The average daily case count for new COVID-19 cases each day in the past week has been just over 60,000 cases, which is a 9% decline from the previous week, according to a new analysis from the New York Times.
Yesterday, the country saw 602 deaths and 47,832 new cases in what is still a surging phase of the pandemic.
But despite the high numbers, President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the virus was under control in a new interview on HBO's Axios program. Arguing that deaths per cases are more important than deaths per population, Trump said fatalities from the virus continue to decrease in former hot spots, including Texas, Arizona, and Florida.
When pressed that deaths still average 1,000 per day, Trump said, "It is what it is." Trump also said the daily death toll remains well below its former peak in April of more than 2,000 deaths per day.
According to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker, the United States has by far the most COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the world, with 4,751,853 cases and 156,301 deaths.
School debate continues across country
Yesterday during a press conference Trump once again pushed for schools to reopen in the coming weeks.
"Ideally, we want to open those schools," Trump said during a White House news conference, during which the president also revisited several of his favorite talking points on the pandemic, including the (disproven) effectiveness of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
But former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden, MD, said increasing test positivity rates in children ages 5 to 17 in many states means schools reopening is not yet a safe idea.
"Opening schools is easy. But keeping them open? That's only possible if COVID-19 is controlled and schools adapt. Closed schools mean a closed economy, closed minds, and long-term losses in child development," Frieden wrote on an article on Think Global Health.
In Arizona, the state superintendent of public instruction, Kathy Hoffman, posted a letter on Twitter saying that Arizona is not "currently in a place to resume traditional in-person instruction or hybrid learning models." School was supposed to begin in much of the state on Aug 17.
No deal yet on relief package
After six closed-door meetings in the past 8 days, top congressional Republicans and Democrats have still not agreed on the next phase of coronavirus relief funding for millions of Americans who are now unemployed due to the pandemic.
President Trump warned yesterday he would use executive orders to cancel evictions for those who have lost income because of the pandemic and lower the payroll tax if Congress could not come to an agreement soon.
Yesterday business executives from 100 major US companies, including Disney, Microsoft, Mastercard, and IBM, wrote a letter urging Congress to quickly provide emergency relief for small businesses that are on the brink of failing 6 months into the pandemic.
The letter calls for loan forgiveness and another round of emergency loans from the Small Business Administration, which supported 4 million businesses this spring.
