Yesterday's What the Fuck Just Happened Today? COVID news:
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2020/07/08/day-1266/
Day 1266: "A campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation."
Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”
Global: Total confirmed cases: ~11,923,000; deaths: ~547,000
U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,036,000; deaths: ~133,000
Source:*Johns Hopkins University
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Trump threatened to cut federal funding if schools don’t fully physically reopen. Trump, however, lacks the authority to force schools to reopen and federal funding has already been appropriated by Congress. About 90% of school district budgets are raised by states and municipalities. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, meanwhile, claimed there is “no excuse” for schools not to reopen, saying “adults who are fear mongering and making excuses simply have got to stop doing it and turn their attention on what is right for students and for their families.” (Politico*/New York Times/Bloomberg/Wall Street Journal/*CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/coronavirus-trump-threatens-to-cut-school-funding-slams-cdc-reopening-guidelines.html
Several states are suing the Department of Education over its decision to divert COVID-19 relief funding from K-12 public schools and give it to private schools.*Attorneys general in California, Michigan, Maine, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia have all joined the suit, which claims the DOE unlawfully interpreted the CARES Act by allowing school districts to receive funding based on the total student population instead of the total public school student population. The interpretation has lead tens of millions of dollars to be diverted from public schools in the poorest districts to private schools with tuition rates that are similar to private colleges. The suit specifically names Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as one of the defendants. (PBS News Hour)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/states-sue-u-s-department-over-virus-relief-funds-for-schools
The CDC will issue new guidance on school openings after Trump called the existing guidelines too “tough,” “very impractical,” and “expensive.”Trump’s tweet about the CDC came minutes after he threatened to cut federal funding to schools that do not physically reopen. At a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing, Pence said the government would partner with school districts to figure out the best approach if they found the CDC guidelines a barrier to reopening. During the briefing, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said the agency’s guidance “is intentional for reopening and keeping our schools open,” and should not be “used as a rationale to keep schools closed.” He added: “Clearly, the ability of this virus to cause significant illness in children is very, very, very, very limited.” However, later in the briefing, Dr. Deborah Birx clarified that the data is incomplete because the U.S. has not been testing enough children to conclude how widespread the virus is among people younger than 18 and whether they are spreading the virus to others. (Washington Post/NPR/Politico/New York Times/*CNBC)
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/08/888898194/trump-blasts-expensive-cdc-guidelines-for-reopening-schools
The U.S. reported more than 60,000 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday as the total number of confirmed cases crossed 3 million. The 60,021 reported cases set a record for new cases reported in a single day. After the coronavirus was first reported in the U.S. in January, the first million cases were reported over three months. The second million cases were reported over a period of about six weeks. It took less than a month for the case count to rise from 2 million on June 11 to more than 3 million. In the first five days of July, the U.S. has reported 250,000 new cases. (NBC News*/Wall Street Journal/CNBC/Politico/*Bloomberg)
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/08/us-reports-record-single-day-spike-of-60000-new-coronavirus-cases.html
Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Dr. Bruce Dart said. Tulsa County reported nearly 500 confirmed new cases on Monday and Tuesday. (Associated Press*/*Axios)
https://apnews.com/ad96548245e186382225818d8dc416eb
Pence touted “early indications” that coronavirus infections are starting to level off in Arizona, Florida, and Texas, which have each seen a surge of new infections in recent weeks. In Arizona and Florida, the seven-day average of tests that were positive has started to level off at about 20% and 17%, respectively. Texas’ testing positivity rate has remained steady at around 14% over the past few weeks. Trump’s health officials have suggested a positivity rate below 10% is desirable. Other public health experts say the goal should be 5% or lower. Pence, however, said the “takeaway for every American” was to “keep doing what you’re doing.” (Politico)
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/08/pence-coronavirus-progress-352928
More than a fifth of Americans – about 71.5 million people – live in counties where the new highs in coronavirus cases was reached on Monday. (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/08/more-than-fifth-americans-live-counties-with-new-highs-coronavirus-cases/
–- Update From New Post Merge ---
Today's COVID news: https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2020/07/09/day-1267/
[h=1]Day 1267: "The pandemic is still accelerating."[/h]
- [h=3]Dept. of “We Have It Totally Under Control.”[/h]
- Global: Total confirmed cases: ~12,129,000; deaths: ~552,000
- U.S.: Total confirmed cases: ~3,089,000; deaths: ~133,000
- Source: Johns Hopkins University
Another 1.3 million workers filed new claims for state unemployment benefits last week – the 14th straight week of declines. More than 48 million people have now filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the past 16 weeks. (CNN / Washington Post / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
Dr. Anthony Fauci advised states “having a serious problem” with a surge in coronavirus cases to “seriously look at shutting down.” The government’s top infectious disease expert said some states “went too fast” with reopening and that in other states, residents didn’t follow social distancing guidelines. Trump, meanwhile, continued to push to reopen the country as quickly as possible despite the U.S. setting another record for new cases on Wednesday – the fifth national record in nine days. At least five states — Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia — set single-day records for new infections on Wednesday as the daily number of new cases had increased by 72% over the past two weeks. (Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal)
The CDC will not revise its guidelines for reopening schools despite pressure from Trump and the White House. Dr. Robert Redfield said the CDC was already planning to issue additional reference documents for schools in coming days. On Wednesday, however, Pence told reporters that the CDC would be issuing a new “set of tools” next week after Trump complained that the existing guidelines were too “tough” and “impractical.” (CNN / Associated Press / The Hill / Washington Post)
The World Health Organization acknowledged that the coronavirus may become airborne and spread through particles in the air in “indoor crowded spaces.” The agency also acknowledged that the virus can be transmitted by people who do not have symptoms. WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that “the pandemic is still accelerating.” The Republican National Convention, meanwhile, could be moved to an outdoor stadium. While no decision has been made, Republicans involved in the planning believe there could be less risk of transmission at a large outdoor stadium. (CNBC / New York Times / Washington Post / Washington Post)
- A group of attorneys in Jacksonville, FL filed a lawsuit to prevent the GOP from holding the Republican National Convention in the city next month. The suit claims holding the convention amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic would be “a nuisance injurious to the health [and] welfare” of the city. The suit was filed days after Florida set new records for the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in one state in a single day — more than 11,400 cases on Saturday. The plaintiffs are requesting that the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena admit no more than 2,500 people and leave the rest of the 15,000 seats in the arena “isolated or roped off” to ensure social distancing. (CNN / The Hill)