Nationwide, COVID-19 deaths have begun to rise, The Washington Post reports. Some experts say the numbers will continue to increase as states, especially those in the South and the West, set new death records daily.
"Even if we could magically lock everyone in their room and no one transmits to anyone, we would still be seeing an increase in deaths for the next several weeks," said Catherine Troisi, PhD, epidemiologist with Houston-based UTHealth School of Public Health.
Four updates:
1. Worldwide, a single-day record of 249,800 new infections was set July 16, exceeding the previous high recorded the previous day, according to data compiled by Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.
2. The U.S. set another daily case record on July 17, with more than 76,000 infections confirmed, including nearly 15,000 cases in Texas alone, The Wall Street Journal reports.
3. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending 14 refrigerated mortuary trucks to Texas as virus deaths rise, according to the Austin American-Statesman. Areas hard hit in the state have requested refrigerated trucks for corpses as morgues run out of space, though Seth Christensen, spokesperson for Texas Division of Emergency Management, said the trucks aren't immediately needed.
4. COVID-19 patients in Miami-Dade County make up nearly a quarter of all Florida cases, as the county's intensive care unit capacity surged to nearly 120 percent on July 17, NPR reports. Florida reported 11,466 new cases and 128 related deaths on July 17, the fourth consecutive day the state saw more than 100 deaths.
More articles on public health:
10 states with largest spikes in daily coronavirus deaths since June 1
85 infants test positive for COVID-19 in Texas county
US governors urge White House to delay changes to hospital reporting requirements