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Coronavirus live news: Tulsa health chief cites Trump rally over spike in cases
Tulsa health chief cites Trump rally over spike in cases – as it happened
(32 minutes later)
Gathering ‘likely contributed’ to surge; Bolsonaro vetoes measures to help indigenous people; Melbourne goes into full lockdown after rises in cases
Gathering ‘likely contributed’ to surge; Bolsonaro vetoes measures to help indigenous people; Melbourne goes into full lockdown after rises in cases
Hi, Helen Sullivan here. We’ve launched a new blog at the link below – head there for the latest:
Argentina has posted a daily record of 3,604 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
Argentina has posted a daily record of 3,604 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The sharp rise, the first time daily cases have surpassed 3,000, took the total number to 87,030, fivefold the number at the start of June, though still well below case loads in Brazil, Chile and Peru.
The sharp rise, the first time daily cases have surpassed 3,000, took the total number to 87,030, fivefold the number at the start of June, though still well below case loads in Brazil, Chile and Peru.
Argentina’s center-left government imposed a strict lockdown in mid-March, which has been loosened in most of the country but was extended and reinforced last month in and around Buenos Aires due to a spike in cases.
Argentina’s center-left government imposed a strict lockdown in mid-March, which has been loosened in most of the country but was extended and reinforced last month in and around Buenos Aires due to a spike in cases.
The country’s death toll from the pandemic stands at 1,694.
The country’s death toll from the pandemic stands at 1,694.
Nigeria has passed 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the country’s Centre for Disease Control.
Nigeria has passed 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the country’s Centre for Disease Control.
Coronavirus cases worldwide are nearing 12 million, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus cases worldwide are nearing 12 million, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of cases currently stands at 11.92 million, according to the US-based university.
The number of cases currently stands at 11.92 million, according to the US-based university.
The US has recorded more than 3 million deaths, the highest of any country, followed by Brazil with around 1.67 million deaths.
The US has recorded more than 3 million cases, the highest of any country, followed by Brazil with around 1.67 million cases.
Unions at Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, said nearly 3,000 workers had been infected with coronavirus, prompting renewed calls for more safety measures at the company’s operations.
Unions at Chile’s Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, said nearly 3,000 workers had been infected with coronavirus, prompting renewed calls for more safety measures at the company’s operations.
Patricio Elgueta, president of the Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), an umbrella group for the company’s unions, told Reuters it had tallied 2,843 coronavirus infections among workers as of July 5.
Patricio Elgueta, president of the Federation of Copper Workers (FTC), an umbrella group for the company’s unions, told Reuters it had tallied 2,843 coronavirus infections among workers as of July 5.
“The company does not give the database to the workers, so we have to rebuild it every day in order to see how (infections) are progressing,” he said.
“The company does not give the database to the workers, so we have to rebuild it every day in order to see how (infections) are progressing,” he said.
In Texas, the death rate has risen by 98 on Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,813 which is the biggest daily increase, according to the state health department.
In Texas, the death rate has risen by 98 on Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,813 which is the biggest daily increase, according to the state health department.
In West Virginia, cases have increased by 202 to 3,707, the biggest increase since the pandemic started, a tally by Reuters found.
In West Virginia, cases have increased by 202 to 3,707, the biggest increase since the pandemic started, a tally by Reuters found.
A dispatch from The Guardian’s west coast office, on California’s regathering storm and Governor Gavin Newsom’s moves to tackle it:
California reported more than 9,000 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, a new high in daily cases. New cases actually topped 11,000, said Newsom, though he attributed about 2,000 to a reporting backlog.
The state is seeing red flags across the board. In the past two weeks, hospitalizations have risen to 6,100, a 44% increase. Admissions to intensive care have climbed by 34%.
While testing is up, so is the percentage of positive cases, which has risen above 7%. In the early weeks of the pandemic, the state’s positivity rate topped 40%, largely due to scarcity of tests that meant only those showing clear signs of infection could access testing.
This week, the state added three counties to a “watch list” of areas where public health experts closely monitor case spikes and hospital capacity.
Carmela Coyle, president and chief executive of the California Hospital Association, said doctors have learned a lot in the past four months.
“We’re preparing to surge, but we’re going to surge differently this time. We have different tools, and we’ve learned a lot about how to care for Covid-positive patients. We’re putting less patients on ventilators; we have remdesivir.”,
That is a therapeutic drug that has been found to shorten the time to recovery in adults hospitalized with Covid-19.
