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Coronavirus/COVID-19
- More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday – the highest single-day total since late April and the third-highest total of any day of the pandemic.
- Senate Republicans are warning that it’s too soon to scale back testing amid an increase in coronavirus cases.
President Trump sparked days of confusion when he said over the weekend that he had asked staff to “slow down the testing, please.” On Tuesday, he muddied the water further by arguing fewer tests would result in recording fewer cases.
But GOP senators say there’s no evidence the United States is ready to ease up on the number of daily tests, which they think should be increased until there is a vaccine.
- Governors Cuomo (NY), Murphy (NJ) and Lamont (CT) announced a joint travel advisory. All individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID into NY, NJ, or CT must quarantine for 14 days.
This travel advisory went into effect midnight Thursday.
- The White House said that President Donald Trump will not change his plan to travel to New Jersey this weekend despite a new order by the governor requiring visitors who have been in states with high numbers of coronavirus cases to quarantine for 14 days.
- Sources have confirmed there are multiple positive tests for COVID-19 on the PGA Tour, in addition to the one reported earlier this morning.
- The University of Chile’s clinical hospital in Santiago has made the rare decision of letting families of COVID-19 patients see their dying loved ones.
- White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended President Trump’s use of the phrase “kung flu” to describe the coronavirus, reversing course after blasting the phrase weeks ago as “highly offensive.”
Conway told reporters that Trump used the phrase to highlight the virus’ origin in China. However, when asked in March by reporters about White House staffers using the term, Conway demanded that reporters give the names of the staffers allegedly saying “kung flu.”
Of course it’s wrong,” Conway said at the time. “That’s highly offensive, so you should tell us all who it is.”
- The 2020 New York City Marathon, originally set to take place in November, has been canceled, organizers said on Wednesday.
The New York Road Runners cited “coronavirus-related health and safety concerns” in its announcement.
- The coronavirus pandemic has caused wider and deeper damage to economic activity than first thought, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday, prompting the institution to slash its 2020 global output forecasts further.
The IMF said it now expects 2020 global output to shrink by 4.9%, compared with a 3.0% contraction predicted in April, when it used data available as widespread business lockdowns were just getting into full swing.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom Tweeted: “In the last 14 days, CA has conducted 1,052,101 tests with a #COVID19 positivity rate of 5.1%. This is an increase that we are tracking very closely. Californians need to remain vigilant and act responsibly. Wear a face covering. Wash your hands. Practice physical distancing.”
California reported more than 7,000 new cases over the last day.
- Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has announced that facial coverings will be mandatory in public across the state starting Friday in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.
- Texas’ Gov. Greg Abbott is urging people to stay home amid a surge in coronavirus cases, with some health officials calling for a stricter stay-at-home order.
“Because the spread is so rampant right now, there’s never a reason for you to have to leave your home,” Abbott told KBTX. “Unless you do need to go out, the safest place for you is at your home.”
- With cases surging in the Houston area, the city’s intensive-care units are now filled to 97 percent of capacity, Mayor Sylvester Turner told the City Council on Wednesday, with Covid-19 patients accounting for more than one-quarter of all patients in intensive care.
The city, known for its large concentration of medical schools and research hospitals, could run out of I.C.U. beds completely within two weeks if nothing is done to slow the upward trajectory of the virus.
- Florida added 5,508 new COVID-19 cases overnight, crushing the previous record from Saturday of 4,049.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 3,593 new coronavirus cases and 42 deaths, both records for the state.
- In low-income nations, the pandemic may erase 20 years of hard-fought progress against tuberculosis, H.I.V. and malaria, diseases that together claim more than 2.4 million lives each year.
A report released on Wednesday estimates that countries hit hard by these diseases will need at least $28.5 billion over the next year to shore up health campaigns and to respond to the pandemic itself.
- The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is preparing to furlough nearly 70 percent of its workforce as the agency faces budget shortfalls during the coronavirus pandemic.
The problem lies not with the recession, but with the Trump administration’s restrictionist immigration policies, which have led to backlogs and skyrocketing rejections. The agency relies on application fees to fund most of its operations.
- President Vladimir Putin of Russia on Wednesday celebrated his country’s victory 75 years ago against Nazi Germany, presiding over an enormous military parade through Red Square in Moscow that featured thousands of soldiers marching shoulder-to-shoulder without face masks.
- Former White House national security adviser John Bolton accused President Trump of ignoring early warning signs of the coronavirus pandemic due to a potential impact it could have had on a trade deal with China.
“He did not want to hear bad news about the cover-up of the virus in China, or its potential effect on the China trade deal that he wants so much. And he didn’t want to hear about the potential impact of a pandemic on the American economy and its effect on his reelection.”
- The Trump administration’s pledge to protect Covid-19 patients from massive medical bills is falling short for a growing number of survivors who experience long-term complications from the virus.
Doctors are discovering life-threatening and costly long-term health effects ranging from kidney failure to heart and lung damage. That’s exposing a major gap in the federal government’s strategy for ensuring patients won’t go broke because of a coronavirus diagnosis.
- Disney announced that it will delay reopening Disneyland as the theme park awaits guidelines from California officials amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
- A GoFundMe set up for a Starbucks barista, identified as Lenin Gutierrez, has raised more than $16,000 after a customer posted on Facebook that the barista refused to serve her at a San Diego location because she wasn’t wearing a mask.
- Dozens of Secret Service agents will be quarantined as a precaution following President Donald Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
An official said the number of quarantined agents is on the “low” side of dozens. The quarantining will reportedly not impact the agency’s operations.
- Secret Service agents who are involved with presidential trips must be tested for the coronavirus for the next couple of weeks, according to an email sent to agency personnel. Agents must now be tested 24-48 hours before a presidential trip and will do so until July 4.
Sources: ABC News, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, NBC News, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
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