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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

U.S. sets one-day record for COVID-19 cases, Texas pauses reopening
Reuters - June 26, 2020
The governor of Texas temporarily halted the state’s reopening on Thursday as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations surged and the country set a new record for a one-day increase in cases. Texas, which has been at the forefront of efforts to reopen devastated economies shut down in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen one of the biggest jumps in new cases, reporting more than 6,000 in a single day on Monday. … Texas’ rising numbers are part of a nationwide resurgence in states that were spared the brunt of the initial outbreak or moved early to lift restrictions on residents and businesses. Cases rose across the United States by at least 39,818 on Thursday, the largest one-day increase of the pandemic.
CDC says COVID-19 cases in U.S. may be 10 times higher than reported
NBC News - June 26, 2020
The true number of Americans who've been infected with COVID-19 may top 20 million, according to new estimates from the CDC. "Our best estimate right now is that for every case that's reported, there actually are 10 other infections," CDC director Dr. Robert Redfield said on a call with reporters Thursday. The estimate comes from looking at blood samples across the country for the presence of antibodies to the virus. For every confirmed case of COVID-19, 10 more people had antibodies, Redfield said. Currently, there are 2.3 million COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. The CDC's new estimate pushes the actual number of coronavirus cases up to at least 23 million.
U.S. officials change virus risk groups, add pregnant women
AP - June 26, 2020
The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday revamped its list of which Americans are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 illness, adding pregnant women and removing age alone as a factor. The CDC also changed the list of underlying conditions that make someone more susceptible to suffering and death. Sickle cell disease joined the list, for example. And the threshold for risky levels of obesity was lowered. The changes didn’t include adding race as a risk factor for serious illness, despite accumulating evidence that Black people, Hispanics and Native Americans have higher rates of infection, hospitalization and death.
Another 1.5 million US workers file for unemployment insurance
ABC News - June 26, 2020
Nearly 1.5 million U.S. workers filed jobless claims last week, the Department of Labor said Thursday. While new weekly unemployment filings have been slowly decreasing since peaking in late March, they have remained at historically high levels for over three months. New jobless claims have topped 1 million for 14 straight weeks. … While many have begun returning to work, some 19.5 million workers are still receiving unemployment insurance.
Coronavirus surge in states that rushed to reopen is hurting economic growth
CBS News - June 26, 2020
In mid-May, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ended the state's stay-at-home order and proclaimed the state ready for "the next stage of economic recovery." Little more than a month later, that recovery is under serious strain as local coronavirus cases spike, causing some reopened businesses to close again and consumers to retreat homeward. States now seeing explosive growth in coronavirus cases are also taking an economic hit, with indicators such as restaurant bookings, consumer spending and small business activity pointing to a slowdown, according to Deutsche Bank economists.
Special Report: As world approaches 10 million coronavirus cases, doctors see hope in new treatments
Reuters - June 26, 2020
Doctors say they’ve learned enough about the highly contagious virus to solve some key problems for many patients. The changes could be translating into more saved lives, although there is little conclusive data. Nearly 30 doctors around the world, from New Orleans to London to Dubai, told Reuters they feel more prepared should cases surge again in the fall. “We are well-positioned for a second wave,” Patel said. “We know so much more.” Doctors like Patel now have: *A clearer grasp of the disease’s side effects, like blood clotting and kidney failure *A better understanding of how to help patients struggling to breathe *More information on which drugs work for which kinds of patients.