A rchive Date
[ 23-07-2020 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
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[https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/coronavirus-july-22-covid-19-1.5658410
Coronavirus: What's happening around the world on Wednesday
19 states have reported a record number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients so far in July
The Associated Press · Posted: Jul 22, 2020 8:06 AM ET |
California's confirmed coronavirus cases have topped 409,000, surpassing New York for most in the nation, according to data from Johns Hopkins University showing Wednesday that California now has about 1,200 more cases than New York.
However, New York's 32,520 deaths are by far the highest total in the country and four times more than California's tally, and its rate of confirmed infections of about 2,100 per 100,000 people is twice California's rate.
California is by far the most populous U.S. state, with nearly 40 million people, while New York has about 19.5 million.
U.S. government data published Tuesday found that reported and confirmed coronavirus cases vastly underestimate the true number of infections, echoing results from a smaller study last month.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study said true COVID-19 rates were more than 10 times higher than reported cases in most U.S. regions from late March to early May. It is based on COVID-19 antibody tests performed on routine blood samples in 16,000 people in 10 U.S. regions.
Mutliple analyses indicated the U.S. on Tuesday had slipped back to once again recording more than 1,000 deaths in a 24-hour period.
The COVID Tracking Project, a Reuters tally and data compiled by the Washington Post put the death toll in the latest 24-hour tracking period as between 1,000 and 1,141, a threshold not seen since early June, and not regularly since May. Health experts soberly warned of the possibility of such developments after recent weeks of an upsurge in cases, particularly in the south and southwest regions.
Swaths of the country are now battling rising infections and growing deaths, and some states are once again having to close businesses and rethink school in the fall. Many retailers themselves are insisting their customers don masks.
The administrator of the the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified at a House homeland security committee on Wednesday morning that the U.S. has bolstered its stockpile of PPE but said the country was "not out of the woods," given the global competition for supplies.
"We're in a much better place than coming out of March and April," said FEMA's Peter Gaynor. Gaynor, and some Republicans on the panel, said the hope is that over time the U.S. could ramp up domestic production and be less reliant on foreign supply chains.
Democrats early on tried to pin Gaynor down over whether the agency received coherent direction early in the pandemic from the administration, while lawmakers from regions that could be susceptible during the upcoming hurricane season expressed their hopes the agency was equipped to handle competing demands.
Pandemic will get 'worse before it gets better,' Trump
Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, lawmakers were negotiating what is expected to be a trillion-dollar-or-more "Phase Four" rescue package.
Multiple U.S. media outlets reported that President Donald Trump would hold a coronavirus briefing for the second consecutive day, something that hasn't occurred since the White House scrapped nearly-daily briefings in April.
For months, the nation's top health experts have pleaded with Americans to wear masks in public and steer clear of crowds - calling those simple steps life-saving - even as President Donald Trump's stance on masks fuelled a partisan social divide.
At Tuesday's briefing, Trump gave his most unequivocal advice so far to Americans on masks.
"We're asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask," he said. "Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact."
But elsewhere, Trump did not provide any tangible updates on progress for a vaccine and said the administration was "in the process of developing a strategy." Some state and local officials across the country have implored Washington to streamline the process of distributing personal protective equipment (PPE) and testing materials and lobbied for a more prominent role for the CDC.
In addition to California, Florida, Texas, Georgia and Alabama are among 40 states were cases are rising.
Florida reported 9,785 new cases and 140 new deaths on Wednesday, while COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized hit a record high of 9,530. Alabama reported a record 61 new deaths on Wednesday, a day after hospitalizations hit a record high.
Nineteen states have reported a record number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients so far in July. Thirty-two states have reported record increases in cases in July and 16 states have reported record increases in deaths during the month.
In Texas, while Dallas County and Houston are seeing signs of optimism after enduring a tough month so far, the outlook is concerning in Starr and Hidalgo counties, located near the Mexico border
In Starr County, Judge Eloy Vera said "we're very close to losing the situation."
