The Chronicle’s Live Updates page documents the latest events in the coronavirus outbreak in the Bay Area, the state of California and across the U.S. with a focus on health and economic impacts.

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Total coronavirus cases:

• 794,704 cases in California, including 15,271 deaths

• 99,855 in the Bay Area, including 1,445 deaths

• More than 6.9 million in the U.S., including more than 201,000 deaths. Other states with the highest death tolls are New York with 33,090; New Jersey with 16,076; Texas with 15,229; Florida with 13,618 and Massachusetts with 9,328. Click on the Chronicle’s Coronavirus Tracker for a state by state case count and tally of deaths.

• More than 31.6 million in the world, with more than 973,000 deaths. More than 21 million people have recovered.

Resources on COVID-19 and California’s reopening: Use our interactive page to track the state and Bay Area’s reopening by county. For detailed maps and new city-by-city Bay Area data, check out The Chronicle’s Coronavirus Tracker. Information on Bay Area school reopenings can be found here. Find Bay Area COVID-19 testing sites that don’t require doctor referrals in our interactive map. To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter.

Latest updates from today:

3:45 p.m. Why Bay Area coronavirus vaccine trial was halted before it ever started: Two San Francisco sites that had been poised to start enrolling patients in a coronavirus vaccine trial have suspended those plans after developers and federal regulators halted the study in the United States over safety concerns. Read the story here.

3:25 p.m. Free flu shot clinics in Contra Costa County: Contra Costa County health officials are offering free flu shots in October to all residents at numerous locations. No appointments, identification, insurance or immigration information is needed, officials said. Flu shots will be administered at Old River Elementary School in Brentwood, Shields Reid Community Center in Richmond, Park Middle School in Antioch, Monument Crisis Center in Concord, Tibetan Association in Richmond, and Loma Vista Adult Center in Concord.

3:27 p.m. Transit board pushes greenhouse reduction effort: The Metropolitan Transportation Commission on Wednesday advanced a controversial mandate that large Bay Area employers keep 60% of their workers home on work days to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion. While the pandemic has huge numbers of workers already working from home, the commission voted to include the requirement in a 2050 blueprint that must be approved to secure transit funding. Read the story here.

3:14 p.m. U.S. Surgeon General urges people to get flu vaccine: Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Twitter that the “power to stop the spread” of the coronavirus “rests in our hands.” He urged people to wash their hands, wear masks, social distance from others and “most importantly” get a flu shot.

3:09 p.m. Car-free route through Golden Gate Park: With coronavirus-wary people continuing to stay off public transit in droves, San Francisco has expanded its Slow Streets program to help them pedal where they need to go. The latest is the opening of a car-free route through Golden Gate Park, enabling bikes and feet to get from the Panhandle to the Pacific without coming into contact with an internal combustion engine. Read the story here.

3:03 p.m. Bay Area inching toward 100,000 case count: Even though coronavirus infections and COVID-19 deaths in the Bay Area have slowed significantly, the cases continue to climb every day, though at a lower rate than weeks back. The cumulative total of cases across the Bay Area stood at 99,855 as of Wednesday afternoon.

2:55 p.m. Missouri governor infected: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and his wife Teresa Parson both tested positive for the coronavirus, Parson’s office said Wednesday. Parson was not experiencing symptoms, his office said, and his wife had minor symptoms. An outspoken critic of mask mandates, the governor is isolating at home in Jefferson City. “You don’t need government to tell you to wear a dang mask,” he said previously. “If you want to wear a dang mask, wear a mask.”

2:39 a.m. Fauci gets into it with Sen. Rand: The normally unflappable Dr. Anthony Fauci sharply rebuked Sen. Rand Paul on Wednesday after the Kentucky Republican said at a congressional hearing that New York may be doing better on the coronavirus “because they have enough immunity.” “I challenge that,” Fauci interjected. Referring to New York’s reported 22% immunity rate, Fauci told Paul, “If you believe 22% is herd immunity, I believe you’re alone in that.” He also said, “You’ve misconstrued that, senator, and you’ve done that repeatedly in the past.” Fauci lauded New Yorkers for efforts on mask wearing, avoiding crowds, hand washing and social distancing.

