July 26 coronavirus news

Coronavirus deaths in the US topped 1,000 four days in a row this week amid an ongoing debate on the return of school and mask mandates.

The country recorded 900 new virus-related deaths Saturday, down from the 1,130 reported Friday. Since the beginning of the pandemic, at least 146,460 Americans have died from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And models project that there will be up to 175,000 deaths linked to the virus by August 15, according to an ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects there will be around 165,000 US deaths by that time.

The grim patterns come as several states have reported record-breaking numbers of new cases and deaths in the past weeks. Some local leaders, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, have mentioned the possibility of a second stay-at-home order as officials warn of strained testing labs and overwhelmed hospitals.

And on Thursday, more than 150 prominent medical experts, scientists, teachers, nurses and other experts signed a letter urging leaders to shut the country down and start over to contain the rampant spread of the virus.

Read more here.

When the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in the United States, the California Historical Society received call after call asking for its archive on the 1918 flu.

Researchers and journalists were looking for clues into how Americans coped in the thick of a pandemic -- and what we could learn in 2020 from 1918. But the documents from the early 20th century were few and there was just one photograph in the archive to depict the entire experience.

Historians, libraries and museums are now ensuring, in that way, history does not repeat itself with the coronavirus pandemic. Putting out calls to the public for mementos of their everyday, they are documenting the emotional experience of people all over the US and shaping the lasting story of this time with voices often left out of history.

And while recording the story as it unfolds is important for how it will be remembered generations from now, they hope it will be valuable to those affected by the pandemic directly.

Read more here.

The United States reported 65,490 new cases and 900 new deaths on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That raises the national totals to 4,178,021 coronavirus cases and 146,460 related deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

Japan reported 809 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, taking its pandemic total to 30,094 cases nationwide.

The health ministry also reported three new deaths, raising the death toll to 1,009.

Of Saturday's new cases, 295 were in the capital Tokyo, which has now seen five consecutive days of more than 200 infections.

Case numbers have been rising in Japan in recent weeks. On Friday, the health ministry reported 981 new cases -- the highest single-day toll since the pandemic began.

The virus has also spread through US military bases in Okinawa prefecture, with 229 infections linked to the bases.

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The Australian state of Victoria has conducted more than 1.5 million tests since the pandemic began, said its premier, Daniel Andrews, on Sunday.

Since Saturday, 42,973 tests had been conducted, he said -- the most tests the state has done in one day.

Victoria recorded 459 new cases between Saturday and Sunday, raising the state total to 8,181 cases. Of these patients, 228 are in hospital including 42 people in intensive care.

Andrews also confirmed there were 10 more deaths on Sunday, the most deaths in one day so far. Seven of the victims were linked to an outbreak at an old age care facility. The state's death toll now stands at 71.

Separately, the neighboring state of New South Wales (NSW) reported 14 new coronavirus cases. NSW conducted about 25,139 Covid-19 tests in the past 24 hours, and has run 1,353,103 tests in total.

A 9-year-old girl with no known underlying health conditions is the youngest person to die from coronavirus complications in Florida, officials said.

Kimora "Kimmie" Lynum died on July 18 in Putnam County, according to Florida Department of Health records. It confirmed her identity and said she's the state's youngest coronavirus fatality.

She had no pre-existing health issues and her mother took her to the hospital due to a high fever, said family spokesman Dejeon Cain. The hospital sent her home and she collapsed a short time later, Cain said.

"She was always happy and made everybody happy. She was phenomenal," said Cain, who's also her cousin.

The family does not know how or where she was infected. She appeared healthy and spent the summer at home, and did not attend school or camp, Cain said.

Kimmie's mother was tested for Covid-19, but had not received her results as of Saturday, Cain said.

Read more here:

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A 9-year-old who died of coronavirus had no known underlying health issues, family says

The Texas city of Houston saw more people die from coronavirus in July than died in the previous four months combined, said Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The number of hospital admissions appears to be going down somewhat -- but there is still rapid community spread, he said.

In May, about 3,700 people tested positive for the virus. In June, that figure rose to 13,000. In July, it was more than 20,000, he said.

The Houston Department of Health reported 811 new cases Saturday, bringing the total to 40,897. Houston also reported 16 new coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total death toll to 386. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened an emergency meeting after the country's first suspected case of Covid-19 was reported, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Sunday morning local time.

KCNA reported that the infected individual illegally entered North Korea through Kaesong City on July 19 after defecting to South Korea three years ago. The patient has received medical checkups and has been quarantined, along with everyone the individual has been in contact with recently, KCNA reported.  

Kim Jong Un put isolation measures in place for regions around Kaesong and declared a state of emergency in one "relevant area," KCNA reported.

The country’s Central Military Commission will investigate the unit responsible for the illegal entry of the patient and "administer a severe punishment," KCNA reported.

Brazil's health ministry reported 51,147 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, bringing the nationwide total to 2.39 million.

Saturday marks the fourth day in a row that Brazil has reported more than 50,000 new Covid-19 cases and this week marks a weekly record of 321,623 new cases, according to date from the state Ministry of Health.

The ministry reported 1,211 new Covid-19 deaths, raising the national death toll to 86,449.