White House adviser's positive test sparks concern from US allies who met with him

One foreign official tells CNN that Elysée, the French presidential palace, is scrambling as it processes the news of White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien’s positive test result. 

O’Brien met with Emmanuel Bonne, French President Emmanuel Macron’s top foreign policy adviser on July 14. Bonne briefs the French president multiple times a day. 

Just days later, Macron and Bonne traveled to Brussels for negotiations at the European Council Summit.

On Thursday, O’Brien, who by then had returned to Washington, abruptly cancelled a meeting with another European official, saying, simply, it was “for personal reasons.”

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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters he believes Robert O’Brien’s daughter was sick before the national security adviser tested positive for Covid-19 himself.

“I did speak to him Friday. I believe his daughter was ill first, he tested several times and I – I have not spoken to him today, so I actually can’t confirm what’s in the papers, but I’ll assume it’s right,” Kudlow said at the White House Monday.

Kudlow, who has publicly advocated mask-wearing but has not been seen wearing a mask himself, was wearing a face covering as he spoke with reporters. When asked what changed, Kudlow claimed it was because reporters were wearing them.

“You know why?” he said. “You all are wearing them.”

Kudlow continued: “We’re not going to keep the economy open, we’re not going to get the v-shaped recovery, we’re not going to get kids back to school, unless we follow simple guidelines: masking, distancing, testing, and personal hygiene.”

Tourists take photos of downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 25, amid the Coronavirus outbreak. Daniel Slim/AFP/Getty Images

Pennsylvania reported 839 new Covid-19 cases and 4 new deaths from the virus, according to a press release from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, reported 180 of those new cases.

The state has had a total of at least 108,264 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic started. At least 7,122 people have died from the virus, the release said.

The state continues to see a significant increase in cases among 19- to 24-year-olds, the release says.

Note: The numbers listed were released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database, which is drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project. 

A sign directs traffic to a coronavirus screening station in the medical center of the airport in Duesseldorf, western Germany, on Monday, July 27. Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

Germany will require mandatory coronavirus tests for travelers returning from high-risk areas, German Health Minister Jens Spahn tweeted Monday. 

The rule will go into effect the week beginning August 3, and tests are set to be free of charge for the travelers, the German health ministry said on its official Twitter feed.

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At least 11 people across New York died due to coronavirus Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a Monday morning phone call with reporters.

The latest numbers: 608 of the roughly 57,000 — or about 1% — of the tests conducted across New York Sunday were positive, “which is what we like to see,” he said, referring to the low percentage.

At least 642 people were hospitalized Sunday for reasons related to coronavirus, the governor added.

A general view of the field at Marlins Park on Friday, July 17, in Miami. Mark Brown/Getty Images

Two Major League Baseball (MLB) games scheduled for Monday night have been postponed due to Covid-19, MLB announced in a statement Monday.

The Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins in Miami and the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies in Philadelphia have been postponed.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, a number of Miami Marlins players and staff tested positive for the coronavirus while playing in Philadelphia this past weekend. 

Eleven Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for the virus, ESPN reports. The team did not travel back to Miami after the three-game series ended Sunday as they remained overnight for more testing.

MLB said that it will conduct additional testing.

Yankees and Phillies in Philadelphia and Orioles and Marlins in Miami are scheduled to be played Tuesday night.

A tester gestures with to driver in a coronavirus drive through testing station in Mamming, southern Germany, after an outbreak of COVID-19 coronavirus at a farm on Monday, July 27. Christof Stache/AFP/Getty Images

A recent rise in the numbers of coronavirus cases in Germany is a “cause of concern,” said Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Chief of Staff, Helge Braun, during a Monday news conference. 

Braun said in order to tackle the pandemic in the autumn months, cases need to be kept low during the summer period.

What the numbers look like now: Germany’s seven-day coronavirus reproductive rate is 1.16, while the four-day r-rate is 1.22, according to the country's center for disease prevention, the Robert-Koch-Institute. The center has called the rise in coronavirus infections “very disturbing” and said it is “monitoring the situation very closely.”

Braun also stressed the mandatory quarantine measures in place. The Robert-Koch-Institute has published a list of risk areas, and people returning from those areas are "obliged to go into quarantine,” Braun said.

"It is very important that all those who are affected, really consistently adhere to these quarantine rules," Braun added.

There is also discussion around implementing mandatory testing for people returning from risk areas, Braun added. State health ministers will discuss mandatory testing on Monday with the German Minister of Health.

Signage is displayed during a media walkthrough for the upcoming Democratic National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on Tuesday, January 7. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Democratic National Convention next month will take place over the course of four nights between August 17 and 20, and CNN can now confirm that each night of programming will take place from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. 

The decision to limit the TV programming to just two hours of prime time each night is one of the starkest signs yet of how unconventional this year’s gathering will be in the age of the coronavirus pandemic compared to previous conventions, typically filled with various events and speakers for many hours each day. POLITICO was first to report the shortened hours of prime time programming for the Democratic convention. 

Given this decision, it goes without saying that speaking slots and various segments simply won’t be as long as they might have been in previous conventions so that they can try to fit as much in — and as many speakers in -- as possible. 

The programming will include both content coming out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as other satellite cities and landmarks across the country — which CNN has previously reported — though the final details, including themes, are still in the process of being finalized.

As CNN has already reported, Joe Biden himself will physically accept the Democratic nomination for president in Milwaukee. The speaking line-up for other prominent figures is also still being finalized — for example, the Obamas will definitely participate, but exactly how and from where they will appear is still unclear. 

People familiar with the convention planning also say that there continue to be active discussions on how to hold the four-night event with proper precautions around Covid-19 — the public health concern will “drive every decision we make,” is how the thinking was described. 

Epidemiologists Larry Brilliant and W. Ian Lipkin are taking lead roles in advising those planning the convention.

Medical workers attend to patients at an Orange County government provided free drive-thru Coronavirus testing location on Monday, July 27, in Orlando. Alex Menendez/AP

The state of Florida is reporting 8,892 new cases of Covid-19 and 77 more deaths today, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health. 

This brings the state's total cases to at least 432,747, according to the state department of health. The statewide resident death toll is now at least 5,931.

A look at the latest numbers: