US approaches 5 million cases

Germany's top virologists have urged mandatory mask wearing in schools, including during classroom lessons, as schools in the country re-open after summer break.

“Due to the real danger of infections between students who are asymptomatic, we urge strict mask wearing in all grades, including during lessons,” the virologists wrote in an open letter published on the website of the Society for Virology on Saturday. 

The experts also recommend smaller learning groups to avoid too much cross-contact among students, increased measures for air circulation in classrooms, and a potential extension of Christmas holidays in case the coronavirus spikes during the winter season. 

The open letter was published as Germany is in the process of re-opening schools after the summer holidays. The northeast state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania was the first to bring children back to classrooms. Two schools were shut down there on Friday after coronavirus infections were confirmed. 

“We are warning of the error to think that children do not play a role in the pandemic and infections. Such ideas are not in line with scientific data,” the virologists wrote in their letter.

South Korea recorded 43 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, according to data released on Saturday.

Thirty of the cases were locally transmitted cases, 16 of which have been linked to a church in Going City, Gyeonggi Province, Kwon Joon-wook, Vice Director of South Korea’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), said in a briefing.

This is the second church in Going City to have been linked to new infections, Kwon said, with 18 infections detected previously at a church in the same city,

Thirteen of the cases were imported to South Korea -- two of those are sailors from a Filipino cargo vessel that docked on Thursday.

The national total confirmed cases are 14,562, according to a KCDC press release on Saturday, and 304 people have died.

A health care worker places a throat swab sample for Covid-19 into a tube in Berlin on August 7. Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Authorities in Germany said 1,122 new coronavirus patients were identified on Friday, the third day in a row that more than 1,000 cases of the virus were recorded.

Twelve more people died Friday, bringing the nationwide death toll to 9,195, according to Germany’s center for disease control, the Robert Koch Institute.

Germany has reacted to the spike in infections with a call by the government for people to more strictly adhere to pandemic safety measures, and with a massive expansion of testing. Starting Saturday, anyone entering Germany from a high-risk country must take a mandatory PCR test on arrival.

At least 4,941,755 cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the United States since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Another 58,173 cases of the virus were identified on Friday, JHU data shows. At the current rate, the US could cross the 5 million cases threshold on Sunday or Monday.

There were another 1,243 virus-related deaths recorded on Friday. At least 161,347 people have now died in the US from Covid-19.

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

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

At least 260 students and eight teachers from a suburban school district in Atlanta, Georgia, were quarantined after multiple students and teachers tested positive for Covid-19 during the first week of school.

In statements posted on its website, the Cherokee County School District reported positive cases in at least 11 students and two staff members. Students and staff who had possible exposure with a positive case have been told to quarantine for two weeks. The students were from the county's elementary, middle and high schools.

Quarantined students will receive online instruction while they stay home, the district said.

As schools have reopened for the new academic year around the United States, parents and administrators are making difficult decisions about how to ensure students get the education they need while also staying safe in an ongoing pandemic.

While many have responded to the resurgence of cases with completely remote schooling, others have opted to return to classrooms, which the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said works if safety measures are the priority.

Read more:

An additional 1,601 cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Japan Friday, the country's Ministry of Health said -- the highest number Japan has seen in a single day.

It's the fourth consecutive day Japan has identified more than 1,000 cases. To date, authorities have identified 46,151 cases of Covid-19 and 1,062 virus-related fatalities.

Tokyo is among the hardest-hit cities. Authorities said 462 cases were identified in the Japanese capital Friday, while Osaka posted its own daily high of 255 cases. 

The governors of prefectures where cases are on the rise have asked citizens to avoid travel during Obon summer vacation season, which starts this weekend.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Thursday that he did not intend to bring back the state of emergency immediately, as the situation was not as threatening to the medical support system as in April. However, he said the government will keep a close eye on the situation.

Read more about the situation in Tokyo:

A lone passenger walks along a platform at Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, Australia on August 7. William West/AFP/Getty Images

The number of new Covid-19 patients identified each day in the Australian state of Victoria has begun to stabilize thanks to strict lockdown measures, the government said Saturday.

A total of 446 new cases and 12 deaths were recorded Friday, according to Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews. Sutton said that the government's models showed the lockdown measures prevented about 20,000 cases.

In May, Australia was held up as a global model for its handling of the outbreak, which started with early measures to bar entry from high-risk countries. Stricter curbs on social gatherings, expanded testing, restaurant and bar closures followed as cases rose, with some states sealing their borders.

But Covid-19 cases in Victoria rose suddenly in recent weeks, with many new infections in aged care homes and among healthcare workers. Authorities responded by instituting some of the most stringent movement restrictions in Australia's history.

Sutton said the government will not see the results of an even stricter lockdown for another week.

The US has recorded at least 4,937,441 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, according to the latest tally from John Hopkins University.

The country often records more than 40,000 new cases daily -- and sometimes more than 60,000. That means the US is on track to soon surpass 5 million total cases.

The total includes at least 161,248 related deaths.

CNN is tracking US coronavirus cases here:

US President Donald Trump speaks at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 7. Susan Walsh/AP

US President Donald Trump on Friday laid out the executive actions he would pursue “if Democrats continue to hold” a relief package “hostage.”

The actions would include a payroll tax deferment, extending unemployment benefits, extending an eviction moratorium and deferring student loan payments and forgiving their interest.

“If Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as President to get Americans the relief they need,” he continued.

Some context: Negotiations over the next stimulus package stalled on Capitol Hill today as Democrats and Trump administration officials walked away after talks broke down and devolved into partisan finger-pointing. 

Read more about the talks: