Coronavirus USA news summary for 12 July
Coronavirus live US: latest Covid-19 news - 12 July
US coronavirus latest: 15:00 PT / 18:00 ET on Sunday 12 July (00:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 12,826,729 cases have been detected worldwide, with 567,123 deaths and 7,061,896 people recovered.
In the USA, there have been 3,292,934 confirmed casesand135,140 deaths, with 1,006,326 people recoveredfrom the virus.
At least 26 members of Mississippi's legislature have tested positive for the coronavirus after weeks of working at the state Capitol — often absent face masks and social distancing.
Both Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn are among those who have tested positive. At least 10 others who work in the building have also tested positive, The Associated Press reported, citing the state health officer.
John Holdridge thought coronavirus wasn’t a big deal. He nearly lost his life to the virus. His and the stories of other coronavirus survivors.
People enjoy a warm day at the beach in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, 12 July 2020. Florida reports 15,300 new Coronavirus cases, a record for one day anywhere in the US.EFE/EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA
Incredibly sad news from South Carolina
“Today, we mourn the loss of one of our children to this virus. It is heart-wrenching to lose a child under any circumstances, and especially so during a time when we have all lost so much already,” Dr. Joan Duwve, Director of Public Health at the Department of Health and Environmental Control, said in a statement.
An in-depth look from the New York Times at where exactly the cases in Florida are surging.
Meanwhile, the MLS and NBA projects to restart are located in the state. It just seems to keep getting worse in Florida with no sign of slowing down.
“All of the guidelines are meant to be helpful, to help local education leaders decide and work on how they are going to accomplish what they need to do, and that is getting kids back in school based on their situation and their realities,” the secretary said.
Florida reports over 15,000 Covid-19 cases in single-day record
(Reuters) Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new cases of Covid-19 in a single day on Sunday as the growing outbreak forces state authorities to close some businesses and beaches.
If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases a day behind the United States, Brazil and India.
Its daily increases have already surpassed the highest daily tally reported by any European country during the height of the pandemic there. Florida has also broken New York State's record of 12,847 new cases on April 10 when it was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.
Heatwave in California: what temperatures are expected and which cities are on alert?
The US National Weather Service has issued warnings in California, Arizona and Nevada with temperatures forecast to peak at well over 100º Fahrenheit.
Mexican Covid-19 victims repatriated
Mexican government officials stand next to some of the more than 200 urns containing the ashes of Mexicans who died of Covid-19 in the United States, after the repatriation of their remains, during a ceremony at the presidential hangar in Mexico City on Saturday.
(Photo: Claudio CRUZ / AFP)
US $600 unemployment benefits boost: what did Mnuchin say?
Mnuchin on $600 unemployment benefits boost
Out-of-work Americans have been receiving expanded unemployment insurance amid the coronavirus crisis, but the weekly benefits boost is set to end after July.
Here's what US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had to say about the future of the scheme this week:
"The tables seem to have turned"
The American economy bounced back more quickly than Europe from the great recession of 2007 to 2009, but this time it appears the Old Continent is proving more adept at recovering from an economic slowdown, notes Bloomberg.
The publication looks at why this is, noting, for example: "The euro zone is in the middle of a very steep recession, and the European Commission expects the bloc’s gross domestic product to fall by nearly 8% in 2020. The difficulties in other parts of the world in managing the pandemic will weigh on exports - and especially on tourism.
But restaurants, bars and shops don’t seem to be heading for a mass round of fresh lockdowns, unlike in the U.S."
Critical Fauci "sidelined" by White House
According to this report in the Washington Post, US President Donald Trump has now not spoken to Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, since back in early June.
"As the Trump administration has strayed from the advice of many of its scientists and public health experts," the Post says, "the White House has moved to sideline Fauci […] and largely kept him out of the Oval Office for more than a month even as coronavirus infections surge in large swaths of the country."
Fauci has become publicly highly critical of the US’ response to the coronavirus crisis. For example, he told BBC Radio 4 recently that, unlike the stricter restrictions imposed in the EU, the States' lockdown measures "allowed for the perpetuation of the outbreak, which we never did get under very good control".
In turn, Fauci has come under fire from Trump, who told a Fox News interview this week that he "is a nice man, but he’s made mistakes". The Post’s article also quotes the White House as saying officials "are concerned about the number of times Dr Fauci has been wrong on things".
'Concerts in you Car'
People listen to US country singer Randy Houser perform during the drive-in live music event 'Concerts in your Car' at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and Event Center, in Ventura, California, on Saturday, amid the coronavirus pandemic.
(Photo: VALERIE MACON / AFP)
Unemployment benefits: what is 'retroactive certification' in California and how to get it?
Unemployment benefits: what is 'retroactive certification' in California and how to get it?
Since the pandemic started, California's EDD has processed more than seven million claims, almost double the claims filed during the worst full year of the financial crisis of 2007 onwards.
Full details:
Further images of Trump's first public appearance in mask
Trump during his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday.
(Photo: ALEX EDELMAN / AFP)
Further images of Trump's first public appearance in mask
In his first public appearance in a face mask since the coronavirus pandemic began, President Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to visit wounded military members and front line healthcare workers in Bethesda, Maryland on Saturday.
"I think when you're in a hospital, especially in that particular setting, where you're talking to a lot of soldiers and people that, in some cases, just got off the operating tables, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask," Trump said.
