COVID-19 day 159: 📈 2,510,323 cases; 125,539 deaths : 27 June 2020
Florida sets another daily record, 9,585; US cases pass 2.5 million; NC, NV, WA now require face coverings; Trump campaign postpones upcoming events in AZ, FL; 60 Minutes on antibody testing Sunday
It’s day 159 since the first case of coronavirus disease was announced in the United States. There may be no better illustration of the regional differences as the south races past the northeast as the hardest-hit region and the country passes 2.5 million cases.
Although there is no universally-agreed upon definitions of the country’s four regions, the Census Bureau defines the “south” as a 14-state area from Delaware-Maryland to Oklahoma-Texas.
Although the US report for today is not a daily record, it is the most cases reported on a Saturday. Florida set a new record three of the past four days; the state added more than 38,700 cases in one week, a 41% increase.
The outbreak in Arizona and Florida is severe enough that the Trump campaign postponed two upcoming events that would have featured Vice President Pence.
🦠 Saturday, Johns Hopkins reported 2,510,323 (2,467,554) cases and 125,539 (125,039) deaths, an increase of 1.73% (1.87%) and 0.40% (0.51%), respectively, since Friday (Thursday). A week ago, the daily numbers increased by 1.54% and 0.51%, respectively.
The seven-day average: 36,170 (34,563) cases and 803 (826) deaths
Percent of cases leading to death: 5.00% (5.10%).
Today’s case rate is 758.35 per 100,000; the death rate, 37.93 per 100,000.
One week ago, the case rate was 681.30 per 100,000; the death rate, 26.17 per 100,000.
Note: numbers in (.) are from the prior day and are provided for context. I include the seven-day average because dailies vary so much in the course of a week, particularly over a weekend.
🤓 Recommended reading
It's baffling that as the world struggles to tame coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a large portion of the population ignores the fact that wearing masks and practicing social distancing dampen the spread of the pandemic. Even when a vaccine for COVID-19 becomes available, the benefits of achieving herd immunity will be endangered if growing antivaccine sentiment leads some folks to refuse to get vaccinated. American science denialism, in particular, persists, even at the highest level of leadership, with a president who denies climate change and a vice president—a devout creationist—who believes that Earth is only 6000 years old.
Persuasive words are not enough. Science Magazine, 26 June 2020.
Good overview of how the virus spreads, with excellent illustration. May help persuade a conservative person that masks are important (because of the source). Photos, on the other hand, may cause dismay.
How Exactly Do You Catch Covid-19? There Is a Growing Consensus. Wall Street Journal, 16 June 2020 (not paywalled).
🔬 Research and medical news
By working across the clinical neuroscience communities of neurology, psychiatry, stroke, and neurointensive care, we identified acute presentations of new-onset complications of COVID-19, reflecting the spectrum of the burden of disease. Ischaemic stroke was common in our cohort of 153 patients (most of whom were confirmed to have COVID-19). We identified a large group of patients with altered mental status, reflecting both neurological and psychiatric diagnoses, such as encephalitis and psychosis. Altered mental status was identified across all age groups, and many younger patients had this presentation.
Neurological and neuropsychiatric complications of COVID-19 in 153 patients: a UK-wide surveillance study. Lancet Psychiatry, 25 June 2020.
🎦 Recommended viewing
On Sunday, CBS 60 Minutes will have two reports related to COVID-19. One is on voting. The other, on antibody tests (more on that below). Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Sections (no jump links, sorry!)
1, Around the country; 2, Around the world; 3, Politics, economics and COVID-19; 4, Case count; 5, What you can do and resources
⓵ Around the country
Only eight states reported more than 1,000 cases on Saturday.
9,585 FL (617/100K)
5,972 CA (522/100K)
5,747 TX (494 /100K)
3,503 AZ (962/100K)
1,990 GA (706/100K)
1,719 NC (577/100K)
1,604 SC (620/100K)
1,099 NV (530/100K)
[A]ny New York employee who voluntarily travels to a high-risk state will not be eligible for the COVID protections we created under paid sick leave.
New York Gov. Cuomo has issued an executive order designed to provide a financial incentive for New Yorkers to exercise care in travel. The action comes after a student who attended a drive-in high school graduation ceremony, who had recently traveled to Florida, tested positive. Four people who had contact with this student have also tested positive.