Public health officials continue to field questions on who is getting sick. While Newsom has previously pointed to the “young and invincible” who fail to take safety precautions because they feel immune, on Wednesday he recognized the toll the pandemic has taken on “essential workers”.
“There’s a little bit of mythology about reopening the economy,” he said, adding that while some of the state previously shut down, 60% of its economy kept moving. Those who kept working outside the home included farmworkers, grocery store employees and others doing jobs that are “overrepresented in the black and brown community”, Newsom said.
According to state public health data, Latinos represent an outsized portion of cases.
In Brazil, the death toll has risen to 67,964, from 66,741 yesterday, according to the country’s health ministry.
Brazil has registered 1,713,160 total confirmed cases, up from 1,668,589 yesterday.
President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa that drew thousands of people in June, along with large protests that accompanied it, “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said.
Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday.
Although the health department’s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those large gatherings “more than likely” contributed to the spike.
“In the past few days, we’ve seen almost 500 new cases, and we had several large events just over two weeks ago, so I guess we just connect the dots,” Dart said.
The front page of tomorrow’s UK edition of The Guardian focuses on chancellor Rishi Sunak’s package of unprecedented level of employment support to assist in the economic recovery from coronavirus.
Mike Pence, the US vice-president, followed up demands made by Donald Trump and declared: “It’s time for us to get our kids back to school,” even as the coronavirus surged beyond the bleak milestone of 3 million cases across the US.
Pence, who heads the White House coronavirus taskforce, said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) would issue new guidance next week for the reopening of schools in the autumn, prompting criticism that it is yielding to pressure from the president.
Los Angeles County has seen coronavirus cases rise by 2,496 on Wednesday, bringing the total to 123,004.
Its positivity rate on a 7-day rolling average has risen to 10.4%, the highest since late April, according to the county health department.
In response to the US coronavirus crisis, its economic fallout and social unrest in response to police brutality against black Americans, Joe Biden has insisted that the “blinders” have come off and more Americans are open to big ideas.
“For the millions of Americans facing hardship due to President Trump’s failed coronavirus response, this election offers the chance to usher in a stronger, fairer economy that works for our working families,” Biden said in a statement.
“I commend the taskforces for their service and helping build a bold, transformative platform for our party and for our country.
“And I am deeply grateful to Senator Sanders for working together to unite our party and deliver real, lasting change for generations to come.”
A new report studying the impact of the coronavirus on workers at meat processing plants in the US has found that 87% of people infected were from ethnic minorities and that at least 86 workers have died.
The report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention examined more than 16,000 Covid-19 cases at 239 plants in 21 states.
It offers perspective on how the virus devastated U.S. pork, beef and poultry processing plants, but the figures likely understate the problem as Iowa officials declined to participate in the study.
The CDC report found 87% of coronavirus cases occurred among racial and ethnic minorities even though they made up 61% of the overall worker population.
The data shows 56% of coronavirus illnesses involved Hispanic workers, 19% were non-Hispanic Blacks and 12% were Asians.
It also showed that 13% of coronavirus cases involved white workers, who made up 39% of the overall workforce studied.
The psychological stress of social isolation may make people more susceptible to a severe Covid-19 infection, a scientist has claimed.
Dr Sheldon Cohen, a psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, said evidence from his previous research suggests social stressors are linked to an increased vulnerability to upper respiratory viruses, such as those which cause common cold.
He believes there is a possibility that the psychological effect of stay-at-home measures, adopted by countries around the world to slow down the spread of the virus by minimising contact between people, might play a similar role by increasing a person’s susceptibility to Covid-19 illness.
He said stay-at-home measures can increase interpersonal stressors, such as loneliness, loss of employment and familial conflict, which may be “powerful predictors of how a person will respond if exposed to coronavirus”.
Dr Cohen, who has published his hypothesis in the journal Perspectives in Psychological Science, claimed social integration and social support could offer a “protective shield” against coronavirus and other respiratory infections.
He said: “If you have a diverse social network (social integration), you tend to take better care of yourself (no smoking, moderate drinking, more sleep and exercise).
“Also if people perceive that those in their social network will help them during a period of stress or adversity (social support) then it attenuates the effect of the stressor and is less impactful on their health.”
