a positive test, while also offering luxurious amenities with movie theaters, golf courses and video game lounges. Still, some players are dubious.

"There is absolutely no comfort level. None," New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick said. "I know the league and I know the union has tried to create this environment, and I get it. But there’s so much else going on right now."

– Mark Medina

Trump leads charge for Independence Day weekend celebrations

While many governors and mayors urged residents to stay home this weekend, President Donald Trump went ahead with a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota on Friday and an evening of tribute and fireworks Saturday on the National Mall in Washington. Trump's speeches targeted those who do not support him and made no mention of the pandemic's tragic death toll. Pat Lee of Upper Dublin, Pennsylvania, was a believer. Lee and two friends, none wearing masks, gathered near the event in Washington.

“POTUS said it would go away,” Lee said of the pandemic, using an acronym for president of the United States. “Masks, I think, are like a hoax.”

What we're reading

90% of Arizona ICU beds in use

Arizona reported 2,695 new COVID-19 cases and 17 additional deaths on Saturday, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. The number of people in the hospitals and using ICU beds again broke records Friday. Saturday's dashboard shows 85% of current inpatient beds and 90% of ICU beds were in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients.

Arizona is among the worst hot spots in the nation for COVID-19. The disease is widespread, and health officials caution people to stay home as much as possible and wear masks in public. Vice President Mike Pence, who visited Arizona on Wednesday, said he is deploying hundreds of medical personnel to assist the state.

– BrieAnna J. Frank, Arizona Republic

More on the coronavirus from USA TODAY

Where a face mask is required: Many governors are instituting or renewing orders requiring people to wear face coverings in public as cases continue to rise. Is your state on the list? See it here.

Coronavirus Watch: We have a few ways for you to stay informed. Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter here, and come together and share the latest information about coronavirus, coping with lifestyle changes and more by joining our Facebook group.

Where are states on reopening? Some are taking preemptive measures to postpone further phases of their reopening, while others have rolled back their phases to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. See the list.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID: Fourth of July, Donald Trump, Arizona concerns headline news