(Photo: REUTERS/Tasos Katopodis)
Mandate starts Monday
There will be opt outs for parishes with low levels of the virus. Governor John Bel Edwards said: "We know that face masks work. It's as simple as that."
"I thought it was a hoax"
Dan Diamond, a reporter at Politico, has tweeted the video below, which is extremely sad.
To note on this, there were unconfirmed reports of 'Covid-19' parties in Alabama that were quite possibly moral panic stories - the media never appeared to actually speak to anyone who had attended one, and the story was based on quotes from one city councilor. (Futurism has a good explanation of what happened)
So take this video with a pinch of salt, but if true, it's utterly tragic. Why are people either thinking this is a hoax or that the coronavirus doesn't have the potential to kill or seriously harm you, no matter your age. Yes, if you are young you will likely have no or mild symptoms and recover unscathed, but there is no guarantee, and apart from killing people of all ages, the virus is also leaving patients with damage that may well last a lifetime.
Stimulus check news
Can Lysol remove coronavirus from surfaces?
Products that kill coronavirus
Tests in the lab shows they are effective.
Hospitals filling up
Arizona reported today that adult intensive care beds are now at 90% occupancy, while the same story is happening across Texas and Florida. The 12 busiest hospitals in Houston have told emergency responders they cannot take in new patients because they are swamped by Covid-19 patients. There were 10,000 patients in hospital in Texas on Friday suffering from the coronavirus.
The death rate has begun to go up too - the rate had been falling in May and June, but the seven-day rolling average for daily deaths has gone from 578 two weeks to 664 on Thursday.
Will Republicans ditch Trump?
"Trump is in trouble. The coronavirus has killed more than 130,000 Americans, tens of millions of people have lost their jobs and there has been a tectonic cultural shift for racial justice. Opinion polls suggest he is the worst-placed incumbent since Jimmy Carter was hammered by Ronald Reagan in 1980, leaving his Republican party somewhere between anxiety and panic about November’s elections for the White House and Congress."
New color code at Covid Exit Strategy
Covidexitstrategy.org have added a new color, bruised red, to their informative at-a-glance map. It indicates 'uncontrolled spread'. And 17 states are that color.
To be fair, with a new weighted scale some states that were previously trending poorly are now considered making progress, but where Covid-19 is out of control, the situation is very worrying.
WHO official cites AIDS as guide to addressing coronavirus pandemic
Healthcare systems worldwide need to upgrade to control disease transmission and cope with large numbers of sick people during the coronavirus pandemic as well as future outbreaks, the head of the World Health Organization's emergencies program warned on Friday.
Dr. Michael Ryan of WHO, speaking during a video panel session organized by the International AIDS Society, said world leaders grappling with the current pandemic 'need to take a leaf out of the HIV/AIDS activist book' and make sure access to healthcare is equitable and evidence-based. The coronavirus pandemic, which has not yet peaked in many parts of the world, has exposed weaknesses and left billions of people without reliable and affordable access to essential health services, he said.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS, was often a fatal infection when it emerged in the 1980s, but today is considered manageable with antiretroviral drugs. There is no vaccine to protect against HIV, which is highly variable and cannot be eliminated by the body's own immune response. But researchers do expect to eventually have vaccines effective against the novel coronavirus, which people can recover from on their own.
The WHO official said the two viruses are 'different in scope and nature, but are comparable in so many other ways,' exposing the same inequities and generating similar injustices and denial. 'We cannot become distracted with retrospection and finger-pointing. ... We need to look ahead,' Ryan said.
Kentucky adds 453 cases on Saturday
That's one of the worse days yet for the state and takes the total number of confirmed cases to 19,121. Two additional deaths took the total to 622.
Indoor dining in Miami-Dade would be "irresponsible"
"It would be irresponsible and outright derelict for me to allow indoor dining at this time," said Miami-Dade mayor Carlos Gimenez, arguing that the positivity rate means that "one of every four or even one of every three diners are carrying the virus, whether they know it or not."
"I am pained that people’s livelihoods are being impacted. That is not my goal," Gimenez continues, but said "I will not put our community’s health and our hospitals' ability to save Covid-19 patients in peril to score political points. This is too serious, and people’s lives are at stake."
Disney World opens despite coronavirus: Park Restrictions
Disney World reopens
Masks are mandatory and there are a raft of other measures to keep people safe.
Worrying news on the testing front
Some results are being delayed by up to a week as labs buckle under the amount of Covid-19 testing in US hotspots
Coronavirus: Will children have to wear masks?
Masks in the fall for children?
For the children who go back to school, will they be required to wear masks?
Trump wears mask
It's sad that everyone is so focused on the president finally deciding, once, to wear what experts say is one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He should have been wearing one for a long time now and this shouldn't be an issue.
Note, he'll also be delighted at any attention being taken away from his decision to commute the prison sentence of Roger Stone.
Hello and welcome to our live, rolling coverage of the coronavirus in the United States
The global number of Covid-19 cases has gone over 12.5 million and shows little sign of slowing anytime soon, with several worrying hotspots around the world, including in Latin America and India. The US though remains the most badly affected country, with well over 3.2 million cases.
The global death toll stands at over 562,000, with the US close to 135,000 reported deaths from the novel coronavirus.