Coronavirus US news summary for 20/21 June: cases & deaths | Stimulus checks, Trump, protests, Father's Day...
Coronavirus live US: latest Covid-19 news - 20/21 June
US coronavirus latest: 13:30 PT / 16:30 ET (22:30 CEST) on Sunday 21 June
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 8,857,137 cases have been detected worldwide, with 465,826 deaths and 4,393,255 people have recovered.
In the USA, there have been 2,269,463 confirmed cases and 119,868 deaths with 617,460 people recovered from the virus.
Arizona Covid-19 cases double in two weeks
Arizona's coronavirus cases have gone from 26,989 on June 7 to 52,390 today. The state registered a further 2,592 cases today. In total 1,339 people have died from Covid-19 in Arizona.
CDC publishes latest US coronavirus figures
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 32,411 new cases of coronavirus in the United States in the last 24-hour period, bringing its total tally to 2,248,029; while the the number of deaths had risen by 560 to 119,615.
Increase in young people testing positive in South
Officials have warned that there has been an increase in young people testing positive in the South of the U.S. The shifts in demographics have been recorded in parts of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas and other states -- many of which were some of the first to reopen, CNN reports.
Phoenix metro area leads in coronavirus case growth
Phoenix, Tampa and Orlando are the U.S. metro areas currently experiencing the fastest growth in new coronavirus cases, while Detroit, New Haven and Worcester have witnessed the largest slowdown.
Criticism over Donald Trump's boast that he slowed down coronavirus testing
Criticism has come thick and fast for Donald Trump after the president claimed to have told "his people" to slow down coronavirus testing in the U.S., while speaking at his controversial Tulsa campaign rally on Saturday evening.
Howard Forman, an emergency trauma radiologist and professor of public health at Yale University, accused the Trump of "having blood on his hands", while Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said his rival's claims were "appalling".
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey called Mr Trump’s push for a lack of testing “criminal negligence” as the coronavirus death toll rises.
K-pop fans, TikTok users behind sabotage of Trump's Tulsa rally
The low turnout for Trump's campaign rally in Tulsa, which was slammed for going ahead in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, has been partly attributed to TikTok users and K-pop fans...
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US Covid-19 death toll surpasses 120,000
More than 120,000 people have now died from coronavirus in the United States, according to an NBC News tally, which shows that over 2.2 million people have been infected across the country.
The grim figure was reached hours before President Donald Trump told a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that he wanted to "slow the testing down," on Saturday. The White House later said he was joking.
The head of the World Health Organization also warned on Friday that the virus’s global spread is accelerating after a daily high of 150,000 new cases was reported last week.
China bans some US chicken, shuts Pepsi plant to fight coronavirus
China banned imports from a top US poultry producer and ordered a Beijing Pepsi factory to close on Sunday (June 21) as authorities clamped down on food production and distribution amid a new coronavirus cluster in the capital.
Health officials also reported 22 new virus cases in Beijing, where they have tested more than two million residents as they seek to contain a wave of new infections linked to a wholesale market in the capital.
Imports of frozen chicken from Tyson Foods have been "temporarily suspended", the General Administration of Customs said, after a virus outbreak was found at one of the company's production facilities in the United States.
Faulty Coronavirus test kits were probably contaminated
A federal review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that the early version of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) coronavirus test kits failed because of “likely” contamination.
The review, which was first reported by Sinclair Broadcasting Group, found that there was “time pressure’’ at the CDC to launch testing, and “lab practices that may have been insufficient to prevent the risk of contamination.”
Their review also found they did not check the kits despite “anomalies” during manufacturing.
Supporters, few of whom can be seen wearing a face mask, participate in the Pledge of Allegiance during a campaign rally for US President Donald Trump at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Trump is holding his first political rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, despite infection rates in the state of Oklahoma continuing to rise.
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)
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Trump 'death clock' at Tulsa rally
The Guardian's Oliver Laughland has tweeted this photo of a 'Trump death clock' that is driving around outside the venue for the American president's rally in Tulsa, which takes place amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus - and in the wake of six campaign staffers testing positive for Covid-19.
As Laughland notes, the number of US coronavirus fatalities displayed is actually rather lower than the more widely estimated toll of around 120,000.
Trump campaign members test positive ahead of Tulsa rally
In case you missed it, it earlier emerged that six campaign staffers working on United States President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa today have tested positive for Covid-19.
“Six members of the advance team tested positive out of hundreds of tests performed, and quarantine procedures were immediately implemented," Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.
"No Covid-positive staffers or anyone in immediate contact will be at today’s rally or near attendees and elected officials."
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
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Coronavirus live US updates: welcome
Hello and welcome to our live, United States-focused coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, which as of 19:00 ET on Saturday had registered nearly 8.75 million cases and just over 462,000 deaths worldwide, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
We'll endeavour to keep you abreast of the chief developments occurring in the US, where the Covid-19 pandemic has so far led to just under 2.25 million cases and nearly 120,000 fatalities.