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A26 U.S. NEWS
Friday 26 June 2020
U.S. virus cases near an all-time high as governors backtrack

By JENNIFER PELTZ and Misssissippi's Dobbs blamed
CARLA K. JOHNSON a failure to wear masks
NEW YORK (AP) — The coro- and observe other social-
navirus crisis deepened in distancing practices, and
Arizona on Thursday, and said many cases involved
the governor of Texas be- younger people spreading
gan to backtrack after the virus to older relatives.
making one of the most ag- "I'm afraid it's going to take
gressive pushes in the na- some kind of catastro-
tion to reopen, as the daily phe for people to pay at-
number of confirmed cases tention," he said. "We are
across the U.S. closed in on giving away those hard-
the peak reached during fought gains for silly stuff."
the dark days of late April. Tom Rohlk, a 62-year-old
While greatly expanded grocery store worker from
testing probably accounts Overland Park, Kansas,
for some of the increase, complained that young
experts say other measures people sometimes act as
indicate the virus is making if they don't care: "It seems
a comeback. Daily deaths, like it's time to party."
hospitalizations and the The U.S. has greatly ramped
percentage of tests that up testing in the past few
are coming back positive months, and it is now pre-
have also have been rising Colorado Governor Jared Polis wears a face mask as he leaves a news conference about the sumably finding many less-
over the past few weeks in state's efforts to stop the spread of the new coronavirus Wednesday, June 24, 2020, in Denver. serious cases that would
parts of the country, mostly Associated Press have gone undetected
in the South and West. earlier in the outbreak,
In Arizona, 23 percent of ber of patients statewide translates into an equally few weeks even as cases when the availability of
tests conducted over the more than doubled in two dire surge in deaths across climbed, a phenomenon testing was limited and
past seven days have weeks. Nevada's governor the U.S. overall will depend experts said may reflect the sicker people were often
been positive, nearly triple ordered the wearing of on a number of factors, advent of treatments, bet- given priority.
the national average, and face masks in public, Las experts said, most crucially ter efforts to prevent infec- But there are other more
a record 415 patients were Vegas casinos included. whether government of- tions at nursing homes, and clear-cut warning signs, in-
on ventilators. Mississippi "The last thing we want to ficials make the right deci- a rising proportion of cases cluding a rising number of
saw its daily count of new do as a state is go back- sions. Deaths per day in the among younger people, deaths per day in states
cases reach new highs wards and close down U.S. are around 600 after who are more likely than such as Arizona and Ala-
twice this week. businesses," Abbott said. peaking at about 2,200 in their elders to survive a bama.
"It's not a joke. Really bad The U.S. recorded 34,500 mid-April. bout with COVID-19. The number of confirmed
things are going to hap- COVID-19 cases Wednes- "It is possible, if we play our "This is still serious," said Dr. infections, in any case,
pen," Mississippi Health Offi- day, slightly fewer than the cards badly and make a Robert Redfield, director is a poor measure of the
cer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said. day before but still near the lot of mistakes, to get back of the Centers for Disease outbreak. CDC officials,
Republican Gov. Greg Ab- high of 36,400 reached on to that level. But if we are Control and Prevention, relying on blood tests, esti-
bott of Texas, whose state April 24, according to a smart, there's no reason to but "we're in a different situ- mated Thursday that 20 mil-
was among the first to re- count kept by Johns Hop- get to 2,200 deaths a day," ation today than we were lion Americans have been
open, put any further lift- kins University. The daily av- said Dr. Ashish Jha, director in March or April." infected with the coronavi-
ing of restrictions on hold erage has climbed by more of Harvard's Global Health Several states set single-day rus since it arrived in the U.S.
and reimposed a ban on than 50% over the past two Institute. case records this week, in- That is about 6% percent of
elective surgeries in some weeks, an Associated Press The nation's daily death cluding Arizona, California, the population and roughly
places to preserve hospi- analysis found. toll has actually dropped Nevada, Texas and Okla- 10 times the 2.3 million con-
tal space after the num- Whether the rise in cases markedly over the past homa. firmed cases.q

Who would be the first to get a

COVID-19 vaccine?

stages of testing world- a vaccine candidate be- Serum Institute for the pro-
wide, including in Britain, ing developed by Oxford duction of 1 billion doses.
China and the U.S. This University and produced The World Health Organi-
week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, by AstraZeneca. If it works, zation is drafting guidelines
the top U.S. infectious dis- U.K. politicians have said for the ethical distribution
ease expert, said he is cau- Britons will be vaccinated of COVID-19 vaccines.
tiously optimistic there will with it. The U.S. expects to How vaccines are distrib-
be a COVID-19 vaccine by start stockpiling it this fall uted within a country will
the end of the year or early and also has invested in vary. Last week, U.S. offi-
A vaccine volunteer receives an injection at the Chris Hani
Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, Johannesburg Wednesday, 2021. other vaccine candidates. cials said they were devel-
June 24, 2020. Several wealthy countries Groups including the vac- oping a tiered system for
Associated Press have already ordered mil- cine alliance GAVI are that. The system would like-
lions of doses of those ex- also working to buy doses ly prioritize groups at great-
Probably people in the oped. perimental vaccines. for poor countries and As- est risk of severe complica-
country where the first ef- About a dozen different Britain and the U.S., for ex- traZeneca has agreed to li- tions from COVID-19 and
fective vaccine is devel- vaccines are in various ample, have invested in cense its vaccine to India's key workers.q