The U.S. has reported 1,721,926 COVID-19 cases and 101,662 deaths as of 9 a.m. CDT May 29. Globally, there have been 5,840,369 reported cases and 361,119 deaths, while 2,443,458 people have recovered.
Four updates:
1. The White House initially distributed remdesivir to some hospitals that didn't need it, causing care delays for some critically ill COVID-19 patients, nine current and former senior officials told The Washington Post. Gilead Sciences donated 607,000 vials of the COVID-19 treatment to the federal government, which was distributed to hospitals in early May. The White House sent some shipments to hospitals with no intensive care units (and thus no eligible patients to receive the drug) or to hospitals without the proper refrigeration needed to store the drug, administration officials told the Post.
2. The pandemic is spreading at a faster pace worldwide, according to The New York Times. The world saw only one daily increase of at least 100,000 new cases through May 20. Since then, there have been four more daily increases in the six figures. Last week, nearly 700,000 new cases were reported globally due to increases in Latin America and the Gulf Coast.
3. Wearing a mask at home could prevent the spread of COVID-19 by 79 percent when worn before symptoms emerge, according to a study published in BMJ Global Health and cited by CNN. Researchers analyzed data from phone surveys of 460 people from 124 families in Beijing, China. Families were living with someone with COVID-19 and were asked about household hygiene and other behaviors. Cleaning the house often with bleach or disinfectants was 77 percent effective against virus transmission, and families who cleaned with disinfectants daily, opened windows and stayed at least 3 feet apart had a lower risk of infection. Some experts emphasized the limits of telephone surveys and said more research must be done.
4. New York businesses can refuse entry to people not wearing a face covering under a new executive order, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said May 29. "People have a right to jeopardize their own health (I don't recommend it)," Mr. Cuomo tweeted May 29. "People don't have a right to jeopardize other people's health." Another tweet from the day before reads, "No Mask – No Entry."