Coronavirus Developments: Ohio Governor Tests Positive, WHO Wants The US To Stay, Unemployment Claims Down

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday as he was waiting on the tarmac to greet President Trump for his visit to the state while unemployment claims dipped after two consecutive weeks of increases, and the leader of the World Health Organization said he wants the U.S. to reconsider leaving the organization as the coronavirus pandemic cannot be defeated in a world “divided.”

DeWine announced his positive test results in a Twitter post, which was followed by a statement from the governor’s office, saying he would be returning to Columbus where first lady Fran DeWine would be also be tested.

The Republican governor was tested for the coronavirus as part of standard protocol ahead of the arrival of President Trump at the Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland. Trump was visiting the state to tour the Whirlpool plant in Clyde, and would then be attending a private fundraiser in Bratenahl.

DeWine said on Twitter he had no symptoms and would be quarantined at his home in Cedarville, Ohio, for 14 days.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted was also in Cleveland to greet the president but tested negative for the virus, the governor’s office said.

Amid the announcement from DeWine, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told "NBC Nightly News" in an interview hosted by the Aspen Security Forum he wishes the U.S. would reconsider leaving the United Nations organization.

The Trump administration had previously said it would pull the U.S. out of the WHO by next July 6, accusing the organization of misusing funds and being too chummy with China, where the coronavirus originated.

The U.S. is the largest funder of the WHO, which has said that if it were to lose its funding, it would cost lives, CNBC reported.

“The problem is not about the money, it’s not the financing that’s the issue. It’s actually the relationship with the U.S. that’s more important and its leadership abroad,” Tedros said in the interview.

Despite the decision to leave the WHO, the U.S. has continued to collaborate with the organization.

Also on Thursday, initial unemployment claims filed last week were down to nearly 1.2 million, a decrease from a week earlier, breaking a two-week streak of increases. While the number of unemployment claims was down, it still topped 1 million.

News of the decrease in unemployment claims comes as an agreement by Republicans and Democrats on a stimulus relief package was stalled. The parties are looking to extend the enhanced unemployment benefit, which has expired with Democrats wanting to extend the $600 benefit through January while the White House is looking to reduce the benefit and provide it a shorter duration.

In other coronavirus news:

• Gov. Andrew Cuomo will make a last-minute decision on whether to reopen New York City schools in fall for in-person learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported. The decision, Cuomo said, would occur the first week of August, leaving only Friday to respond if the governor sticks to his self-imposed timeline, Bloomberg said. The majority of the major school districts across the U.S. have said they will begin the school year in fall virtually.
• The U.S. State Department announced it was lifting its international travel advisory after five months. The department said it will go back to issuing recommendations on a country-specific basis, but still urges Americans to use “caution when traveling abroad due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic.”
• Stephen M. Hahn, the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wrote in an opinion piece in the Washington Post any coronavirus vaccine would have to be proved safe and effective to gain approval from his agency. “The framework in the United States to support a COVID-19 vaccine is now in place. Testing is underway and manufacturing capacity is rapidly expanding. But let’s be clear: The development effort must adhere to standards that will ensure any COVID-19 vaccine’s safety and effectiveness,” he insisted.
• When a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, there may not be enough of the drug to go around, especially to high-risk groups such as healthcare workers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated there may only be 10 million to 20 million doses of a vaccine at the start, a number that has been confirmed by the Trump administration, the WSJ said. U.S. officials now have to grapple with who gets the vaccine first and who determines who will get those first doses.
• Crew members of the Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line are suing the company over unpaid wages, saying they have been working aboard its ships since mid-March awaiting repatriation. The class-action suit was filed in a Miami federal court on Tuesday, with class members looking to recoup lost wages and two-months’ severance they contend they were promised by contract.
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants Americans to “wear a mask,” saying, “It’s the single more significant thing everybody in the country can do to help prevent the spread” of the coronavirus. McConnell made the comments on CNBC Thursday. McConnell’s contrasts with President Trump’s, who has rarely been seen wearing a face mask.
• Strategists at Goldman Sachs say the marketing is underestimating the possibility of an effective COVID-19 vaccine being delivered sooner than expected. “There is a good chance that at least one vaccine will be [Food and Drug Administration]-approved by the end of November and broadly distributed by the middle of 2021,” Goldman said. The approval of a vaccine could “challenge market assumptions both cyclically and about eternally negative real rates,” the firm added.
• Global coronavirus cases have topped 18.8 million with over 710,000 COVID-19 deaths as of Thursday late afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has more than 4.85 million positive cases of the coronavirus, with COVID-19 deaths topping 159,000. The U.S. is followed by Brazil and India in total coronavirus cases and Brazil, Mexico, India and the U.K. in total COVID-19 deaths.