Italy reports most daily cases since early May

A man undergoes a swab test for coronavirus at a drive-through testing site of the Santa Maria della Pieta hospital in Rome on August 18. Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

Italy has seen a jump in total Covid-19 cases, with an increase of 1,462 cases, according to Italian Ministry of Health data released Friday.

The figure, which includes deaths and recoveries, is the highest daily increase since May 2, the ministry said. That brings Italy's total to 265,409 cases.

Fridays Covid-19 numbers indicate a growing trend in cases in Italy over the past 10 days. 

Active positive cases have increased by 1,103 within the last day and currently stand at 23,035 active cases. Another nine people have died, bringing the death toll to 35,472, according to the ministry. 

At the moment, 74 coronavirus patients are being treated in Italian intensive care units.

A member of Secretary of Defense Mark Esper’s team traveling in the Indo-Pacific region has tested positive for Covid-19, three US officials told CNN. The delegation members learned of the positive result as they arrived in Guam on Friday, the officials said.

It is not clear if the person had any direct contact with Esper. Under standard protocols the individual would be tested again. CNN has not learned any details of further testing.

The Pentagon did not respond immediately for CNN’s request for a comment.

It is not clear how the situation will impact Department of Defense travel plans for the secretary’s return to the US, the officials say. 

Esper embarked on a trip on Aug. 25 to Hawaii, Palau and is currently in Guam.

Esper posted a video on Twitter Friday showing him laying a wreath in the waters of Palau for fallen service members in World War II. The secretary also posted a photo Thursday night of him meeting with sailors aboard the USS Essex. Esper was wearing a mask in these photos and video. 

About 65% of all K-12 Vermont students will participate in remote learning at least three or four days a week, State Commissioner Michael Pieciak said during the state’s Covid-19 news conference. 

Vermont has maintained a low infection rate for the last seven days, Pieciask said. 

Meanwhile, more than half of all out-of-state college students have been tested for Covid-19, Commissioner of Health Mark Levine said. 

Vermont will not change the state’s Covid-19 testing guidelines despite the new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week, Levine said. 

Residents will still be required to get tested if they think they were exposed to the virus.  

“We are watching the numbers, the data and the signs,” to see if schools and the economy will open more, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said. 

People visit Domino Park in Brooklyn, New York, on August 27. Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced in a news release today that 0.65% of the nearly 98,000 coronavirus tests reported to New York state Thursday were positive – the lowest Covid-19 infection rate in the state since the pandemic began.

Eight million coronavirus tests have been conducted across New Yorek to date and the state’s infection rate has consistently been under 1% every day for three weeks, the governor’s office added.

“Yesterday's data also shows that we aren't necessarily finding more positives with more testing, which is a good new development. We aren't out of the woods yet, so keep it up, be safe and stay New York Tough," Cuomo said.

There have been at least 25,312 coronavirus-related deaths across New York since the start of the pandemic, the statement from the governor’s office says.

Note: The aforementioned numbers were released by the state and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.

Bottles of Coca-Cola are on sale at a store in Louisville, Kentucky, on February 10. Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Coca-Cola will cut thousands of jobs and reduce its number of business units as it faces declining beverage sales during the the pandemic.

Coke said Friday the job cuts would come in the form of voluntary and involuntary reductions. It plans to first offer buyouts to 4,000 employees in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico and then offer a similar voluntary program in other countries.

The number of people who take the buyout will reduce the number of involuntary layoffs, the company said.

 Coke did not say how many jobs could be lost in total, but said global severance expenses could range from $350 million to $550 million. As of Dec. 31, Coke had 86,200 employees, of which approximately 10,100 were located in the United States.

The company also said it plans to reduce its number of operating units from their current total of 17 businesses in four geographies to nine operating units in those regions.

Coke is focusing on its most popular segments that include its main Coca-Cola line and products like sports drinks, coffees and teas. It also wants to expand in growing categories such as sparkling water and plant-based drinks.

In Coca-Cola's second quarter, which ended on June 26, the company saw sales drop 28% to $7.2 billion.

A health care worker in New Delhi, India, takes a nasal swab for a Covid-19 test on August 22. Manish Swarup/AP

India topped the United States' record of coronavirus cases reported in a 24-hour period for two days in a row.

India recorded 85,687 new cases on Aug. 26 and 77,266 new cases on Aug. 27, both surpassing the United States' highest number of new cases, which was reported on July 16, when the US reported 77,255 new cases, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU) data.

India has been focusing on ramping up testing to identify and treat potential cases of coronavirus. As of Friday, India has conducted more than 39 million tests, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Union Health Ministry on Thursday urged states to further ramp up testing, ensuring a minimum of 140 tests per million in all districts and to make public information on the availability of beds, ambulances, and more, so vulnerable patients can receive timely care, according to a statement from India's press information bureau.

The total number of cases of coronavirus in the country stand at 3,387,500 with 61,529 deaths and 2,583,948 recoveries as of Friday, according to the Indian Ministry of Health.

People hold a sign in Washington, DC, after President Donald Trump's acceptance speech during the Republican National Convention on August 27. Sources tell CNN the moment was planned by the Democratic National Committee War Room as part of its counter-convention programming. Chris Tuite/ImageSPACE/MediaPunch/IPX/AP

Protesters gathered in Washington, DC, for the final night of the Republican National Convention to call out the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

At the White House, President Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination from the White House. A massive fireworks display above the Washington Monument followed his acceptance speech.

Images from the protest showed the celebratory fireworks as protesters held up signs that read "Trump failed 180,000+ died."

The Democratic National Committee's War Room was responsible for the demonstration, spokesperson Lily Adams tells CNN. The DNC's Melissa Byrne confirmed it was part of their counter convention.

At least 180,857 people have died of Covid-19 in the US since the pandemic began, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University. The US has reported the most coronavirus deaths of any county in the world.

Additional reporting from CNN's Paul Murphy

A room is set for the first day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 24. Chris Carlson/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

At least four people tested positive for coronavirus at the Republican National Convention, a tweet from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, says.

The tweet says “2 attendees & 2 event support people tested positive for COVID-19 at the Republican National Convention.”

A longer statement from the county says, “approximately 792 Covid-19 tests were conducted among individuals attending or providing support to the Republican National Convention (RNC) Meeting in the City of Charlotte.” Of those, four came back positive.

“These individuals were immediately issued isolation instructions and any known close contacts were notified and issued quarantine instructions by Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH),” the statement says. 

“Additional details about the RNC Meeting will be included in the official After Action Report, unless there is a recognized threat to the public's health,” the county said.

The RNC responded in a statement:

Read the tweet:

A well-known coronavirus model that previously has been cited by the White House now forecasts that more than 317,000 people in the United States will die from Covid-19 by December. 

As of Friday morning, the model from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington projects that 317,312 people may die from the illness — marking an increase of about 8,000 deaths from a previous estimate the model projected one week ago. 

Since January, US health authorities have identified more than 5 million Covid-19 cases so far nationwide and more than 180,000 people have died, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 

The new IHME estimate suggests that the United States could see more than 136,000 additional deaths between now and December, and the daily death rate could rise to more than 2,000 per day.

Yet IHME researchers noted on their website on Thursday, when the update to their model was made, that "if mask wearing in public increases to 95%, more than 67,000 lives could be saved."

The updated IHME model also shows some state-by-state differences.

"Over the last week some estimates for states such as California and Texas have decreased, while Florida, Georgia, and Illinois have increased," the researchers wrote.

As with any model, these forecasts are only projections — not definitive — and are subject to change.