As coronavirus cases continue to rise in most states, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced a joint travel advisory Wednesday requiring all individuals traveling from states with significant community spread to quarantine for 14 days.
The advisory goes into effect at midnight Wednesday and those violating the quarantine will be fined, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press conference.
The U.S. reported nearly 35,000 new cases on Tuesday – among the nation’s largest single-day increases since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Meanwhile, as President Donald Trump has blamed increased testing for the spike, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci told House lawmakers Tuesday that in states where there is an increase in the percentage of people testing positive, it is a clear “indication that there are additional infections that are responsible for those increases.”
Fauci said the “disturbing surge of infections” was due to a combination of factors, including an increase in person-to-person transmission, or community spread.
?Today’s stats on the coronavirus: Worldwide infections have surpassed 9.2 million, with 2.3 million in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 478,000 people have died worldwide, with more than 121,000 deaths in the U.S.
Here are the most significant developments of the day:
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U.S. stocks came under pressure Wednesday on worries over the prospects of a quick economic recovery after the International Monetary Fund projected the global recession will be worse than initially expected.
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The New York City Marathon won’t be happening this November, officials announced.
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The United Nations chief told the Associated Press that countries acting in isolation are worsening the coronavirus pandemic. “There is total lack of coordination among countries in the response to the COVID,” said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
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Australia, Germany, Portugal and South Korea, among other countries, are scrambling to respond to resurgent outbreaks, the Washington Post reports.
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Meanwhile, Americans are unlikely to be allowed into Europe when the continent reopens its borders next week because of the high number of cases in the U.S. and President Trump’s ban on Europeans.
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What college may look like in the fall
Most college administrators are mulling over how to restart their programs with no end in sight for the public health crisis.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which is tracking more than 860 institutions’ plans, two-thirds of colleges are planning to welcome back students in person, while only 7% are planning to hold classes only online. Many other colleges have yet to make a decision.
Their approaches are as diverse as the roughly 3,000 four-year colleges and universities that span the United States.
— Elinor Aspegren and Samuel Zwickel, USA TODAY Network
New York City marathon canceled
The world’s largest marathon, set to take place on Nov. 1, was canceled Wednesday.
The organizer of the New York City Marathon, New York Road Runners, and the Mayor’s Office decided to cancel the marathon due to “coronavirus-related health and safety concerns for runners, spectators, volunteers, staff, and the many partners and communities that support the event,” the organizer said in a press release.
“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,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in the release. “We look forward to hosting the 50th running of the marathon in November of 2021.”
Fauci: Another lockdown not necessary despite rising COVID-19 cases
At the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that states may not need to revert to an “absolute shutdown,” despite a concerning surge in states like Texas, Arizona and Florida. However, he said that state officials should consider pausing or rolling back a part of the reopening plan if they’re seeing a sudden rise in cases or hospitalizations.
“If someone is going from gateway to phase one to phase two and they get into trouble in phase two, they may need to go back to phase one,” Fauci said.
The country’s leading infectious disease expert also said he had never been given a directive to “slow the testing down,” despite President Donald Trump’s claim that he had asked officials to do so. Trump blamed the increase in cases on more testing, though health officials have said the growing number of hospitalizations and cases are due to more than just an increase in testing.
“When you have all those tests, you have more cases,” the president said.
He added: “Then they’ll say, ‘We have more cases.’ We want to do testing. We want to do everything. But they use it to make us look bad.”
What we’re reading
Texas hits all-time high for COVID-19 cases
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday told residents to stay home as the state hits an all-time high for COVID-19 cases. “The hospitalization rate is at an all-time high. Coronavirus is spreading in Brazos County and across the entire state of Texas, which is exactly why action is being taken,” Abbott said in an interview on KBTX.
A look at some recent records:
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Hours after Abbott’s statement, state health officials reported a record 5,489 new COVID-19 cases.
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The state also broke its record for hospitalizations for the 12th day in a row, with the Department of State Health Services reporting 4,092 COVID-19 patients in Texas hospitals.
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The percentage of tests that come back positive has also continued to increase. The state’s seven-day rolling average rate of positive cases reached nearly 10% on Monday, according to state health officials. Public health experts say that number should ideally stay below 6%, and Abbott previously said that a positivity rate above 10% would be cause for alarm.
“If we are unable to contain the spiraling spread of COVID-19, there will be more requirements put on businesses, including even considering have to ratchet back on the expansion of opening businesses in Texas,” he said Tuesday.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, meanwhile, cracked down on establishments that defied state guidelines and suspended the alcohol license of a dozen bars for not following coronavirus protocols after undercover inspections over the weekend.
The guidelines include an indoor customer capacity of 50% for bars and 75% for restaurants along with social distancing of at least 6 feet between groups of customers, according to a TABC press release. Masks were not mentioned.
Europe may bar US travelers as it reopens
Americans are unlikely to be allowed into Europe when the continent reopens its borders next week, due to how the coronavirus pandemic is flaring in the U.S. and President Donald Trump’s ban on Europeans entering the United States.
European nations appear on track to reopen their borders between each other by July 1, and their representatives in Brussels are now debating what virus-related criteria should apply when lifting border restrictions to the outside world that were imposed in March.
In recommendations to EU nations on June 11, the European Commission said “travel restrictions should not be lifted as regards third countries where the situation is worse” than the average in the 27 EU member countries plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
That is likely to rule out the United States, where new coronavirus infections have surged to the highest level in two months, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. After trending down for well over a month, new U.S. cases have risen for more than a week.
The U.S. on Tuesday reported 34,700 new cases of the virus, bringing its total to more than 2.3 million and over 121,000 dead — the most anywhere in the world. The virus outbreaks in Brazil, India and Russia are remarkably high too, and it’s also unlikely that the EU will let their citizens in.
— Associated Press
Federal funding subhed
MLB to play 60-game season, NHL draft coming up
The coronavirus has drastically affected the sports world, leading to cancellations and postponements from major pro leagues and NCAA events. Here’s a roundup:
More on the coronavirus from USA TODAY
COVID-19’s disproportionate harm on communities of color is “heartbreaking” and demands more inclusive efforts as the federal government underwrites attempts to develop a vaccine and improve testing, the head of the National Institutes of Health told USA TODAY’s Editorial Board. Read more from the interview here.
Getting on a plane anytime soon? With little oversight, a patchwork of airline coronavirus policies is leaving flyers wary.
Timeline: It’s been five months since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced what was thought to be the first confirmed coronavirus case in the U.S. Read how the pandemic unfolded here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: NYC marathon canceled; cases surge in Texas, Florida