Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Deaths Rose 20% In July With 25,000 American Lives Lost
U.S. coronavirus deaths rose by over 25,000 in July and cases doubled in 19 states during the month, according to a Reuters tally, dealing a crushing blow to hopes of quickly reopening the economy. The United States recorded 1.87 million new cases in July, bringing total infections to 4.5 million, for an increase of 69%. Deaths in July rose 20% to nearly 154,000 total. (Chan and Shumaker, 8/1)
The U.S. reported more than 47,000 new coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase in almost four weeks, after posting a record number of new infections in the month of July. Total coronavirus cases world-wide surpassed 18 million Monday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, with the U.S. accounting for more than a quarter of the tally. The U.S. death toll was approaching 155,000. (Hall, 8/3)
Remember the progress made in suppressing Covid-19 during the painful economic shutdowns? In some states, much of those gains have been erased after an abysmal July that shattered records for new cases, hospitalizations or deaths. (Yan, 8/3)
First, the Pacific Northwest and the Northeast were hit hardest as the coronavirus tore through the nation. Then it surged across the South. Now the virus is again picking up dangerous speed in much of the Midwest — and in states from Mississippi to Florida to California that thought they had already seen the worst of it. As the United States rides what amounts to a second wave of cases, with daily new infections leveling off at an alarming higher mark, there is a deepening national sense that the progress made in fighting the pandemic is coming undone and no patch of America is safe. (Bosman, Fernandez and Fuller, 8/1)
Also —
An internal document by the federal government reportedly predicts the novel coronavirus death toll in the U.S. could hit 182,000 by the end of August. The number — found in an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report obtained by Yahoo News — marks a huge surge from an estimate by the University of Washington at the end of last month, which didn't place the U.S. at more than 180,000 deaths until October. (Seipel, 7/31)
