California leads the nation in coronavirus cases, more than 550,000 on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins data, and state officials aren't ready to let theme parks reopen. That means Disneyland, in Anaheim, won't reopen anytime soon.

On the other coast, as the U.S. reached another bleak milestone on Sunday, a glimmer of hope from New York: The Empire State reported its lowest positivity rate since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Here are some significant developments:

· California's public health director resigned Sunday days after the state fixed a glitch that created a lag in reporting coronavirus test results.

· Journalists from NBC went inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the first foreign news organization to do so.

· At least 97,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July alone.

The U.S. has recorded more than 163,000 deaths and 5 million cases of COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 732,000 deaths and 19.9 million cases.

US surpasses 5 million cases

The U.S. hit 5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 Sunday, just 17 days after reaching 4 million cases. The nation now has about 25% of cases reported worldwide.

Last week, President Donald Trump once again said the U.S. has the virus "under control," describing his administration's response to the pandemic as "incredible" in an interview with Axios aired Aug. 3 on HBO. This despite an average daily death toll hovering around 1,000, with almost 60,000 new cases being reported daily. Alabama has just hit 100,000 cases. South Carolina is 540 shy and Virgina is 811 short. Texas is about closing in on 500,000.

Report: 97,000 children tested positive in the last two weeks of July

At least 97,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July alone, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

All told, more than 338,000 children have been infected since the pandemic began, according to data from the report, which relied on data from 49 states along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.

New York state registers lowest COVID-19 positivity rate

New York took another major step in its recovery Sunday when the state reported its lowest positivity rate since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the rate, the average number of positive results for every 100 tests, hit a record low 0.78% on Saturday. Both the state and New York City have been at some version of the final stage of reopening for at least 20 days, and Cuomo said the current number of ICU patients — 131 — was the state's lowest since March 16.

Neck fleece masks offer little protection, study shows

Fitted N95 masks are the most effective at filtering respiratory droplets from the mask's wearer while neck fleeces offer little protection compared to others, a team of Duke University researchers found.

Using 14 commonly available masks as well as a professional fit-tested N95 and a patch of mask material, the researchers set up an experiment using a laser light and camera to show how many respiratory droplets are emitted when a person wearing each kind of mask speaks for 10 seconds.

Each mask was tested 10 times, and the results show that in addition to fitted N95 masks, surgical and cotton masks are also most effective at filtering droplets. Knitted masks and bandannas, similar to neck fleeces, offered little protection.

Georgia school in viral photo to go remote after students, staff test positive

Several students and staff members at Atlanta-area schools that drew attention for crowding and scarce use of masks have tested positive for the coronavirus after the first week of classes, and now one of those schools is going online.

North Paudling High School west of Atlanta will switch to digital learning at least for Monday and Tuesday as its facilities are sanitized after nine students and staff members tested positive for the virus the first week of in-person classes. North Paulding had made headlines soon after students returned to school Aug. 3 when photos posted on social media showed hallways crowded with students, many of them not wearing masks.

And after only one week of school, more than 250 students and teachers from one Georgia school district will be asked to quarantine for two weeks after several teachers and students tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Cherokee County School District's website.

As states see record cases, some visit COVID-19 hot spots anyway

As three states set records for new cases in a week and three others had a record number of deaths, Americans are still searching for domestic vacation destinations that include places where COVID-19 case counts are rising, USA TODAY analyses show.

According to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data through late Sunday, new case records were set in Hawaii, Indiana and North Dakota while record numbers of deaths were reported in Arkansas, Nevada and West Virginia, and also Puerto Rico.

Yet an analysis of data from Trivago, a platform for searching and booking hotels, shows Americans' intention to travel is beginning to tick up again.

Trivago measures hotel search volume, which reflects travel requests and booking queries based on users’ link clicks. Last month’s volume was off 73% from the same time in 2019. And while it's been up and down for months, Florida remained the country’s most-searched domestic travel destination, followed by California and Nevada.

When will Disneyland reopen? Virus surge keeps California parks in limbo

Disney World reopened nearly a month ago, and most Disney theme parks around the globe have also reopened after closing due to the coronavirus pandemic. One that hasn't: Disneyland.

And it's unlikely that the Anaheim, California, park will reopen anytime soon. California leads the nation in coronavirus cases, more than 550,000 on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins data, and state officials aren't ready to let theme parks reopen.

Disneyland is waiting on guidance from state officials, and the company did not offer additional details.

Also in California, the state's top public health official, Dr. Sonia Angell, resigned Sunday. Angell's departure comes as California announced a fix for a glitch that caused a lag in reporting coronavirus test results used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools.

Big Ten presidents may opt against playing fall football season

The Big Ten presidents are very close to halting football in the fall, three people with knowledge of the decision confirmed to the Detroit Free Press.

The people requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the decision. A formal announcement is expected to Tuesday, the people said. A formal announcement is expected Tuesday.

Coming during a tense week of emergency conference meetings, the upcoming vote could signal college football's inability to grapple with the health and safety measures needed to combat the widespread transmission of the coronavirus.

The people said the presidents were in agreement Sunday to end fall sports in the conference. Michigan and Michigan State, which both have physicians as presidents, were among the schools in favor of ending the fall seasons, according to those people.

Multiple persons with knowledge of the process said Monday morning that presidents voted 12-2 to end the season, though the Big Ten said Monday afternoon no official vote had taken place. The remaining four conferences in the Power Five have yet to announce any decisions regarding the coming season. It is expected the Pac-12 would follow the Big Ten in whatever decision it makes.

Inside Wuhan virology institute: 'No way' virus leaked, Chinese officials say

Officials at the Wuhan Institute of Virology shot down the claim that the new coronavirus originated at their lab before eventually spreading around the world as NBC News provided an inside look at the facility.

In the first report by a foreign news organization from inside the lab, NBC News met with scientists who said they have been unfairly scapegoated as they continue to research the origins of the virus.

"Any person would inevitably feel very angry or misunderstood being subject to unwarranted or malicious accusations while carrying out research and related work in the fight against the virus," Wang Yanyi, director of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, told NBC News.

President Donald Trump and other administration officials have claimed without evidence that the virus originated in the Wuhan facility. The lab is equipped to study coronaviruses and other dangerous diseases. Yuan Zhiming, vice director of the institute, told NBC News that it first received samples of the virus on Dec. 30, but the news outlet could not verify the claim.

New Zealand marks 100 days without new COVID-19 infections

New Zealand marked 100 days with a local transmission of COVID-19 on Sunday, the country's Ministry of Health said.

“Achieving 100 days without community transmission is a significant milestone, however, as we all know, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said.

“We have seen overseas how quickly the virus can re-emerge and spread in places where it was previously under control, and we need to be prepared to quickly stamp out any future cases in New Zealand,” he said.

There are still 23 active cases of COVID-19 in managed isolation facilities, the Ministry's news release said. (Source: USA Today)

Story Date: August 11, 2020