2:28 p.m. CDC says thousands may have been exposed on 1,600 flights: The CDC now says thousands of passengers on commercial flights may have been exposed to the coronavirus this year. In a statement emailed to CNN, the CDC said it was made aware of 1,600 flights between January and August where a possibly infected person was on board, potentially exposing 10,900 people “within a 6-foot range for droplet transmission.”

2:07 p.m. Global leaders see ‘critical collapse’ of cooperation: World leaders gathering remotely Wednesday criticized a haphazard global response to the coronavirus that now has taken nearly 1 million lives. Said Kazakhstan’s president, it was “a critical collapse of global cooperation.” The pandemic and its consequences topped concerns on the second day of prerecorded speeches at the U.N. General Assembly’s first virtual high-level meeting. Countries large and small spoke about grappling with its impact without international coordination.

1:29 p.m. Dismal day on Wall Street: Technology stocks dragged major indexes down Wednesday, as Apple lost 4.2% and Amazon sank 4.1%. The S&P 500 was down 2.4% to 2,237. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2% to 26,763. The losses put the Dow and the S&P 500 on track for their worst weekly drops since late June. The Nasdaq composite index closed down 3% at 10,633, deepening its slump into a correction. One bright spot was Nike, which jumped almost 9% on the heels of its Tuesday earnings report that showed stronger profit than analysts expected.

1:24 p.m. New Bay Area cases: Alameda County confirmed another 91 coronavirus cases Wednesday, for a cumulative total of 20,839 cass to date. Contra Costa reported another 82 cases, bringing its overall total to 16,238. San Mateo County added 39 new cases, for a total of 9,664 thus far.

1:08 p.m. Return to campus drove some 3,000 new cases: Reopening colleges drove a U.S. surge of about 3,000 new coronavirus cases a day, according to a draft study released Tuesday. The study by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Indiana University, the University of Washington and Davidson College, tracked cellphone data and matched it to reopening schedules at 1,400 schools, along with county infection rates, Kaiser Health News reports.

12:58 p.m. Coronavirus mutates a lot: Scientists in Houston on Wednesday released a study of more than 5,000 genetic sequences of the coronavirus — believed to be the largest single U.S. genetic aggregation so far — revealing the virus’s continual accumulation of mutations, one of which may have made it more contagious, the Washington Post reports. The new report, however, did not find the mutations have made the virus deadlier or changed clinical outcomes. All viruses accumulate genetic mutations, and most are insignificant, scientists say. The new study has not been peer-reviewed.

12:30 p.m. Yosemite will reopen to visitors on Friday: After closing last week due to hazardous air quality from wildfire smoke, Yosemite National Park will reopen on Friday to day visitors and campers, the park said in a Wednesday announcement. Read more here.

12:36 p.m. Santa Clara County holding off on indoor dining: Although Santa Clara County’s status in the red-tier of the state’s reopening framework would allow it, county health officials are holding off on sanctioning indoor restaurant dining so they can improve countywide coronavirus infection numbers, county Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody told a briefing Wednesday. “When you’re dining indoors, you have to take off your face mask,” and “we’re just not comfortable,” with that yet, she said. “We’re mostly concerned about spread through the air.” Masks are “critical,” she added: “You just can’t dine with a face covering on.”

12:23 p.m. Younger adults drove COVID-19 summer surges, CDC says: Individuals in the 20—29 age range were the biggest drivers of the U.S. coronavirus pandemic from June to August, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They accounted for nearly 20% of all confirmed cases and likely contributed to community spread, CDC says. In southern states, adults aged 20—39 tested positive 4 to 15 days ahead of older adults, another indicator of viral transmission.

12:14 p.m. SFO has advice for incoming travelers: San Francisco International Airport officials say people arriving in the Bay Area should heed coronavirus safety measures: “It is recommended you quarantine for 14 days if you engaged in any activities that put you at higher risk for #COVID19 such as spending extended time indoors with others outside of your household and not wearing face coverings,” the airport tweeted on Wednesday.

