Live updates: U.S. enters ‘new phase’ as coronavirus outbreaks become ‘extraordinarily widespread,’ says Birx - The Washington Post

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The United States has entered a “new phase” of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Deborah Birx, the physician overseeing the White House’s epidemic response, said Sunday.

At least 4,641,000 coronavirus cases and 151,000 fatalities have been reported in the United States since February.

Close to 50,000 new cases and 478 deaths were reported on Sunday, a day of the week when numbers are often artificially low because some jurisdictions do not report data.

The mountainous Russian republic in the North Caucasus region along the Caspian Sea was reporting just two to three fatalities per day from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, at the time.

Dagestan’s officials eventually acknowledged that the real number of coronavirus cases and deaths was probably much higher.

And, in the process, Dagestan became a point of reference for questions on the overall tallies in Russia, which reports the world’s fourth-largest number of confirmed cases but a mortality rate that is about a fifth that of U.S.

Any attempts to challenge that narrative — such as whether coronavirus cases and deaths are often misclassified — are quickly slapped down by Putin’s government.

Instead of about 14,400 deaths officially confirmed by late July, the actual number of people who had died with symptoms of the virus until that point may have been almost 42,000.

Cases in the country have recently surged again, and officially confirmed deaths have increased to more than 17,000 by Monday.

But the BBC report would back up prior concerns that Iranian authorities are vastly underreporting coronavirus deaths and cases in the country, which has seen the worst outbreak in the region.

According to the BBC, the internal Iranian government documents obtained by the broadcaster show the country recorded more than 451,000 cases by late July, far higher than the official number of about 280,000 that was confirmed publicly at the time.

By some measures, after a brief leveling off in infections and some positive economic indicators, things have gotten worse.

It was one of the first metro areas in the United States to fully shut down to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

A Michigan library had to ask patrons to stop microwaving books to kill the novel coronavirus after noticing returned books with scorched pages.

Approximately 260 employees at Georgia’s largest school district are not able to come into work because they have tested positive for the coronavirus or are in quarantine due to potential exposure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Philadelphia Eagles Coach Doug Pederson has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the team said Sunday night.

The Eagles confirmed Pederson’s positive test in a written announcement and said he is asymptomatic and “doing well.” Pederson is in quarantine and is in touch with members of the team’s medical staff, according to the Eagles.

On Saturday, more than 80 medical organizations sounded the alarm as the total number of infections soared past 106,000.

But don’t go shouting about revolution,” he said in a televised address late Sunday.

Now, roughly two months later, at least 36 crew members aboard one ship have tested positive for the coronavirus, and all further cruises have been put on hold.

Hurtigruten said in a statement that four crew members were isolated early last week “because of other disease symptoms” that didn’t appear connected to the coronavirus.

Those crew members were tested Friday morning before being admitted to a hospital in Tromso, and learned they were positive for coronavirus.

As of Saturday, 36 tests had come back positive and 122 had come back negative, the cruise line said.

Steve Sisolak (D) is expected to sign the bill, which was passed by the Democratic majority in Nevada’s legislature during a special session on Sunday afternoon, the Associated Press reported.

Now, with the world in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic, the New Orleans Saints quarterback has decided it is time to kick the habit.

Louis Cardinals received word of additional positive tests for the novel coronavirus, requiring the postponement of the entire Cardinals-Brewers weekend series in Milwaukee and deepening the level of pessimism around the sport that the season can go on.

The Cardinals, who reported two positive tests Friday, saw another two positives Saturday, one of which was a player, using rapid tests.

“Where you slept last night is where you’ll need to stay for the next six weeks,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday, as 671 new coronavirus cases were reported in the state.

South Africa surpassed 500,000 confirmed cases on Saturday, meaning that the country now accounts for more than half of the coronavirus infections reported in Africa to date, and has the fifth-highest number of cases worldwide.

The total number of infections detected in the Philippines exceeded 100,000 on Sunday, when the country reported more than 5,000 new cases, its largest single-day surge.

Mexico now has the third-highest number of fatalities worldwide — a total of 47,746, roughly half the number reported in Brazil.

While still relatively small, a new outbreak in Vietnam is proving difficult to trace, officials said on Sunday

After going months with no fatalities, the Southeast Asian nation reported six deaths and more than 170 new cases over the past week

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