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Coronavirus Cases Up More Than 63,000, as Trump Calls Some Flare-Ups ‘Burning Embers’ – The Wall Street Journal


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Coronavirus Cases Up More Than 63,000, as Trump Calls Some Flare-Ups ‘Burning Embers’ – The Wall Street Journal

President Trump said the coronavirus pandemic will be brought under control and he played down the public health threat in a Sunday interview, putting him increasingly at odds with state officials expressing concern about the spread of Covid-19 among young adults.The number of infected Americans continued to climb over the weekend. There were more than…

Coronavirus Cases Up More Than 63,000, as Trump Calls Some Flare-Ups ‘Burning Embers’ – The Wall Street Journal

President Trump said the coronavirus pandemic will be brought under control and he played down the public health threat in a Sunday interview, putting him increasingly at odds with state officials expressing concern about the spread of Covid-19 among young adults.

The number of infected Americans continued to climb over the weekend. There were more than 3.7 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. Sunday, according to data from Johns Hopkins. More than 140,300 people in the U.S. have died from the disease, according to the university. Globally, there were 14.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 603,300 deaths.

Florida, which has emerged as a major coronavirus hot spot, on Sunday reported 12,478 new cases, one of its highest daily totals and the fifth straight day above 10,000. The state also reported 87 additional deaths, bringing the total to nearly 5,000 since the pandemic began.

Governors in both parties and public health leaders say a more robust national response is needed to confront the rapidly spreading crisis. The jump in cases among young people reflects, in part, increased testing. But some can become seriously ill and die from Covid-19, epidemiologists say. Even those who remain asymptomatic could infect older people and others who are more vulnerable.

In an interview on Fox News that aired Sunday, Mr. Trump said many recent cases involve young people. “They have the sniffles and we put it down as a test,” he said.

Daily reported Covid-19 deaths in the U.S.

Notes: For all 50 states and D.C., U.S. territories and cruises. Some fluctuation in data, such as the June 25 spike, is due to states revising criteria for deaths due to Covid-19. Last updated



Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering

Daily reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S.

Note: For all 50 states and D.C., U.S. territories and cruises. Last updated



Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering

Mr. Trump said some flare-ups of new cases were like “burning embers” and flames that need to be put out. “We have embers and we do have flames. Florida became more flame-like,” he said, adding, “It’s going to be under control.’’

The president also said that the ramp-up in testing in many states was behind the rise in new cases. Public health leaders, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have said that the rise in positivity rates indicates it isn’t just testing that is behind the surge in infections.

While more testing does result in more cases, Dr. Fauci said in a June 16 interview that higher percentages of positive tests in many states “cannot be explained by increased testing.”

The percent of positive tests on a seven-day average has swelled from about 4.4% in mid-June to almost 9% as of mid-July, according to Johns Hopkins.

Covid-19 deaths have been rising at a slower rate than new infections overall, but lately the death toll has showed signs of edging higher. In the seven days through July 18, the average death toll in the U.S. increased to around 763 from an average of 745 a day the week prior, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data. Public health experts say deaths are a lagging indicator, with tallies climbing after a rise in new cases. And the pandemic has pushed some hospitals in the South and West near capacity, forcing some patients to relocate hundreds of miles to relieve overcrowded wards.

Mr. Trump also rejected a nationwide mask mandate. Last week, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the disease could be brought under control in a month or two if mask-wearing were universal.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said Saturday the state is seeing an increase in new coronavirus cases among younger people, caused by what he called an erosion in social-distancing practices. He said the median age of people contracting the virus recently stood at 37 years old and was “plunging even further” in more recent cases.

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In Seminole County, the median age of new cases is 26, while it is 29 in Orange County, the governor said. In Miami-Dade County, the median age is 41.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, tweeted Sunday that nearly half of new coronavirus cases in the state are among people in their 20s and 30s. For residents under age 35, the positivity rate is more than 85% higher than for residents 35 and older, he said. He wants local authorities to aggressively enforce social-distancing requirements at bars and restaurants.

“Young people should avoid crowded bars, house parties and large gatherings of any kind,” Mr. Hogan said at a news conference last week. “You are not only putting yourselves at risk, you’re also risking the lives of your parents, your grandparents and other vulnerable people in the community.”

In the Fox interview, Mr. Trump said, “Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day.” He added: “Many of them—don’t forget, I guess it’s like 99.7%, people are going to get better and in many cases they’re going to get better very quickly.”

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Joshua Sharfstein, a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins, said Mr. Trump “seems to be saying it’s really not that big a deal. You can still agree somebody may have a mild case and be concerned that they could cause someone else to get quite sick and die.”

Dr. Sharfstein said bars and other places where young adults gather in large numbers—often indoors, at close range and with minimal mask-wearing—are prime settings for transmission of the virus. “The evidence is piling up around young adults in party-type situations,” he said.

Some states, including Texas, closed bars after allowing them to reopen, and Dr. Sharfstein said other states such as Maryland should consider following suit.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards closed bars in the state earlier this month and, like other state leaders, ordered residents to wear masks in public settings. In recent days, Mr. Edwards, a Democrat, has said younger residents are testing positive for the coronavirus at higher rates. More than 22% of all coronavirus cases in Louisiana are among residents in that age range, according to data from the Louisiana Department of Health.States reported upticks in new cases.

The Texas Department of Health and Human Services reported 7,300 new coronavirus cases Sunday, while 10,592 patients with the coronavirus were treated in hospitals—one of the highest tallies to date. California recorded more than 9,300 new cases and North Carolina logged another 1,820 new cases, down from a record-high of 2,481 reported a day prior.

—Jennifer Calfas contributed to this article.

Write to Scott Calvert at scott.calvert@wsj.com, David Harrison at david.harrison@wsj.com and Stephanie Armour at stephanie.armour@wsj.com

Copyright ©2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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