Coronavirus USA news summary for 23 July
Coronavirus live USA: latest news - 23 July
US coronavirus latest: 13:00 PT / 16:00 ET on Thursday 23 July (22:00 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 15,321,221 cases have been detected worldwide, with 625,852 deaths and 8,721,415 people recovered.
In the USA, there have been 4,005,414 confirmed cases and 143,820 deaths, with 1,210,849 people recovered from the virus.
Financial Times front page for 24 July
The leading business newspaper highlights US unemployment on its front for 24 July with the ongoing debate in the Senate over the exact terms of a new stimulus package for the economy also covered.
US coronavirus cases pass the 4-million mark
The total number of cases rose to above four million on Thursday amid concerns over the rapid rise in the number of daily infections across the USA.
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The Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday the rate of deaths from the coronavirus in the United States should begin to fall in the “next couple of weeks.”
The seven-day rolling average of coronavirus infections is beginning to fall, and U.S. health officials predict hospitalizations will go down next week and mortality rates will follow in about two weeks, Brett Giroir, an assistant secretary for health at HHS, said during a press briefing with reporters. (Via CNBC).
U. S. coronavirus cases pass 4 million as infections rapidly accelerate
(Reuters) The total number of coronavirus cases reported in the United States passed 4 million on Thursday, reflecting a rapid acceleration of infections detected in the country since the first case was recorded on Jan. 21, a Reuters tally showed.
It took the country 98 days to reach 1 million cases, but just 16 days to go from 3 million to 4 million, according to the tally. The average number of new U.S. cases is now rising by more than 2,600 every hour, the highest rate in the world.
Second stimulus check: could eligible criteria change with new legislation?
Republicans and Democrats are debating a new economic package with both parties reportedly in agreement over a second round of stimulus checks.
WHO says U.S. Brazil and India can 'deal with' pandemic
(Reuters) The World Health Organization said on Thursday that the United States, Brazil and India, which are all suffering fast rises in coronavirus cases, can still get on top of the pandemic.
They are "powerful, able, democratic countries who have tremendous internal capacities to deal with this disease", Dr Mike Ryan, head of the WHO emergencies programme, told a Geneva briefing.
U.S. coronavirus cases exceeded 4 million on Thursday, with over 2,600 new cases recorded every hour on average, the highest rate in the world, according to a Reuters tally.
1.4 million more Americans file for unemployment
1.4 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, the US Department of Labor has today revealed. As CNN notes, this is the first increase in this figure in 16 weeks.
Coronavirus: are mouth lesions another Covid-19 symptom?
Are mouth lesions another Covid-19 symptom?
A research team in Spain has published a study that finds some coronavirus sufferers with a skin rash also have enanthems, or mouth lesions.
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Fauci: "I don't really see us eradicating" coronavirus
Dr Anthony Fauci, the US' top infectious disease expert, has told an interview with the TB Alliance that he expects the coronavirus to be brought until control "this year or next year", but says he does not think it to be completely stamped out.
“I think with a combination of good public health measures, a degree of global herd immunity and a good vaccine, which I do hope and feel cautiously optimistic that we will get, I think when we put all three of those together, we will get control of this, whether it’s this year or next year. I’m not certain,” said Fauci, who is a member of the White House coronavirus task force.
However, he added: "I don’t really see us eradicating it."
Second stimulus check not among GOP-opposed relief bill measures
Second stimulus check not among GOP-opposed relief bill measures
Speaking on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly endorsed a second coronavirus Economic Impact Payment "to help American families keep driving our national comeback".
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$600 unemployment benefits boost in US: when does it end?
$600 unemployment benefits boost: when does it end?
As part of the CARES Act, a $2.2tn coronavirus relief package passed in March, unemployed Americans have been receiving expanded jobless benefits.
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Imperial County struggles with rise in Covid-19 cases
A nurse works in a makeshift tent triage center for patients suspected of being Covid-19 positive outside El Centro Regional Medical Center in hard-hit Imperial County, California. Imperial County currently suffers from the highest death rate and near-highest infection rate from Covid-19 in the state.
The rural county, which is 85% Latino, borders Mexico and Arizona and endures high poverty rates and air pollution, while also being medically underserved. In California, Latinos make up about 39% of the population but account for 55% of confirmed coronavirus cases.
(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP)
Trump links BLM protests to US surge in coronavirus cases
President Donald Trump on Wednesday pointed to the recent wave of mass Black Lives Matter protests as a factor in the rising coronavirus figures in the US, saying the demonstrations "presumably" caused a "relaxation" of Americans' efforts to curb the spread of Covid-19.
"There are likely a number of causes for the spike in infections cases," Trump told a White House press briefing. "Cases started to rise among young Americans shortly after demonstrations, which you know very well about, which presumably triggered a broader relaxation of mitigation efforts nationwide."
However, citing a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Washington Post challenges Trump’s assertion that BLM demonstrations had a major part to play in increased coronavirus case numbers.
Last month, the Post notes, the body said it had found "no evidence that urban protests reignited Covid-19 case growth during the more than three weeks following its onset."
Football fans required to wear masks at all games says NFL
Any fans attending games during the upcoming National Football League (NFL) season must wear face masks, the league confirmed on Wednesday.
