Israel’s Health Ministry recorded 1,358 new coronavirus cases on Motzei Shabbos in the previous 24 hours, raising the number of active cases to 26,542, with 328 in serious condition, of whom 95 are ventilated. Eleven more fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 523. Jerusalem Affair Minister Rabbi Rafi Peretz (Bayit Yehudi) stated on Motzei Shabbos that following his coronavirus test on Friday, he was informed that he is positive, adding that he currently feels well. Peretz has been in quarantine since Thursday when his ministry’s director-general, Avi Cohen, tested positive for the virus.

Isaias snapped trees and knocked out power as it blew through the Bahamas on Saturday and churned toward the Florida coast, threatening to complicate efforts to contain the coronavirus in places were cases are surging. Isaias weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon, but was expected to regain hurricane strength overnight as it barrels toward Florida. “We’ll start seeing impacts tonight,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned during a news conference. “Don’t be fooled by the downgrade.” Isaias is piling another burden on communities already hard-hit by other storms and sickness. Florida authorities closed beaches, parks and virus testing sites, lashing signs to palm trees so they won’t blow away.

New York broke a COVID-19 testing record on Friday by conducting 82,737 tests, the highest number ever conducted in a single day in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday. “Today is five months since we had our first case, and yesterday we hit a record number of tests — 82,737 — the most tests ever conducted in a single day in this state,” the Democrat said in a written statement, noting 0.91% of the results were positive. State data released Saturday also show there were 581 total hospitalizations on Friday and four deaths, for a total of 25,164 . Cuomo urged residents to remain vigilant, practice social distancing, wear masks and not attend crowded parties,. “Since (March), we have brought the infection rate way down through our collective action.

Revenue at President Donald Trump’s Washington, D.C., hotel and several of his biggest clubs and resorts mostly held steady last year before the coronavirus forced many to shut their doors and lay off workers, according to a financial disclosure report released Friday. Trump’s D.C. hotel and his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, both took in slightly less revenue in 2019 for the third year in a row. Revenue at the president’s golf club near Miami and at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club inched up. In sum, the disclosure report released by the Office of Government Ethics appears to provide little evidence that Trump’s role as president has provided a big boost to his business, as his critics had feared.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been discharged from a hospital in New York City and has returned home, the Supreme Court said Friday. The court said Ginsburg, 87, is doing well, two days after undergoing a minimally invasive procedure on Wednesday to “revise a bile duct stent” at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The stent had originally been placed last August, when Ginsburg was treated for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas. The procedure is common and was done to minimize the risk of future infection, according to her doctors, the court said in a statement. The procedure follows another one earlier this month at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to clean out the stent.

The Ukrainian government has agreed to allow at least 5,000 people to visit Uman for Rosh Hashanah, according to the Ukrainian Chief Rabbi Rav Yaakov Dov Bleich, JTA reported. The government may increase the number to as high as 8,000 but all visitors will be banned from joining gatherings of over 30 people and will be required to wear face masks. The government is also considering other measures such as testing visitors for the coronavirus at the airport and/or requiring travelers to download software on their phones, “but basically, the Ukrainian government is not putting a stop to it,” Rav Bleich said. Rav Bleich also mentioned that Israeli health officials are worried about what will happen when Israelis return from their trip to Uman to Israel.

Lawmakers reported progress on a huge coronavirus relief bill Saturday, as political pressure mounts to restore an expired $600-per-week supplemental unemployment benefit and send funding to help schools reopen. “This was the longest meeting we’ve had and it was more productive than the other meetings,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was part of the rare weekend session. “We’re not close yet, but it was a productive discussion — now each side knows where they’re at.” Schumer spoke alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., after meeting for three hours with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.

A positive coronavirus test in a New York City school will trigger a two-week classroom shutdown under a reopening plan announced by the nation’s largest public school system. If there is a single confirmed case, the entire classroom will self-quarantine for 14 days and receive instruction remotely under the plan released by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday. If there are two confirmed cases in different classes, the entire school building will shut down while contact tracers investigate. “We are doing everything in our power to keep kids healthy while ensuring they are getting the education they deserve,” de Blasio said. “These rigorous test and trace protocols will keep our students and staff safe as we start off this new school year.” New York Gov.

As Joe Biden nears the announcement of his vice presidential choice, the top contenders and their advocates are making final appeals. The campaign hasn’t finalized a date for naming a running mate, but three people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans said a public announcement likely wouldn’t happen before the week of Aug. 10. That’s one week before Democrats will hold their convention to officially nominate Biden as their presidential nominee. Biden said in May that he hoped to name his pick around Aug. 1 and told reporters this week that he would “have a choice in the first week of August.” He notably stopped short of saying when he would announce that choice. Running mates are often announced on the eve of a convention.

Israel’s Health Ministry updated the numbers of those infected with COVID-19 on Motzei Shabbos and announced that over the course of Shabbos 11 people passed away in Israel due to the disease. The total number of deaths in Israel caused by the disease since its outbreak is 526. The number of new cases declared over Shabbos was 582. In total, there are currently 328 people listed as being in serious condition due to the disease in Israel. In Eilat, police said that they found a person who had tested positive for the disease and instead of entering into isolation, headed to the southern city in violation of his quarantine. He had stayed for an entire day at the Club Hotel in the city.