Coronavirus Watch: Record-breaking new daily cases
Yesterday marked a grim milestone in our fight against the coronavirus.
The U.S. on Wednesday saw its highest number of new cases in months, with three of the nation's most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — reporting record-setting highs in daily new cases. And that's not just because of increased testing, experts say.
As we head into another hump in the "first wave" of the pandemic, top U.S. health officials are encouraging Americans to socially distance this Fourth of July.
It's Thursday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 2:30 p.m. ET:
- Today's numbers: Almost 2.4 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., and more than 122,000 have died. Worldwide, almost 9.5 million people have tested positive for the virus, and 484,000 have died. See the numbers in your area here.
- Where are cases growing fastest? We've added two new updates to our coronavirus tracker: You can now see a map of confirmed cases in the last seven days and a chart showing which states are currently growing at the fastest rate.
- Pregnant women may be at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant women, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, breaking from earlier guidance that found no difference in risk between the two groups.
- More than 1 million dead people got stimulus checks from the federal government under a new federal law designed to juice the economy during the pandemic, a watchdog agency reported Thursday.
- Unemployment: Last week, 1.48 million workers filed first time claims for unemployment insurance, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Is your COVID knowledge up to snuff? Here are 10 coronavirus questions to test how prepared you are.
How is your summer going amid the pandemic? We want to hear from you, especially if you are caring for loved ones. Your story could be featured in our daily news podcast, 5 Things. To share your story, go to coronadiaries.io/usatoday. Choose the first prompt, follow the instructions, and record a brief audio message!
As always, thank you for subscribing! We appreciate you trusting the Paste BN Network with this important information.
– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck