Saturday, August 29, 2020

California Surpasses 700,000 Cases Even as Its Outbreak Slows

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Covid-19 Live Updates: California Surpasses 700,000 Cases Even as Its Outbreak Slows

Some in Europe fear a return to lockdowns as cases rise. Colleges struggle to rein in sororities and fraternities.
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India reported 78,761 new coronavirus infections, a global record.
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California, as its infection rate declines, becomes the first state to top 700,000 known cases.

California on Saturday became the first state to pass 700,000 known coronavirus cases, according to a New York Times database, even as its recent infection rate continued a steep decline.
As recently as Aug. 16, the state’s seven-day average of new cases was at 9,323, and heading into Saturday, the average was 5,485. The state hit 600,000 cases on Aug. 13.
By far the most populous state in the country, California has not been among the most severely affected states by the virus on a per capita basis: It ranks 21st among the states in cases and 26th in deaths per 100,000 residents, according to the Times database. Along with the Sun Belt states, California has been among the hardest hit in the summer resurgence of the virus.
On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new plan for reopening, which would allow some counties, including San Diego and San Francisco, to reopen many businesses indoors as early as Monday under limited circumstances, such as gyms and houses of worship, as well as permit indoor dining. Bars will remain closed in most of the state.
The new plan was based on new daily case numbers per 100,000 residents, as well as positivity rates.
California has seesawed through the pandemic. It was the first state to issue a comprehensive stay-at-home order, on March 19, when it was reporting about 116 new cases a day.
But after the state started to reopen two months later, its caseload surged, as severe outbreaks of the coronavirus shifted from the Northeast to the South and the West.
Mr. Newsom allowed counties to reopen certain sectors such as gyms and indoor entertainment in May and June, but backtracked after a surge of cases in July when he ordered statewide closures of many indoor activities, including places of worship and salons.
As the new school year has started across the state, most districts have stuck to online instruction.
Louisiana currently has the highest number of cases per 100,000 people in the United States, with over 3,100, while California has about 1,770. New Jersey, where the virus peaked months ago, has the highest death rate: 179 per 100,000 residents. California has 33 deaths per capita.
GLOBAL ROUNDUP

European leaders weigh new lockdowns as alarming caseloads return.

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Berlin Police Disband Protest Against Virus Measures

Thousands marching against virus restrictions put in place by the German government were dispersed by the police for violating social-distancing rules.

[clapping, cheering] [sirens] [yelling, booing]
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Thousands marching against virus restrictions put in place by the German government were dispersed by the police for violating social-distancing rules.CreditCredit...John Macdougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In France, President Emmanuel Macron warned on Friday that the authorities were doing “everything to avoid a new lockdown.” A day later, the country reported over 7,300 new virus cases, its highest daily tally since March 31 and a number that sent its seven-day average to a new record of 4,668, according to a New York Times database.
As Germany faces its own more modest resurgence — its seven-day average for new cases has now risen to over 1,300, the database shows — Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week that managing the pandemic would become more challenging in the fall and winter, as the colder weather drives people back indoors. “We will have to live with this virus for a long time to come,” she said.
The sobering comments from Ms. Merkel and Mr. Macron come as European countries brace for — or even appear to be entering — a second wave of infections.
Nowhere on the continent is the threat more alarming than in Spain, where the Times database shows that the seven-day average has passed 7,600. The country reported nearly 9,800 new cases on Saturday, its highest number for a single day to date.
The mayor of Madrid has asked residents of the city’s southern neighborhoods to stay at home, and more than 2,000 members of its armed forces may soon be deployed to track local outbreaks, the authorities announced this week.
In Berlin, thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday to demand an end to government measures that they argue violate their constitutional rights. The rally was stopped by a police injunction because many were not respecting social distancing measures, The Associated Press reported.
Although Germany has been lauded for mostly minimizing the pandemic’s toll healthwise, many who have found themselves out of work are angry and afraid that they would not survive a second lockdown.
About 1,000 anti-mask protesters also gathered in the Swiss city of Zurich, and a similar number demonstrated in London at Trafalgar Square, according to The Associated Press.
While Mr. Macron has not ruled out another nationwide lockdown, the Tour de France, the prestigious cycling race, nonetheless departed from the southern city of Nice on Saturday, amid concerns that the peloton could carry infections as it rides across the country until Sept. 20. Teams will face possible exclusion if two of their riders test positive for the virus within a seven-day period during the race.
  • India reported 78,761 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, setting a global record for the third time in recent days. Until this past week, the U.S. had held the record for a single-day increase in cases, 75,682 on July 16, according to a Times database. India’s steep rise in infections — which officials say is partly explained by an increase in testing — comes as more state governments, desperate to stimulate an ailing economy, are loosening lockdown restrictions.
  • Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand thanked residents of Auckland, the country’s largest city, as they prepared to come out of lockdown at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. But she encouraged residents to wear masks in public and remain vigilant. “Our system is only as good as our people, and our people are amazing,” she said. The city has been on lockdown since Aug. 12 as it tries to contain a cluster that has grown to 135 cases, including two reported on Sunday.

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