11:53 a.m. GOP sues in Texas to block extended voting: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is facing a lawsuit over his extension of early voting for the Nov. 3 election from prominent members of his own party, including state legislators, the Texas Tribune reports. Abbott moved the start of early voting up to Oct. 13, from Oct. 19, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The state Supreme Court suit filed Wednesday alleges that defies election law requiring early voting to start on the 17th day before the election.

11:40 a.m. The lowdown on airborne transmission: Attention has shifted from surface-touch as a potential transmission mode in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic to an increasingly sophisticated understanding of airborne transmission. The role that lingering aerosols play in indoor spaces, formally acknowledged by the World Health Organization in July, received new attention with CDC’s recent shifting website language. To sort out the latest, the Chronicle provides information and science on transmission here.

11:28 a.m. Giants go into bubble: The Giants were checking in Wednesday to their hotel bubble in keeping with Major League Baseball’s order that all contenders quarantine in hotels for the week leading to the playoffs. The duration of the pandemic-driven bubble depends on the Giants’ season: If they miss the playoffs, they can go home after Sunday’s game. If they succeed, they’d stay at the hotel until travelling to the host team for the best-of-three first round, which begins Sept. 30.

11:12 a.m. Birx faults Stanford’s Atlas as unhealthy influence on Trump, report says: Dr. Deborah Birx has confided to aides and friends that she is distressed with the direction of the White House coronavirus task force and what she sees as her diminished coordinator role, which the White House denies, CNN is reporting, citing sources familiar with her thinking. Birx is not sure how much longer she can serve, CNN reports, and sees Scott Atlas, a recent task force member from Stanford’s Hoover Institution, as an unhealthy influence on President Trump’s thinking, for instance feeding him misleading information about the efficacy of face masks.

It is with deep sadness that I share that my mother, Gaby O’Donnell, has passed away due to complications from COVID-19. My brother and I are heartbroken. Our mother was the kindest and most compassionate person we’ve ever known. — Robert Garcia (@RobertGarciaLB) July 27, 2020

10:59 a.m. Plastic face shields effectiveness hit by study: Plastic face shields do little to contain the spread of microscopic airborne particles created by such activities as talking, singing or sneezing, according to recent research from Japan that modeled the diffusion of respiratory aerosols on the world’s fastest supercomputer.

10:55 a.m. Alleged political meddling said to hurt CDC morale: The Hill reports that CDC officials past and present are seeing dramatically low morale at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and voice frustration that the longtime independent voice of dispassionate science has bent to the whims of an administration that does not acknowledge the severity of the pandemic.They note guidance revised or removed — as with this week’s CDC removal of language acknowledging the virus mainly spreads through aerosol droplets, something the World Health Organization said months ago.

10:38 a.m. Pandemic shutters Met for 2020-21 season: New York’s Metropolitan Opera announced Wednesday that the coronavirus pandemic has forced it to cancel its entire 2020-21 season, keeping the nation’s largest performing arts organization dark until next September. The decision likely will create concern for arts institutions across the country as they grapple when indoor performance again will be safe.

10:23 a.m. Coronavirus canines sniff out infection in Finland: Finland has deployed coronavirus-sniffing dogs at its main international airport in a four-month trial, testing a method that could become a cost-friendly and quick way to identify infected travelers. Four dogs of different breeds trained by Finland’s Smell Detection Association started working Wednesday at the Helsinki Airport.

10:12 a.m. What and when is each Bay Area county opening up?: Most Bay Area counties now have advanced to the red tier, the second-strictest level, in the state’s color-coded reopening system, with only Contra Costa and Sonoma still in the most-restrictive purple tier. The Chronicle details how each is responding, with a county-by-county rundown of what’s currently open and closed in the Bay Area.

10:03 a.m. Justices don face masks as RBG arrives at court for final time: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s casket was carried into the Supreme Court’s Great Hall Wednesday morning, past her former law clerks, in face masks and physically distanced, who lined the steps. Inside, the court’s remaining eight justices, all of them wearing masks, were together for the first time since the building was closed in March and they resorted to meetings by telephone. Because of the pandemic, chairs for the justices were spaced apart.

