COVID-19 Pandemic Update: NJ Tightens Restrictions On Crowd Sizes, UK Plans To Lock Down London If COVID-19 Returns

Summary:

• Global COVID cases top 18 million
• Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s hopeful that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available ‘by late fall or early winter’
• “We should anticipate the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to be similar to the influenza vaccine,” said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at the University of Maryland. “That vaccine may or may not keep people from being infected with the virus, but it does keep people out of the hospital and the ICU.”
• California reported 5,739 new cases, bringing its total to 514,901  (prev. +9,032).
• NJ lowers the limit on the number of people allowed at indoor, outdoor gatherings, lowering the limit from 100 to 25
• UK gov’t games out a plan to close London should ‘the second wave’ intensify
• Arizona reports just 1,030 new cases as hospitalizations fall for 12th day
• Iran’s death toll is 3x larger than previously believed
• Issues plague school reopenings in Indiana, Georgia
• NYC will bring back outdoor dining next summer, mayor says
• Owner, captain of NYC party boat arrested after flouting restrictions
• Kosovo PM infected by COIVD
• Eli Lilly starts testing new antibody-based COVID drug
• Florida reports 4,752 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, along with another 73 deaths.
• New Florida cases decline as testing stations closed
• 46 hospitals in Florida have no open ICU beds
• More schools reopen in Indiana, Georgia, elsewhere
• Australia imposes tighter lockdown on Melbourne
• Philippines President Duterte has ordered the country’s capital, Manila, back on lockdown starting Aug. 4th
• Hong Kong reports 80 new cases, first reading below 100 in two weeks
• Former FDA head Scott Gottlieb said governments should work toward a “happy medium” of closures and restrictions that does the least amount of damage to the economy while keeping the virus mostly at bay