COVID-19 News from Around the Web

The COVID-19 pandemic has America's hospitals on the fiscal ropes, with many facing financial ruin without continued aid from the federal government, a new report predicts. Average hospital margins across the nation could sink to −7% in the second half of 2020 without further help, with half of all hospitals potentially operating in the red, the American Hospital Association's new analysis estimates.

Obesity. Diabetes. Heart disease. COPD. Kidney disease. These chronic medical conditions all raise the risk of suffering a severe case of COVID-19, but a new government report shows some parts of the United States are far more vulnerable to these risks than others. In a review of more than 3,000 U.S. counties, researchers from the U.S. CDC found that "the median county prevalence of any of five underlying medical conditions that increase the risk for severe COVID-19-associated illness was 47.2%, and prevalences were higher in counties in the southeastern United States and in more rural counties."

It's time again to "Play ball!" -- but this year, amid a pandemic. On Thursday, MLB finally returned to the field, and all eyes were on the defending World Champions – the Washington Nationals. Since the season was shortened due to the coronavirus crisis, it's perhaps only fitting that the ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci, a huge Nationals fan besides being the nation's leading infectious disease expert.

The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week as the coronavirus pandemic continues to batter the U.S. economy. The Labor Department said Thursday initial jobless claims increased by 1.416 million for the week ending July 18. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial claims to rise by 1.3 million. That marks the 18th straight week in which initial claims rose by more than 1 million. California saw the highest number of initial claims filed last week at 292,673, the Labor Department’s report showed. Florida and Georgia each reported more than 100,000 claims for last week as well. Last week’s apparent stalling in the labor market comes as coronavirus cases in the U.S. rise at a record-setting pace. Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed the total number of confirmed cases in the country is nearing 4 million. Coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. also amount to more than 140,000.

U.S. coronavirus cases were approaching 4 million on Thursday, with over 2,600 new cases every hour on average, the highest rate in the world, according to a Reuters tally. Infections in the United States have rapidly accelerated since the first case was detected on Jan. 21. It took the country 98 days to reach 1 million cases. It took another 43 days to reach 2 million and then 27 days to reach 3 million. It has only taken 16 days to reach 4 million at a rate of 43 new cases a minute. The federal government, state governors and city leaders have often clashed over the best way to tackle the pandemic, leading to a confusing patchwork of rules on issues like mask wearing in public and when businesses can open. President Donald Trump recently shifted his tone. He had been previously been reluctant to wear a mask himself but this week encouraged Americans to wear masks and recently appeared in public for the first time with a face covering.

Coronavirus cases topped 15 million worldwide on Wednesday, up from 10 million less than a month ago. The United States was a major contributor to the spike, with nearly 4 million confirmed cases reported since the start of the pandemic. On June 28, there were 10,063,319 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 500,108 deaths reported globally, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. By Wednesday, July 22, a total of 15,000,424 confirmed cases and 617,832 deaths had been reported. In the United States, there have now been more than 3.9 million confirmed cases and more than 142,000 people have died due to the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.

A record one-day total of newly confirmed coronavirus cases gave California more than 415,000 since the pandemic began, sending it past New York for the most in the country, data from Wednesday showed. California’s cases have climbed rapidly in the last month, punctuated by the 12,807 recorded Tuesday, while New York’s have fallen to less than 1,000 per day. California’s overall total is about 6,000 more than New York’s, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The surge of cases in California came after much of its economy was reopened in May and early June following nearly three months under the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order that forced most businesses to close and restricted where people could go.

President Trump on Wednesday placed much of the blame for the swell in coronavirus cases on recent demonstrations against racism and police brutality, ignoring in large part his own large-scale rallies and his administration's push to reopen the national economy before the virus had been fully contained. "Cases started to rise among young Americans, shortly after demonstrations — which you know very well about. Which presumably triggered a broader relaxation of mitigation measures nationwide," Trump said, also acknowledging increased congregations at beaches and bars over the summer holidays. "We're also sharing a 2,000 mile border with Mexico, as we know very well, and cases are surging in Mexico, unfortunately," Trump said, implying that the nation's southern border neighbor was also in part to blame for the United State's spike in cases. Trump's Wednesday briefing comes as cases of the virus continue to surge across the United States, particularly the U.S. South, and as Americans' faith in his ability to manage the pandemic sinks, according to recent opinion polls.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is set to unveil a $1 trillion COVID-19 rescue package on Thursday, pushing past a Republican revolt over big spending and differences with the White House as the virus crisis worsens. The package, called CARES II, is made up of separate bills from 10 senators as McConnell seeks to replicate an earlier strategy to launch negotiations with Democrats. But the path will be tougher this time. GOP senators and President Donald Trump are at odds over priorities, and Democrats say it’s not nearly enough to stem the health crisis, reopen schools and extend aid to jobless Americans. The Republican leader is expected to deliver a speech shortly after the Senate opens, and then senators will begin rolling out their separate parts of the package, according to a Republican granted anonymity to discuss the plans. “Very productive meeting,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said while exiting a session late Wednesday at the Capitol. The centerpiece of the GOP effort remains McConnell’s liability shield to protect businesses, schools and others from coronavirus-related lawsuits.