9:37 a.m. SF nears 11,000 cumulative cases: San Francisco recorded another 36 coronavirus cases Wednesday, bringing its total to date to 10,901 cases.

9:30 a.m. Top officials say they’d take FDA-approved vaccine: Four top administration scientific officials, trying to quell fears about political meddling and the safety of an eventual coronavirus vaccine, voiced confidence Tuesday in the FDA process. “I’m ready to take it,” once it’s approved, CDC Director Robert Redfield told a Senate committee. He said he was “totally confident” in FDA’s science and safety protocols, which FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn described as “the gold standard.” “Science will guide our decisions,” Hahn said, stating no vaccine will be authorized without rigorous reviews by FDA professionals, and FDA “will not permit any pressure from anyone to change that.” “I will put the interests of the American people before anything else,” Hahn said. Dr. Anthony Fauci and Adm. Brett Giroir, the Health and Human Services testing chief, both also said they’d have no problem giving an FDA-approved vaccine to their families. Their testimony occurred amid growing questions about whether corners would be cut as President Trump repeatedly insists a vaccine will be ready by the Nov. 3 election.

8:30 a.m. Majority of Americans still susceptible: Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that up to 90% of Americans have not been infected with the coronavirus, analysis and data indicate. “A majority of Americans are still susceptible to this virus,” he told a congressional hearing.

8:20 a.m. SF Supes close pandemic budget hole: The San Francisco Board of Supervisors has closed a $1.5 billion deficit ripped open by the pandemic — for now. The nearly $14 billion budget approved Tuesday for the next two fiscal years is delicately balanced on some risky assumptions: that voters will pass a massive tax overhaul in November, the federal government will continue reimbursing some COVID-19 expenses and the local economy will start to recover soon. Read the story here.

8:10 a.m. Infected college students should not go home: Amid coronavirus outbreaks at colleges and universities across the county, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that students who test positive should be isolated on campus. “Do not send them home to their communities,” he said at a congressional hearing, emphasizing that will only create risk of greater spread of the virus.

7:59 a.m. Johnson & Johnson starts one of world’s largest tests: Johnson & Johnson is beginning a huge final study to try to prove whether a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine can protect against the virus. The study starting Wednesday is one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccine studies so far, testing the shot in 60,000 volunteers in the U.S., South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

7:49 a.m. Fauci emphasizes combination of vaccine and personal behavior: Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said he is cautiously optimistic that “sometime by the end of this year” we will know if vaccines being developed are safe and effective. But he indicated that’s not the only solution. He told a congressional panel he feels strongly that with “a combination” of vaccine and adherence to health guidance such as for masks and social distance, “We may be able to turn around this terrible pandemic.”

7:34 a.m. Fauci says long term symptoms worrisome: Some people who appear recovered from COVID-19 exhibit troubling “long-hauler” symptoms that prove how much is not known about the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci told a congressional panel on Wednesday. Some long-haulers experience fatigue, fever, cognitive abnormalities and inability to concentrate, he said, and MRI exams show a “disturbing number” had inflammation of the heart. These mysteries prove “we must be humble,” as they reveal the extent to which “We do not completely understand the nature of this illness,” Fauci said.

7:29 a.m. Stocks remain mixed on economic data: The Dow was up while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 dropped slightly. The seesawing markets were influenced by economic surveys that showed the coronavirus was continuing to depress output and spending.

7:19 a.m. SF protests red-tier status: San Francisco officials are protesting the state’s clasification of the city in the red-tier reopening status this week. In a formal request to the state Public Health Department, health officials requested that the state re-evaluate the city’s coronavirus data, which had appeared consistently low enough to merit a move to the less-restrictive orange tier. Read the story with details on Bay Area counties’ new standings, and how they are adapting.

See previous updates in The Chronicle’s comprehensive timeline of the coronavirus outbreak in the Bay Area.