Earlier in the week, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut governors announced a mandatory quarantine for people (residents or visitors) who have traveled to states where the pandemic is not under control.
⛱ Beaches will be closed in Miami-Dade County over the 4th of July weekend. Miami-Dade County requires masks be worn inside in businesses; some cities require masks in public. The mayor of Palm Beach County, north of Miami, said the county is mailing reusable face masks to all 660,000 homes after mandating facial coverings. "What's not in dispute is that facial coverings and masks help stop the spread of COVID-19," Palm Beach County Mayor Dave Kerner said.
🥨 Mandatory masks in Philadelphia.
🎲 “No shirt, no shoes, no mask, no service,” Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.
🌲New-this-week mandatory mask rule in North Carolina is being ignored at the Charlotte airport. Only three southern states require masks; governors in Kentucky and Virginia mandated statewide face covering in May. My sister reported a marked increase in people wearing masks in Highlands, NC, a get-away-from-the-heat escape.
🍎 Washington’s mandatory mask executive order went into effect Friday. Read about my less-than-optimal experience at my local Safeway on Saturday (Twitter, Facebook). Pretty sure I’ve not been this furious after a public encounter in my life (evidenced by my inability to type clearly!). This chart shows why the governor executed that order.
⓶ Around the world
People in France go to the polls on Sunday for municipal elections which were postponed in March due to the pandemic.
In Poland, voters go to the polls Sunday for a presidential election which was postponed in May due to the pandemic.
⓷ Politics, economics and COVID-19
Federal officials failed to immediately stop the distribution of many COVID-19 antibody tests they knew were flawed, leading to inaccurate data about the spread of the virus. Congress is now investigating why the FDA did not review the tests it allowed to be distributed widely throughout the U.S. Sharyn Alfonsi's three-month investigation into the faulty tests will be broadcast on 60 Minutes, Sunday, June 28 at 7 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Federal officials allowed distribution of COVID-19 antibody tests after they knew many were flawed. CBS News, 25 June 2020.
⓸ Case count
There is a lag between being contagious and showing symptoms, between having a test and getting its results. There is also a lag in reports of cases and deaths making their way into daily results; this lag is visible in predictable declines for both reports containing weekend data.
🌎 27 June
Globally: 9 653 048 cases (179 316 new) with 491 128 deaths (6 866 new)
The Americas: 4 816 794 cases (106 867 new) with 238 762 deaths (5 134 new)
US: 2 407 590 cases (40 526 new) with 124 161 deaths (2 516 new)
Johns Hopkins interactive dashboard (11.00 pm Pacific)
Global confirmed: 9,985,425 (9,801,958)
Total deaths: 498,895 (494,181)
Recovered: 5,055,401 (4,945,557)
🇺🇸 27 June
CDC: 2,459,472 (44,602) cases and 124,976 (651) deaths
Johns Hopkins*: 2,510,323 (2,467,554) cases and 125,539 (125,039) deaths
State data*: 2,498,084 (2,453,607) identified cases and 119,059 (118,663) deaths
KS reports only M-W-F; also not reporting: NH, LA, RITotal tests (US, Johns Hopkins): 30,401,644 (29,810,767)
Take with a grain of salt. Tests not necessarily people. The CDC and at least 11 other states have combined the data for active infections with data for antibodies, boosting total number of tests which can drop the percentage who test positive.
📣 View weekly state infographics
* Johns Hopkins data, ~11.00 pm Pacific.
State data include DC, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
The virus was not created in a lab and the weight of evidence is it was not released intentionally. Although early reports tied the outbreak to a market in Wuhan, China, analyses of genomic data in January suggested that the virus might have developed elsewhere.
⓹ What you can do
Stay home as much as possible, period.
Wear a mask when near non-family members.
Digestive problems may be a symptom.
Resources
👓 See COVID-19 resource collection at WiredPen.
📝 Subscribe to Kathy’s COVID-19 Memo :: COVID-19 Memo archives
🦠 COVID-19 @ WiredPen.com
📊 Visualizations: US, World
🌐 Global news(at WiredPen)
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