Updates: US reports another day of record high cases; bars 'one of the most dangerous spreaders,' Texas governor says

Coronavirus cases shot up in states across the country this week as a few states pump the brakes on reopening plans.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday announced another round of restrictions, including closing bars and limiting restaurant occupancy. And in Florida, bars on Friday were prohibited from allowing alcohol consumption.

Reopening bars quickly was a mistake, Abbott said in an interview Friday with El Paso TV station KVIA. The state now believes bars are "one of the most dangerous spreaders of COVID-19." The bar setting "just doesn't work with a pandemic," Abbott said, because people often seek out bars to socialize in a crowded setting.

The U.S. continues to see record single-day increases in new confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic. On Friday, the U.S. reported 45,255 new cases, according to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University. It's the second day of record high increases. Thursday saw 39,972 new cases. The increase in cases isn't due to an increase in testing, health officials say.

Here are the most significant developments of the day:

• Beaches in Miami-Dade County will be closed over Fourth of July weekend, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Friday.
• A journalist who attended President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa last week said Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19.
• A viral video shows a woman shopping without a mask at a California Trader Joe's caused a scene Friday, calling employees "Democratic pigs" and screaming profanities. California started requiring masks or face coverings be worn inside businesses statewide June 18.

📈 Today's stats: The world is nearing a half million deaths, with more than 125,000 of them in the United Sates. As of Saturday, there have been more than 9.8 million confirmed cases worldwide and almost 2.5 million in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. 

📰 What we're reading: Dr. Anthony Fauci recently told the Washington Post that officials are talking about implementing a new strategy that tests groups of people together. It's known as pool testing, and we explain here what it is.

Our live blog will be updated throughout the day. For first-in-the-morning updates, sign up for The Daily Briefing.

VP Pence cancels trips to Florida, Arizona amid coronavirus case surges

Vice President Mike Pence has canceled events in Florida and Arizona as coronavirus cases spike in those states. A spokesperson for President Donald Trump's campaign confirmed to USA TODAY the events, which included stops as part of Pence's "Faith in America" tour, were canceled "out of an abundance of caution" as cases climb in Florida and Arizona. 

On Tuesday, Pence was scheduled to give remarks at a "Faith in America" event in Tucson and to meet with Gov. Doug Ducey about the COVID-19 response. Pence had planned to travel to Florida on July 2 for a bus tour, meeting with Gov. Ron DeSantis about coronavirus, and to deliver remarks both at a "Fatih in America" event in Sarasota after touring Oakley Transport Inc. in Lake Wales. 

The Trump campaign faced criticism for holding a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last week. Local health officials called for it to be canceled over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, and several campaign staffers and Secret Service employees have tested positive for the coronavirus since the rally, along with a journalist. 

– Nicholas Wu

Cuomo pulls sick leave for New York workers who voluntarily travel to high-risk states

Don't go to a state with a high COVID-19 rate, come back to New York and expect to get paid sick leave benefits. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Saturday that strips the paid sick leave protections for New York employees who voluntarily travel to high-risk states after June 25.

"If we are going to maintain the progress we've seen, we need everyone to take personal responsibility," Cuomo said in a statement.

The order is the latest crackdown by Cuomo to avoid a surge in coronavirus in New York as its infection rates have been at record lows, but have hit record highs in parts of the South and West.

– Joseph Specter, New York state team

Oregon man arrested after he refused to wear face mask in courtroom

An Oregon man was briefly jailed for contempt after he refused to wear a mask and walked out of the courtroom where he was scheduled to appear for a harassment charge and a traffic violation.

A court clerk advised John Kulbeth to put on a face mask Wednesday, he declined and stood in the back of the courtroom in Sweet Home, Oregon, with his 6-year-old daughter, Baylee, far from everyone else.

When Judge Larry Blake entered and saw him in the back of the room, “he proceeded to chew me out, tell me if I was not going to wear a mask he was going to hold me in contempt of court,” Kulbeth told the USA TODAY Network.

Kulbeth, who says he has breathing problems which led to him being medically discharged from the Army a decade ago, told the judge he would leave, took his daughter’s hand and walked to the parking lot. Brandon Neish, Sweet Home’s Director of Courts and Finance Director, said Kulbeth was not arrested for refusing to wear a mask, but because he left the courtroom without his case being completed.

– Bill Poehler, Salem Statesman Journal

371 Tyson Foods employees at Missouri chicken plant test positive

Tyson Foods announced Friday that 371 employees at its chicken plant in Noel, Missouri, had tested positive for COVID-19.

Friday's announcement confirms suspicions that the recent spike in McDonald County's reported COVID-19 numbers was the result of large-scale testing at the chicken plant.

In a news release, Tyson said it tested 1,142 employees from June 17 to June 19, and 291 tested positive for COVID-19. Of those 291, Tyson said 249 or 85% were asymptomatic or didn't show any symptoms.

Tyson said that an additional 80 Noel employees tested positive for COVID-19 in separate tests that were performed by their health care providers or the Department of Health and Senior Services.

There have been COVID-19 outbreaks at several meat processing plants across the country since March, when the virus was characterized as a pandemic. In late April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at keeping the facilities open.

– Harrison Keegan, Springfield News-Leader

Severe COVID-19 linked to brain complications, study finds

A new study has found further evidence of a correlation between severe cases of COVID-19 and brain complications, but researchers say they still aren't sure whether those complications are directly caused by the disease.

The preliminary study, billed as the first nationwide survey of the neurological complications of the disease, was published in The Lancet Psychiatry this week.

Over the course of three weeks in April, researchers surveyed 153 hospitalized patients in the U.K. who had both a new confirmed or probable COVID-19 diagnosis and a new neurological or psychiatric diagnosis.

