The U.S. recorded nearly 70,000 new COVID-19 cases July 23, surpassing 4 million total cases nationwide, according to data from The New York Times. July 23 was also the third consecutive day more than 1,000 virus deaths were recorded.
Four updates:
1. HHS has renewed its public health emergency, which was set to expire July 25, Politico reports. HHS Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency in late January and extended it in April. The emergency declarations have given the Trump administration new flexibility to enact government health insurance programs, expand telehealth, and grant emergency approval for drugs and tests. The declarations have also let health departments deploy federally funded personnel to focus on the pandemic. The newest declaration is set to expire in late October.
2. Five states — Alabama, Hawaii, Indiana, Missouri and New Mexico — reported a record increase in new cases July 23, reports The New York Times. Florida and Tennessee also reported their highest daily death counts since the pandemic started.
3. The CDC shared new guidance on education and childcare July 23. The guidelines favor reopening schools this fall, but do recommend local officials close schools or keep them closed if there is substantial, uncontrolled virus spread in the area.
4. More than 1.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment claims for the week ending July 18, according to seasonally adjusted data released July 23 by the U.S. Department of Labor. About 109,000 more claims were filed this week compared to revised levels for last week.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 4,039,523
Deaths: 144,308
Recovered: 1,223,269
Counts reflect data available as of 8:30 a.m. CDT July 24.
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