The U.S. reported more than 48,000 new COVID-19 cases June 30, representing the largest single-day increase during the pandemic and the fourth record-setting day seen in the last week, according to The New York Times.
The record increase came the same day Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that the nation could see 100,000 new cases daily if the pandemic's current trajectory in the South and West continues.
“I can't make an accurate prediction, but it is going to be very disturbing, I will guarantee you that," Dr. Fauci told the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee June 30. "When you have an outbreak in one part of the country, even though in other parts of the country they are doing well, they are vulnerable."
Health officials are urging Americans to stay home this Fourth of July amid the record surges. They recommend Americans avoid parties or mixing households and instead celebrate with the people they live with.
Six other updates:
1. Six states reported record increases June 30, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Idaho and Alaska all saw a record number of new infections. Forty-five states have also seen their seven-day average of new cases increase in the last week.
2. HHS "expects to renew" the public health emergency declaration for the pandemic, which is set to expire July 25, Michael Caputo, HHS assistant secretary for public affairs, tweeted June 30. In June, the American Hospital Association urged HHS to extend the declaration, which grants healthcare providers resources and flexibilities to care for COVID-19 patients. HHS has not issued a formal statement about the extension.
3. The CDC has spent three months developing a plan to rebuild Americans' "vaccine confidence," CDC Director Robert Redflield, MD, told the Senate's health and education committee June 30, according to The New York Times. Dr. Redfield and other top health officials said they are concerned many Americans will refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 once a vaccine is available, which could hinder efforts to control the pandemic. The vaccine plan includes a large public relations campaign to encourage vaccinations.
4. An analysis by Goldman Sachs found that implementing a nationwide face mask order "could potentially substitute for lockdowns that would otherwise subtract nearly 5 percent from GDP," The Washington Post reports. The authors estimated that a national face mask mandate could slow the daily growth rate of new coronavirus infections, from around 1.6 percent to 0.6 percent. To slow the virus growth rate by a similar amount using an economic shutdown, you would have to deduct 5 percent from GDP.
5. Though New York City reported its first confirmed case of the new coronavirus March 1, new evidence suggests that the virus was circulating at low levels in the city in the first week of February, The New York Times reports. Antibody testing shows some New York City residents had coronavirus antibodies the week ending Feb. 23, which means they were likely infected two weeks before.
6. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo mandated that travelers from eight more states quarantine for 14 days, bringing the total number of states included in the quarantine order to 16, according to CNBC. The eight new states are California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee. Previously, the order only extended to people traveling from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 2,636,856
Deaths: 127,427
Recovered: 720,631
Counts reflect data available as of 8:50 a.m. CDT July 1.
Editor's note: This article was updated July 1 at 11:05 a.m. CDT.