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Soccer star Neymar is reportedly one of three PSG players to test positive for Covid-19
From CNN’s Chris Eldergill
Brazilian soccer star Neymar is one of three Paris Saint-Germain players to have contracted coronavirus, according to multiple reports, including the New York Times which cited people familiar with the matter.
French media said that the 28-year-old, along with Argentine midfielders Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes, all tested positive after returning from a vacation in Ibiza, Spain.
Earlier on Wednesday, PSG had confirmed in a news release that three unnamed players tested positive and "have undergone the appropriate health protocols. All players and staff will continue to be tested over the next few days.”
CNN has reached out to each of the three players’ representatives for comment. The club declined to confirm the identity of the players to CNN.
Neymar is the world’s most expensive soccer player, having signed for PSG for $263 million in 2017. Ten days ago, the Brazilian was part of the PSG team that lost in the Champions League final.
Neymar, along with the other two players, now faces the prospect of missing the start of the new season, due to begin on September 10. There are strict protocols requiring players that have tested positive for the virus to self-isolate.
Fauci says herd immunity is not a strategy task force is using, despite comments from Trump
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the White House Coronavirus Task Force is not discussing herd immunity as a strategy to control the coronavirus pandemic, even though President Donald Trump frequently mentions it as a means of making the pandemic “go away.”
Herd immunity occurs when enough people are infected or vaccinated in a community that a pathogen stops circulating.
“That's not a fundamental strategy that we're using,” Fauci said in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell. “We're not there yet."
“The fundamental strategy that we clearly articulate and go by, through the task force, is to try to prevent as many infections as you possibly can prevent,” he added. “When you get someone who's infected, you do the identification, isolation and contact tracing and you do the kinds of things to prevent infections.”
Fauci said he didn’t understand what Trump was referring to in his comments about herd immunity.
Fauci wants Americans to continue coronavirus mitigation efforts ahead of Labor Day
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing on July 31 in Washington, DC. Kevin Dietsch/AFP/Getty ImagesDr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made a “plea” to Americans to continue coronavirus mitigation efforts as Labor Day weekend approaches.
Surges in coronavirus were recorded after Memorial Day weekend and the Fourth of July.
Dwayne Johnson says he and his family are on the mend from coronavirus
From CNN’s Sandra Gonzalez
Dwayne Johnson says he and his wife, Lauren Hashian, along with their two young daughters are recovering from Covid-19. Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP/Getty ImagesDwayne Johnson said he's won a fight against Covid-19, but is warning others that the virus was a formidable foe even for him.
Luckily, the actor and former wrestling star said in an Instagram video that he and his family are now on the other side of their illness after they all tested positive about three weeks ago.
"I can tell you that this has been one of the most challenging and difficult things we have ever had to endure as a family," he said. "And for me personally, too, as well, and I've gone through some doozies in the past."
Johnson said his two young daughters, who are ages 4 and 2, exhibited mild symptoms, but he and his wife, Lauren Hashian, were a different story.
Read more here.
Covid-19 vaccine "unlikely" by October, despite CDC distribution guidance, NIH director says
From CNN's Shelby Lin Erdman
The director of the National Institutes for Health, Dr. Francis Collins, said it’s “unlikely” that a coronavirus vaccine will be ready by October.
“But I defend the CDC in their effort to try to be sure people are prepared,” Collins said in an interview with CNN.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It’s also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.
“This is like the Boy Scout motto, ‘Be Prepared,’” Collins said. “Even if it's very low likelihood, if everything happened to come together really beautifully and we had an answer by then and we knew we had a vaccine that was safe and effective, wouldn't you want people to be ready to figure out how to do the distribution? That's all that CDC is saying.”
“Now keep in mind that the likelihood of that is pretty low,” Collins added.
There are currently three vaccines in the US in phase 3 clinical trials.
CDC documents say US states should prepare to distribute Covid-19 vaccines as soon as late October
From CNN's Jamie Gumbrecht and Maggie Fox
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has told public health officials around the United States to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October. It also provided planning scenarios to help states prepare.
The documents were posted by The New York Times and the CDC confirmed to CNN it has sent them to city and state public health officials.
The scenarios offer details about distribution for two Covid-19 vaccines when supplies "may be constrained." The documents prioritize particular populations for the vaccines, including health care professionals, essential workers, long-term care facility residents and staff and national security populations.
CNN reported last week that CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield asked states to speed through permits for medical and pharmaceutical supplies company McKesson to help distribute any eventual coronavirus vaccine. In a letter, Redfield asked them to waive any requirements that might get in the way of distributing vaccines by November 1 -- before Election Day -- and weeks, if not months, before most experts expect any vaccine to be fully tested.
The scenario documents do not necessarily mean a vaccine will be available by late October.
Read the full story:
Biden: If Trump had done his job, "American schools would be open"
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said US President Donald Trump has "no real plan" for how to reopen schools safely this fall. Getty ImagesDemocratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticized US President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus crisis, saying the administration "hasn't shown much grit at all."
Biden said Trump has "no real plan" for how to reopen schools safely this fall.
"He's offering nothing but failure and delusions from the start to finish to American families and our children. They are paying the price for his failures," Biden said.
Biden laid out some of his school reopening plans, which he said were posted on his campaign website. The former vice president said the Trump administration is "starving schools of the needed funding."
Biden said that if elected president, he would also support additional funding for mental health in schools and funds to hire additional teachers as smaller classes mean "more educators are needed."
