July 6 coronavirus news

By Jessie Yeung, Steve George, Tara John, Melissa Macaya, Meg Wagner and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 11:10 a.m. ET, July 7, 2020
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1:25 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Four top Bolivian officials, including health minister, test positive for Covid-19

From CNN's Taylor Barnes and Chandler Thornton in Atlanta

Four top Bolivian government officials, including the health minister, have tested positive for Covid-19 within days of each other.

  • On Sunday, a statement from the health ministry announced that Health Minister María Eidy Roca had tested positive and was in stable condition.
  • Also on Sunday, officials announced that Minister of the Presidency Yerko Nunez Negrette had been hospitalized and was receiving treatment for coronavirus.
  • On Saturday, Minister of Mines Jorge Fernando Oropeza was also confirmed to have tested positive.
  • On June 27, the previous Saturday, the official Bolivian Information Agency confirmed that Gen. Sergio Orellana, the commander of the armed forces, had tested positive and was hospitalized.

As of Sunday night, Bolivia has 38,071 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and 1,378 virus-related deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.  

1:24 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

More than 30,000 people in Mexico have died from coronavirus

From CNN's Karol Suarez in Mexico City

Mexico's health ministry reported 4,683 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, bringing the nationwide total to 256,848 confirmed cases.

The ministry also reported 273 new related deaths, raising the coronavirus death toll to 30,639. Mexico now has the fifth highest number of coronavirus deaths globally.

Saturday saw Mexico's highest daily jump in new cases so far. This comes just after some parts of the country began reopening measures last week.

1:24 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Broadway actor Nick Cordero dies after battling Covid-19 for months

From CNN's Lisa Respers France

Nick Cordero, a Broadway actor who had admirers across the world rallying for his recovery, has died after a battle with Covid-19, according to his wife, Amanda Kloots.

He was 41.

"God has another angel in heaven now," Kloots posted on her official Instagram account Sunday night. "My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth."

Kloots has been regularly updating her social media accounts with news of her husband's ups and downs as he battled the virus and complications, including an amputated leg. She said Cordero battled the disease for 95 days.

Born in Canada, Cordero grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, and eventually made his way to the Big Apple.

In 2014 he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award his role in "Bullets Over Broadway," a role that earned him a Theatre World Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.

Cordero originated the role of the husband, Earl, in the Broadway production of "Waitress," as well as the role of Sonny in the musical version of Chazz Palminteri's "A Bronx Tale."

Read more here:

1:23 a.m. ET, July 6, 2020

Australian state closes borders and orders lockdowns as coronavirus cases rise

From CNN's Angus Watson in Sydney and Hilary Whiteman in Brisbane

The Australian state of Victoria, which has seen its coronavirus cases spike this past week, is effectively cutting itself off from the rest of the country.

Victorian authorities announced today they will close the border with neighboring state New South Wales starting tomorrow night local time.

This comes after a man in his 90s died of coronavirus in a hospital in Victoria on Sunday, bringing the state's death toll to 21, said State Premier Daniel Andrews today. There have been 105 coronavirus-related deaths nationwide.

Lockdowns and mass testing: On Saturday, Andrews placed 3,000 people in nine public housing towers in Melbourne under "hard lockdown." The residents would not be allowed to leave their homes for any reason, and will all be tested.

Authorities have provided meals and other essentials for the residents, Andrews said.

A total of 398 tests have been conducted so far in the towers, of which 53 cases have been found positive. Further mass testing statewide identified 127 new cases in Victoria by Sunday.

“If you literally are going to test everybody, you are going to find more cases, is what we are trying to achieve,” Andrews said. “When you’re invited to take a test…the only answer should be yes.” 

He added that his government was worried about the “vast numbers of people (in the towers) with underlying health conditions infected by this virus” and the “tragic outcomes that would come with that.”