"For those wondering, yes, it is league-wide: fans at NFL games this season will be required to wear face coverings," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a tweet.
Teams and local governments in NFL markets across the country have moved to limit the number of fans inside stadiums during the upcoming season, which kicks off Sept. 10, in order to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens previously said they would significantly reduce the number of attendees on gamedays, while the New York Jets and New York Giants said this week that no fans will attend any upcoming games at MetLife Stadium
U.S. records over 1,100 new coronavirus deaths for a second day in a row
U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus rose by more than 1,100 for a second day in a row on Wednesday, including a record one-day rise in fatalities in Alabama, California, Nevada and Texas.
The United States has not seen back-to-back days with over 1,100 lives lost since late May. Weeks after cases began to surge, 23 states are now seeing fatalities also rise, according to a Reuters analysis of deaths for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.
Deaths rose by 1,101 on Wednesday to a total of over 143,000 after climbing 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases are nearing 4 million. The states with the most deaths on Wednesday were Texas at 197, California at 159, Florida at 140 and Ohio at 106.
While deaths are rising in the United States for a second week in a row, they remain well below levels seen in April, when on average 2,000 people a day died from the virus.
California records highest single-day total of Covid-19 infections
California registered 12,807 new cases over the last 24 hours – the states highest one-day total. The state's seven-day positivity rate is now at 7.6% and is rising, which Gov. Gavin Newsom described as a real concern. California has now surpassed New York to have the nation's highest number of Covid-19 cases.
Trump says he is comfortable having his son and grandchildren back in schools
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he is comfortable with his son, Barron, and grandchildren going back to school, arguing that schools should be open despite concerns from many that it could lead to more coronavirus infections.
Trump's push for schools to reopen comes even as cases of the deadly disease skyrocket across the country, including in states critical to his re-election in November such as Florida and Texas. The president, a Republican, has threatened to withhold federal funding if schools do not reopen. He said he was fine with the children in his family returning to school buildings.
'I am comfortable with that,' he said. Trump said children had strong immune systems and suggested they would not bring the disease home to parents and elderly relatives, something he said was being studied. 'They don't catch it easily, they don't bring it home easily,' he said. He said the decision to open schools would ultimately be up to state governors.
State-by-state analysis
More than 3.5 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for the coronavirus and more than 135,000 have died. Though growth in new cases slowed in late spring, by mid-June new cases began to trend upward nationally.
Find out the situation where you live.
Biden calls Trump the United States' "first racist president"
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden labelled Donald Trump on Wednesday the first racist to become U.S. president in remarks his opponent's re-election campaign quickly rebuked. Biden, who was vice president under Barack Obama, the first Black U.S. president, fielded a question at a Service Employees International Union roundtable from a healthcare worker concerned about the Republican president calling the coronavirus pandemic the 'China virus.'
He responded by saying it was 'absolutely sickening' how Trump 'deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they're from.' He added: 'No sitting president's ever done this. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We've had racists, and they've existed, and they've tried to get elected president. He's the first one that has.'
Trump campaign senior adviser Katrina Pierson fired back, calling Biden's comments 'an insult to the intelligence of Black voters' given the onetime senator's past work with segregationist lawmakers. She said Trump 'loves all people' and 'works hard to empower all Americans.'
U.S. House votes to banish from Capitol statues of those who championed slavery
The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to remove statues honoring those who upheld slavery or joined the Confederacy from the Capitol building, which houses statues selected by all 50 states.
The statues and busts include one honoring former U.S. Chief Justice Roger Taney, who authored a key decision supporting slavery. Democrats have also pointed to a statue of John C. Breckinridge, a former vice president and senator who was expelled from the body after joining the Confederate army.
Democratic Representative Barbara Lee called the statues 'painful symbols of bigotry and racism.' She said they did 'nothing more than keep white supremacy front-and-center in one of the most influential buildings in the world.'
The bill passed by a vote of 305-113, with Republicans deeply divided. The bill must also be approved by the Republican-controlled Senate and signed by President Donald Trump.
What is QAnon and why has Twitter deleted some accounts related to it?
What is QAnon and why has Twitter deleted some accounts related to it?
Up to 150,000 accounts around the world may be affected by the latest action taken by the social media company in its bid to stop the coordinated spread of disinformation.
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Trump says closing more Chinese consulates in US 'always possible'
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday it was 'always possible' he would order the closure of more Chinese consulates in the United States in the wake of the State Department's order to close Beijing's consulate in Houston.
Trump, at a White House news conference, noted that a fire was spotted on the Houston consulate's grounds after the State Department ordered the closure in 72 hours. 'I guess they were burning documents and burning papers,' he said.
Florida Governor says parents should have option to send children to school
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday that parents should have the option to send their children to school and local school leaders should have the power to decide whether to begin the school year with in-person instruction.
During a 7-minute address on education, the Republican also said that Florida teachers at higher risk or who feel uncomfortable with in-person instruction should be given the option to work remotely.
Coronavirus: the complete guide to the Covid-19 pandemic
A comprehensive look at the Coronavirus pandemic
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Hello and welcome to our rolling news coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States
The number of positive cases across the States continues to rise steeply, as California and Florida, in particular, slide towards overtaking New York as the worst hit region since the pandemic began.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US is creeping towards 4 million while the death toll has passed 142,000.