Read Time: 4 Minutes
Coronavirus/COVID-19
- When asked in an interview by ABC affiliate WFAA what he would have done differently in the state’s handling of the coronavirus, Texas Governor Greg Abbott replied, “You know, I think that’s an easy thing to pinpoint. If I could’ve done anything differently it would’ve been to delay the opening of bars. The opening of bars, if I recall correctly, was around the Memorial Day time period. And in hindsight, that should’ve been delayed. Especially, now knowing how rapidly coronavirus could spread in the bar setting.”
- Nevada (1,099), South Carolina (1,604), Georgia (1,990), Arizona (3,591), Florida (9,585) hit record daily highs for new coronavirus cases on Saturday.
- For the third time in four days, Florida broke its record for the number of new cases of COVID-19 in a day. Florida now has 132,545 total cases of the virus, sixth-most in the country.
- Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said on Saturday that his state would pause moving into the next stages of opening its economy as cases there rise.
- The Iowa Department of Education released guidelines for reopening schools in the fall that do not include requirements for students or teachers to wear face masks, undergo temperature checks or practice social distancing.
Instead, the state will allow the 327 school districts and 119 accredited nonpublic schools to make their own policies.
- Health officials are imploring young people to wear masks and practice social distancing as coronavirus transmission among younger Americans continued to drive record outbreaks in several states.
Younger coronavirus patients are a widening percentage of total coronavirus hospitalizations, with those in the 18 to 49 age group growing from about 27 percent of hospitalizations the week ending March 7 to 35 percent last week, CDC figures show.
- At least 54,000 residents and workers have died from the coronavirus at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities for older adults in the United States, according to a New York Times database. These deaths comprise 43% of all COVID related deaths.
- A growing number of COVID-19 infections among people under 35 years of age is a “worrying trend,” Ireland’s chief medical officer Tony Holohan said on Saturday as the country reported the highest number of new infections for two weeks.
- The Trump campaign is postponing Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign events in Arizona and Florida this week “out of an abundance of caution” as both states face spikes in coronavirus cases.
- The Trump campaign has reportedly scaled up precautions to protect the president after several campaign staffers tested positive for the coronavirus.
Campaign officials told CNN that although the president does not wear a mask in public, he has voiced increasing concern about contracting the coronavirus and has insisted on upping precautionary measures in the White House and at campaign events.
- Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) on Friday said there needs to be a “consistent national message” from President Trump on wearing face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
“A consistent national message supporting the importance of wearing a mask and social distancing is very important to making sure everybody understands the importance of it,” Hutchinson said. “Nothing beats leadership. Certainly it’s important to convey the importance of that.”
- Pinecrest, Florida Mayor Joseph Corradino, a small town in the Florida county with the most coronavirus infections, warned residents this week that “private house parties” are the area’s most dangerous spreaders of the virus.
- Twenty-eight members of one Los Angeles family have tested positive for COVID-19, according to multiple reports.
The family is not certain on how they contracted the virus, but they claim that it could have been a caretaker who cares for Garay’s mother or a family member who visited in May.
- United Airlines will resume twice weekly nonstop flights between San Francisco and Shanghai as of July 8. Prior to the pandemic, United was the largest US airline operating flights to China, with five daily flights between Shanghai and US gateways in Chicago, Los Angeles, Newark, and San Francisco.
- United Airlines is suspending its service to Myrtle Beach, effective on July 6. The airline cited “demand conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic” as the reason for temporarily discontinuing service.
- American Airlines Group Inc. plans to sell flights to capacity starting July 1, abandoning caps on passenger loads that were designed to promote social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Customers still will be notified when they’re booked on crowded flights and can move their reservations at no cost.
- Spain will maintain a ban on cruise liners from docking at its ports to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to a ministerial order published on Saturday.
Cruise liners form part of Spain’s tourist sector which contributes 12% of GDP. In 2019 10 million cruise line passengers visited Spain.
- Mainland China on Sunday reported 17 new coronavirus cases, mostly in the Chinese capital of Beijing.
- Brazil recorded 38,693 new cases and 1,109 additional deaths.
- Mexico’s health ministry reported 4,410 new confirmed coronavirus infections and 602 additional fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 212,802 cases and 26,381 deaths.
- Global coronavirus cases neared 10 million on Sunday according to a Reuters tally, marking a major milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months.
Sources: ABC News, Axios, Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, Financial Times, Fox News,The Hill, NBC News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, NJ.com, NPR, NY Times, Politico, Reuters, Salon, Slate, Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post
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