Researchers found that, among the 125 patients with complete medical records, 57 had a stroke caused by a blood clot in the brain and 39 had an altered mental state. Among the patients with an altered mental state, 10 of the patients had developed psychosis – a "break with reality" – and seven had encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain.

Virus rages in US, Brazil, Russia, India

While China and Europe took the brunt of the early days of the pandemic, the virus is now raging in the U.S., Brazil, Russia and India. Against that backdrop, the European Union is not expected to allow travelers from the U.S., Brazil and Russia.

• Brazil trails the U.S. with the world's second-most confirmed cases and deaths. More than 1.2 million people have tested positive.
• In Russia, with the world's third-most confirmed cases, the country is reporting a steady decline in daily new cases.
• In India, confirmed cases crossed the half-million mark Saturday, jumping by a one-day record of 18,552 infections.
• In Europe, 11 countries have reported a "very significant resurgence" in cases recently, Dr. Hans Henri Kluge, regional director for the World Health Organization, warned Friday. Kluge told reporters that health systems could be "pushed to the brink" if these increased transmissions of the virus go unchecked.

– Doug Stanglin and the Associated Press

Miami closes beaches for Fourth of July

Beaches in Miami-Dade County will be closed July 3 through July 7, County Mayor Carlos Gimenez announced Friday, amid a surge of coronavirus cases in Florida.

Gimenez said his emergency order also bans any gatherings — including parades — of more than 50 people throughout the county "for whatever reason." In those situations, masks and social distancing are required and five groups of no more than 10 people will be allowed, Gimenez said.

"The closure may be extended if conditions do not improve and people do not follow New Normal rules requiring masks to be worn always inside commercial establishments and outdoors when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not possible," Gimenez said. "I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules."

Florida reported a record 8,942 new cases on Friday — a 62% increase over the previous daily record of 5,508 reported Wednesday.

Judge: US must free migrant children from detention amid pandemic

A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of children held with their parents in U.S. immigration jails and denounced the Trump administration’s prolonged detention of families during the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee’s order applies to children held for more than 20 days at three family detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Some have been detained since last year.

Citing the recent spread of the virus in two of the three facilities, Gee set a deadline of July 17 for children to either be released with their parents or sent to family sponsors. The family detention centers “are ‘on fire’ and there is no more time for half measures,” she wrote.

– Associated Press

US citizens likely won't be allowed to travel to EU anytime soon

European Union envoys are close to finalizing a list of countries whose citizens will be allowed to enter Europe again, possibly late next week, EU diplomats confirmed Saturday. Americans are almost certain to be excluded in the short term due to the number of U.S. coronavirus cases.

The envoys were expected to have narrowed later Saturday the exact criteria for countries to make the list, which include the way the spread of the virus is being managed. Another key condition is whether the country has a ban on citizens from European nations.

The number of cases in the United States has surged over the past week, with an all-time high of 45,300 confirmed new daily infections just reached. President Donald Trump also suspended the entry of all people from Europe’s ID check-free travel zone in a decree in March.

The EU diplomats confirmed that an official agreement on the criteria — likely to include a limit on the infection rate per 100,000 citizens — is expected late Monday or early Tuesday. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the procedure is ongoing and politically very sensitive.

– Associated Press

What we're reading

• Are doctors studying whether COVID-19 could trigger diabetes? Here's what our fact check found.
• How long can the virus live on surfaces? There's new research on the topic.
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• Take this quiz: Are you ready to join the COVID-19 world?

More underlying medical conditions that increase risk of severe coronavirus

The CDC on Thursday updated and expanded the list of who is at increased risk for getting severely ill from COVID-19. The CDC now warns that among adults, risk increases steadily as you age, and it’s not just those over the age of 65 who are at increased risk for severe illness, the CDC said. 

The agency updated the list of underlying medical conditions that increase risk of severe illness, increasing the number of people who fall into higher risk groups. The more underlying medical conditions people have, the higher their risk, the CDC said. The conditions include:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• Obesity
• Weakened immune system from solid organ transplant
• Serious heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies
• Sickle cell disease
• Type 2 diabetes

Florida babies are getting COVID-19 at high rates this month

Infants and young children are rapidly catching the coronavirus and increasingly ending up in the hospital this month, according to an analysis of data from the Florida Department of Health. 

Since June 1, more than 1,100 children ages 4 and younger have been diagnosed with the coronavirus — accounting for 70% of the total cases in the age group. 

While more testing has been opened up to younger people this month, emergency department visits and hospitalizations have dramatically increased in June. More than half the total reported emergency department visits for the state’s youngest have come this month. And 40% of the hospitalizations of children up to 4 have come since June 1. 

Florida hospitals are reporting about 34% capacity of their 620 pediatric intensive care unit beds, according to Florida Agency for Health Care Administration data Friday afternoon. Adult capacity was at 21% of just over 6,000 beds. 

– Joshua Solomon, Treasure Coast Newspapers

Costco no longer selling sheet cakes

Costco has started to bring back its legendary free samples to some clubs, but they'll be prepackaged items and kept behind plexiglass shields, according to Bloomberg, which reported Thursday that sampling has returned to as many as 30 of Costco's 548 U.S. locations.

While samples are coming back, Costco has stopped selling its half sheet cakes at all U.S. clubs, the company confirmed to USA TODAY, noting, "as of right now, we have no immediate plans to bring back."

Costco said the sheet cakes aren't available for special order and explained the decision in responding to comments on the Facebook post. "To help limit personal contact and create more space for social distancing, Costco has reduced service in some departments," Costco wrote.

– Kelly Tyko

More on the coronavirus from USA TODAY

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