What's happening with coronavirus in Canada
As of 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Canada has seen 112,007 coronavirus infections. Provinces and territories listed 98,042 of those as recovered or resolved, with a total of 5,067 still active. A CBC News tally based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting indicates that 8,898 Canadians have died.
In Ottawa, more information is being learned this week about the government's early response to COVID-19 and the adjustments it has made with its own workforce due to the resulting lockdown.
A little-known medical unit within Canadian Forces Intelligence Command briefed Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan about the burgeoning COVID-19 crisis in China on January 17, it has been revealed.
In response to an order paper question from a Conservative MP, the Department of National Defence confirmed that its medical intelligence unit shared its briefing documents about COVID-19 widely with other government departments and agencies. But questions are being asked if time was squandered given that the government's incident response group - led by Prim
Meanwhile, more than a quarter of all federal public servants were granted paid time off work during the first 11 weeks of the pandemic, at an estimated cost of $439 million, according to the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat.
The "other leave with pay" provision, also known by its pay code 699, is approved at the discretion of management when employees are unable to report to work for reasons beyond their control. It is separate from vacation or sick pay.
Between March 15 and May 31 of this year, a total of 76,804 employees - 27 per cent of all federal public workers - were granted this type of leave.
On Tuesday, legislation introduced by the Liberal government to change the federal wage subsidy and provide relief to people with disabilities passed in the House of Commons by unanimous consent.
What's happening in the rest of the world
Worldwide, the case count is nearing the 15 million mark, with more than 617,000 dead, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Iran says 138 health-care professionals have died so far while battling the coronavirus pandemic. The semi-official ISNA news agency on Wednesday quoted Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for the regulatory body for Iranian health-care professionals, as saying that the death toll includes 90 doctors and 28 nurses.
Iran is grappling with the deadliest outbreak in the Middle East. It has so far reported more than 278,000 confirmed cases and 14,634 deaths. On Tuesday, the country saw its single-day highest death toll at 229.
South Africa has well over half of the confirmed coronavirus cases on the African continent, with new Health Ministry data showing 381,798 cases, including 5,368 deaths.
The country's current epicentre is Gauteng province, home to Johannesburg and one-quarter of the population. It has over one-third of South Africa's cases.
While the country is now legitimately a global hot spot, its percentage of total African cases partially reflects a limited testing capacity in several countries on the continent.
In Brazil, the government says President Jair Bolsonaro is still testing positive for the coronavirus following his July 7 announcement that he had contracted the virus.
The positive test Tuesday came after a follow-up check on July 15. The government says he remains in good health.
The World Health Organization says the median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately two weeks.
The government say Bolsonaro will keep holding video conferences instead of face-to-face meetings.
Brazil's government says the country has recorded more than two million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 81,000 deaths.
The director of the Pan American Health Organization, a UN public health agency with offices throughout Central and South America, as well as the U.S. and the Caribbean, said Tuesday the pandemic is showing "no signs of slowing down" in many of its member nations. The virus has landed in the Guiana shield countries on South America's northeastern coast and surges have also been detected in Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Peru, Carissa Etienne said.
But PAHO said Tuesday that Nicaragua hasn't given the organization authorization to send in a team of experts to evaluate the coronavirus outbreak in the Central American country.
The Nicaraguan Health Ministry gave a periodic update Tuesday, claiming deaths had increased from 99 to 108 and confirmed cases rose to 3,439. The civic group Citizens Observatory, however, said independent doctors and activists had collected reports of 2,260 deaths and 8,508 cases.
In Australia, the state of Victoria reported a record 484 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as health authorities warned that numbers could continue to rise.
With Australia's second-largest city Melbourne now in lockdown for two weeks, authorities had hoped the infection rate would begin to plateau. Instead, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said "we're going to look at 500-600 cases per day. I absolutely don't want us to go there."
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announced two more deaths, both men in their 90s, bringing the national death toll to 128. Neighbouring New South Wales state reported 16 new cases on Wednesday.
With files from CBC News and Reuters
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 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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