Brazil reports more than 17,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours

A nurse observes a rapid coronavirus test on July 28 in Ilha de Marajo, Brazil. Pedro Vilela/Getty Images

Brazil’s health ministry has reported 17,078 new Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 3,622,861.

The ministry also reported 565 new coronavirus fatalities on Monday, raising the country’s death toll to 115,309.

More on the numbers: It comes as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro held a “beating the Covid-19” ceremony Monday in Brasilia where he gathered physicians to give testimonies about the use of the hydroxychloroquine, a controversial anti-malarial drug with no scientifically proven effectiveness in treating coronavirus.

Bolsonaro did not mention the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in Brazil during the ceremony on Monday, nor did he comment on the high plateau of a daily average of 1,000 fatalities attributed to the coronavirus since June, according to data from the health ministry.

Brazil continues to be second only to the United States in the highest total number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.

Dr. Paul Offit, who serves on the Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, told CNN's Jake Tapper today he's seen evidence the White House has pressured the agency in regards to the approval of coronavirus treatments. 

Offit said he feared the FDA's surprise authorization on Sunday of the use of blood plasma from coronavirus survivors as a treatment for new patients was done under political pressure as no new data had emerged that would explain the sudden shift.

He went on to say that "last night there was a change of heart by the FDA without any new data so one can only conclude that there had to be pressure on the FDA to do that."

Offit also pointed to the FDA's treatment of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as evidence the agency had felt pressure from the White House "for some quick, fast cure" for Covid-19. 

While Offit said he believed the plasma therapy presents little danger to Covid-19 patients, he said the pattern of political pressure could become dangerous especially if a vaccine enters the final stages of approval.

"It just worries me that it sets yet another precedent to make you worry about the fact that the administration's willing to bully its science-based agencies," he said.

But Hahn, who leads the FDA, defended his organization on Sunday saying he makes decisions "on data only," denying he was pressured by the White House to issue the emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma.

“I took an oath as a doctor 35 years ago to do no harm. I abide by that every day,” Hahn said in a statement to CNN’s Jim Acosta.

“I’ve never been asked to make any decision at the FDA based on politics," he wrote. "The decisions the scientists at the FDA are making are done on data only.” 

A nurse cares for a coronavirus patient in the Intensive Care Unit at El Centro Regional Medical Center on July 28 in El Centro, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Covid-19 hospitalizations in California are down 20% over the past two weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced today. Intensive care unit rates are down 19% over the same reporting period.

A total of 4,946 new cases were added to the state’s total today, well below the seven-day case average of 5,798. This brings California’s case total to 668,615, with 12,152 deaths, according to an update from the state's Department of Public Health.

Five counties – Orange, Napa, Calaveras, Sierra, and Mono – have been removed from a so-called "watch list," Newsom announced today. If the counties can maintain their data for the next 14 days, they can begin reopening more sectors to the public. Currently, 36 counties remain on the monitoring list.

California’s positivity rate is holding steady at 6.5% for the past 14 days.

About 34% of all cases in California are centered in Los Angeles County. This is down significantly from June, when L.A. accounted for almost half of all cases in the state.

Los Angeles Department of Public Health reported just under 1,200 new cases today for a total of 232,893.

Note: These numbers were released by California Department of Public Health and the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Ohio State University issued 228 interim suspensions on Monday to students who they say have broken the university’s Covid-19 regulations around socializing, Benjamin Johnson, the university’s spokesperson, confirmed to CNN. 

In a letter sent to the community on Aug. 21, the vice president of student life, Melissa Shivers, outlined that students must wear a mask, practice social distancing, and that gatherings could not include more than 10 people. Shivers warned that the university’s student conduct team was in the process of opening dozens of cases that would likely result in interim suspensions. Shivers also made clear that student organizations involved in unsafe gatherings could lose their university recognition and funding.

The Office of Student Life is also monitoring off-campus neighborhoods and is reporting individuals to student conduct, Johnson told CNN.

OSU students moved back to campus starting on Aug. 19. Classes are scheduled to begin at the university on Tuesday.

There are at least 5,730,294 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 177,065 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

So far on Monday, Johns Hopkins has reported 28,615 new cases and 263 reported deaths. 

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

A man rides past a discarded face mask during the 80th Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on August 8 in Sturgis, South Dakota. Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images

There are now 27 cases of Covid-19 in Minnesota linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally that took place in South Dakota earlier this month. 

Kris Ehresmann, director of the Infectious Disease Division at Minnesota Department of Health, said Monday during a briefing that of the 27 cases, 25 said they attended Sturgis and two either worked or volunteered at the event. One person who was hospitalized last week was released after three days, Ehresmann added. 

The health department had reported 15 cases linked to the motorcycle rally last week. 

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris arrive to speak at a news conference on August 12 in Wilmington, Delaware. Carolyn Kaster/AP

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will be regularly tested for coronavirus as the campaign has increased some of its Covid-19 health protocols in the final stretch before Election Day, a campaign official confirmed to CNN. 

The campaign will make public if either the Biden or Harris test positive for the virus, the official said.

Read a statement from Biden campaign staffer Andrew Bates:

 Bloomberg was first to report the news. 

Alex Burstow/Getty Images

The National Football League announced Monday zero Covid-19 test results among players after 58,397 tests were administered to 8,573 players and personnel from Aug. 12-20.

Of the 8,573 persons tested, six had confirmed positive results, all non-players.

Prior to Aug. 12, 9,983 players and personnel received “intake testing,” with 170 positive tests, or 1.7%. In ongoing testing after intake through Aug. 11, the overall positivity rate dropped to 0.81% among players, 0.46% overall.

The NFL says the overall positivity rate has not exceeded 1.7% for any club since testing began.

People walk past the New York Stock Exchange on August 3 in New York.  Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

Stocks rallied Monday after the Trump administration approved a potential Covid-19 treatment. Wall Street finished in the green, and both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite finished at all-time highs.

The S&P ended up 1%, finishing above 3,400 points for the first time ever. The Nasdaq closed 0.6% higher. Both indexes surpassed the record levels they reached on Friday. 

The Dow closed 1.4%, or 378 points, higher. 

Even though the index performed the best out of the three major benchmarks, it remains more than 4% below the all-time high it hit in February.