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June 24 coronavirus news

By Julia Hollingsworth, Adam Renton, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Zamira Rahim and Meg Wagner, CNN

Updated 12:02 a.m. ET, June 25, 2020

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10:27 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

New York City Marathon canceled because of coronavirus

This year's New York City Marathon has been canceled because of coronavirus concerns, event organizers announced today.

The annual event, considered the world’s largest marathon, was scheduled for Nov. 1, but was called off "due to coronavirus-related health and safety concerns for runners, spectators, volunteers, staff, and the many partners and communities that support the event," the New York Road Runners announced today.

"While the marathon is an iconic and beloved event in our city, I applaud New York Road Runners for putting the health and safety of both spectators and runners first,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "We look forward to hosting the 50th running of the marathon in November of 2021."

9:52 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

Former Florida data official says her own Covid-19 site is more transparent than state reports

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Rebekah Jones, the data official behind Florida's Covid-19 dashboard, has launched her own dashboard, which reports more cases than the state reports.

She attributes these differences to including non-residents who test positive or die of coronavirus in Florida.

“If you were sick in Florida and you died in a Florida hospital, you should be included in that total," she told CNN.

“They're not people who got sick and then went home to Massachusetts and died,” she explained why she chose to include non-residents. “I think that people care more about where the virus is in their community than they do whether or not somebody has a permanent legal address in Florida.”

Another point of differentiation is including everyone who tested positive, regardless of the type of tests that they have received.

Some background: Jones was removed from the state's scrutinized dashboard project after she questioned other officials' commitment to accessibility and transparency, according to Florida Today.

She tweeted several tweets yesterday claiming that the the state’s health department officials have been instructed to change and delete numbers of Covid-19 cases and deaths to make it looks like “Florida is improving next week in the leadup to July 4."

“I wouldn't come forward with anything unless I had vetted it myself fully. There was a lot of pressure when I was first fired for not changing the numbers,” she said. “There are a few brave souls at DOH who still talk to me and communicate with me. They’ve forwarded me emails, communications, other documentation. I have checked my numbers myself through the data and the information that the DOH publishes and unfortunately, that does seem to be what's going on.”

Watch the interview:

9:40 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

US stocks open lower over rising Covid-19 cases and renewed trade fears

From CNN’s Anneken Tappe

US stocks ticked lower on Wednesday as investors grapple with rising Covid-19 cases as well as worries about a second lockdown.

Trade wars are also worrying investors as the US weighs an additional $3.1 billion of European imports with tariffs.

Here is where things stood at opening:

The Dow opened 0.9%, or 244 points, lower.
The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%.
The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.4%. The index is now on track to break an eight-day winning streak, which was its longest since December.

9:35 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

Coronavirus cases are increasing in more than half of US states — and just 1 has a 50% decrease

There is only one state in the US right now that is reporting at least 50% decrease in new coronavirus cases

Connecticut reported at least a 50% drop in news cases in the past week compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Another 13 states are reporting decreasing case counts at a rate between 10% and 50%, including New York, Massachusetts, Alaska and both North and South Dakota.

But more than half of US states — 26 of them — are seeing new coronavirus cases increase compared with the prior week. Among those states, at least 10 are reporting a 50% increase or higher.

Here's the full breakdown of where cases are trending across US states:

9:29 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

US gasoline demand more than halfway back from pandemic induced lows

From CNN’s Alison Kosik

Gasoline consumption in the United States has just hit a big milestone. It is now more than halfway back to pre-Covid-19 levels as drivers get back on the road again.

According to the Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) gasoline sales have been rising at an average of 6.4 % per week since the low point in April when demand was “sliced in half.”

“There is still more ground to cover, but the positive trends are a sign of recovery,” said Fred Rozell, president of OPIS.

In a release, OPIS fill-ups at the pump hit the rock bottom in the second week of April, down 49% from 2019 volumes, as spiking Covid-19 cases led to the shutdown of the economy and stay-at-home orders across the nation.

That was also the week that oil exporting countries hammered out the OPEC+ deal—with the direct involvement of the United States—to reduce production in a greatly oversupplied market experiencing record-low crude prices.

The most recent OPIS survey shows that in the second week of June demand was down 22%, compared to the same week in 2019, but regional disparities are still prevalent.

