Here’s a look at some of the coronavirus-related news from Monday:
Deaths leveling off in New York
The steep rise in coronavirus deaths appeared to be leveling off Monday in hard-hit New York, echoing a trend underway in Italy and Spain. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the first, faint signs the outbreak there might be at or near its peak, while warning it’s no time to relax social distancing restrictions. He ordered bigger fines against violators. The number of dead in New York state rose past 4,700, and the death toll in New York City closed in on the 2,753 lives lost at the World Trade Center on 9/11. The state has averaged just less than 600 deaths per day for the past four days. Though horrific, the roughly steady daily totals were seen as a positive sign. Cuomo also reported the number of new people entering hospitals daily has dropped, as has the number of critically ill patients who require ventilators.
British PM moved to intensive care
The crisis escalated alarmingly in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated. U.S. President Donald Trump said he asked “leading companies” to contact officials in London about therapies that could help Johnson, calling them complex treatments that have been recently developed by the unnamed companies. Deaths in Britain climbed by more than 400 Monday, for a total of nearly 5,400. Sunday was especially bleak, with more than 600 deaths — more than Italy recorded.
Deaths in US climb past 10,000
President Donald Trump said U.S. mitigation efforts are showing signs of slowing the spread of the virus. The government is distributing millions of N95 respirators, masks, face shields, gowns and gloves, the president said, without specifying where the equipment is going. However, deaths in the U.S. climbed past 10,000 on Monday, with about 350,000 confirmed infections. One of the main models on the outbreak, the University of Washington’s, is now projecting about 82,000 U.S. deaths through early August, or 12% fewer than previously forecast, with the highest number of daily deaths occurring April 16.
More than 1.3 million cases worldwide
France recorded its highest 24-hour death toll since the epidemic began, 833. Japan considered a state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas because of soaring infections in the country with the world’s third-largest economy and its oldest population. Worldwide, more than 1.3 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 74,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments. The latest data suggests that social distancing appears to be working to stop the spread in some countries, and better than expected.
Italy, Spain see decreases in cases, deaths
Italy’s day-to-day count of new COVID-19 cases dipped again, for the smallest one-day increase in early three weeks. The country also saw a drop for the third consecutive day in intensive care beds occupied by infected patients. Italy has the world’s highest death toll — more than 16,500 — but the pressure on intensive care units in the north has eased so much that it’s no longer airlifting patients to other regions. In Spain, deaths and new infections dropped again. The health ministry reported 637 new deaths, the lowest toll in 13 days, for a total of more than 13,000 dead. New infections were also the lowest in two weeks.
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