The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Wednesday morning, June 17, at 7:33 a.m.:
Worldwide cases: 8,261,260 Worldwide deaths: 445,012
U.S. cases: 2,148,357 U.S. deaths: 117,290
Worldwide cases have increased in the last day by 176,864, and deaths have increased by 6,613.
According to the Dashboard, the United States has added 25,233 cases in the last 23 hours, and deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by 723. The case count is higher than the two-week average, and the death count is around average.
The U.S. deaths from COVID since February, just 5 months, have now surpassed the U.S. deaths from battle and other causes among soldiers serving in World War I, the Vietnam War, and the annual deaths from seasonal influenza. For a look at the comparison, click here.
As states reopen to business, cases of COVID are expected to increase. Florida, Texas and Arizona have all set records for daily new cases this week. They’re among 21 states across the country with increasing trends in new cases. But so far, deaths reported from COVID-19 have not been increasing above the averages. And health experts say wearing masks plus physical distancing will help control the spread. A recent modeling study in the U.K. says the wearing of face masks is responsible for some countries having a lower case count.
In the world situation, China has seen a new outbreak, with just over 100 new cases connected with a market in Beijing that has around 10,000 workers. It has raised its emergency warning to its second-highest level and canceled more than 60% of the flights to Beijing. Officials have locked off a large part of Beijing.
According to CNN and CBS News, authorities have tested more than 350,000 people in the city within the last few days, and are pushing to test 700,000 in an attempt to stem the tide of the virus by catching cases early. China had previously thought it had suppressed the disease, having had no new cases in Beijing for more than a month. Authorities in China say they believe this strain of the virus originated in Europe. The World Health Organization says they are looking into the source of the outbreak.