“Although people talk about ‘demand destruction’, it’s actually been ‘demand contraction’ in response to the economic shutdown,” said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman, IHS Markit. “And now we’re seeing demand ‘uncontracting’ as people get back into their cars.”

9:29 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

IMF forecasts even deeper recession for global economy in 2020 following pandemic

From Julia Horowitz and Chris Liakos

The International Monetary Fund is warning that the global economic slowdown will be even worse than its first forecast.

Global growth is now expected to shrink by 4.9% this year, down from its April estimate of a 3% contraction, according to IMF’s world economic outlook. That was already due to be the deepest slump since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a more negative impact on activity in the first half of 2020 than anticipated, and the recovery is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast,” the IMF said in its report.

Here are some individual country forecasts:

The US economy is expected to shrink by 8%, while euro area output could decline by 10.2%, according to IMF.
In Latin America, the current virus epicenter, Brazil's economy is expected to contract by 9.1%, while output in Mexico could decline by 10.5%.
China, which got a head start on the recovery, is expected to see growth of 1%, in part due to policy support from the government.

IMF’s new outlook is better than recent forecasts from the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

IMF did note however that there is a "higher-than-usual degree of uncertainty" around the forecast.

9:17 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

Cases are rising vertically in some US states. Here's a look at where numbers are going up.

From CNN's Christina Maxouris

At least 26 states are seeing new coronavirus cases increase compared with the prior week. Remember, the number of states where cases are increasing is also on the rise.

California, Florida and Arizona are reporting thousands of new cases each day. And in Texas, health authorities have said new cases and hospitalizations are rising at their fastest rate yet.

California recorded a striking 5,019 new cases on Monday — topping the state's daily case record for the fourth time over the past week.
In Florida, officials announced 3,289 confirmations in a day. Jackson Health System, a nonprofit academic medical system in Miami, has seen an 101% increase in Covid-19 patients in the past 15 days,
In Texas, health authorities have said new cases and hospitalizations are rising at their fastest rate yet —a rate that Gov. Greg Abbott called "unacceptable." The state reported more than 5,000 cases in a single day, breaking their previous record.

Here's a map showing where cases are going up:

Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress yesterday and gave a broad assessment of where the country stands in the pandemic, warning that in some areas of the United States, "we're now seeing a disturbing surge of infections."

Watch the latest on the Covid-19 figures:

9:04 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

Arizona hospitals need to get emergency plans ready due to rising Covid-19 cases, expert says

From CNN's Health Gisela Crespo

Hospital systems in Arizona need to put emergency plans in place due to the increase in new Covid-19 cases, according to a health expert.

Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, predicted the state's hospitals will go into surge capacity mode by the 4th of July.

"What I'd be focusing right now on is sounding the alarm to our hospital systems to get ready," Humble said while speaking Wednesday on CNN's New Day. "Because no matter what you do at this point, given where we are at the increase in cases, the exponential growth, taking into consideration the incubation period for this virus, we're going to go into surge capacity mode by the 4th of July."

Humble said health officials in the state need to "get those emergency plans in place because, at this point, I don't see an alternative but to go to crisis standard prepare in Arizona probably, probably in 10 days, maybe less."

Arizona is one of five states with the most new cases, reporting 3,779 cases on Tuesday, according to John Hopkins University.

8:47 a.m. ET, June 24, 2020

Medical system in Miami reports 101% increase in Covid-19 patients

From CNN’s Rosa Flores, Sara Weisfeldt and Douglas S. Wood

Jackson Health System, a nonprofit academic medical system in Miami, has seen an 101% increase in Covid-19 patients in the past 15 days, according to data posted by the hospital system on Twitter.

On June 8, the system reported 104 Covid-19 patients. On Monday, they reported 210.

The state of Florida does not release the total number of daily Covid-19 cases in the state.

An alarming trend: Miami-Dade County, the state's most populous with 2.71 million people, shows that the number of positive Covid-19 tests has increased by an average of 35 every day during the past two weeks, according to data compiled by researchers at Florida International University

Researchers also found that hospitalizations, intensive care visits and ventilation use have all begun to increase over the past two weeks. Combined with a rise in cases, researchers say, this evidence points to increased community spread.

"Municipalities received guidelines on reopening but they do not have guidelines on when to pull back, which is why it is so critical to monitor the cases closely before the hospitals and ICUs start to have capacity issues — which is something we have avoided so far in Miami-Dade County," said Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, the head of the epidemiology department at FIU.