Why it matters: The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.
Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez announced Monday that he would sign an emergency order to again close many businesses, including indoor dining at restaurants, party venues, gyms and fitness centers, effective Wednesday.
The big picture: The move comes as cases are surging in Florida, even as the state sees an increasing gap between testing and confirmed cases.
A coronavirus patient at a Houston hospital. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
The main trade groups representing hospitals, nurses and doctors issued a public letter today that urges "the American public to take the simple steps we know will help stop the spread of the virus: wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distancing, and washing hands."
The bottom line: Coronavirus cases are rising almost everywhere across the country, and the medical community now is begging the public to take preventive measures to avoid overwhelmed hospitals and higher death counts.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told "Fox & Friends" Monday that there are facts and statistics — without citing any — to back up President Trump's claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are "totally harmless."
The big picture: Nearly 130,000 Americans have died from the virus, and FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn declined to provide evidence to support Trump's claim over the weekend.
Health care workers move a patient in the COVID-19 unit at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston. Photo: Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images
A record 8,181 coronavirus patients were hospitalized Sunday in Texas, and officials in major cities warned that hospitals' intensive care capabilities could be overwhelmed within weeks, the Texas Tribune reports.
The big picture: New York hospitals never became so overwhelmed that patients were abandoned in hallways, but the situation became dire after lockdowns were in place, and it was mostly a matter of riding out the storm.
The United States' alarming rise in coronavirus cases isn't due to increased testing — particularly not where cases have grown fastest over the last month.
Why it matters: The U.S. doesn't yet know what it looks like when a pandemic rages on relatively unchecked after the health system has become overwhelmed. It may be about to find out.
Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
The Trump campaign will be providing face masks and hand sanitizer for all attendees at an upcoming rally Saturday in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Why it matters: The campaign's first coronavirus-era rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was notable for its lack of masks.
Photo: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Stop AAPI Hate announced there have been 832 self-reported incidents of discrimination and harassment against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in California in the last three months.
The big picture: During the coronavirus pandemic, harassment and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are "becoming the norm." The Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council and Chinese for Affirmative Action, which launched Stop AAPI Hate, said there have been 2,120 hate incidents across the country, but 40% of them occurred in California, CBS News reports.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that "if we don't get our hands around this virus quickly, in about two weeks, our hospital system could be in serious, serious trouble."
Why it matters: Turner said they can always add more beds, but the "major problem" will be ensuring there is enough medical staffing to care for the sick. In Harris County, where Houston sits, there are more than 34,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 190,000 cases in the state, according to Johns Hopkins University.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J) on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday called for a national face mask mandate to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Why it matters: Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends but does not require people to wear masks in public — despite recent spikes in new coronavirus cases around the United States.
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FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn didn't provide any evidence to support President Trump's claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are "totally harmless" while speaking with ABC's Martha Raddatz.
What he's saying: "Well, what I'd say is, you know, any case, we don't want to have in this country. This is a very rapidly moving epidemic. A rapidly moving pandemic. And any death, any case, is tragic. And we want to do everything we can to prevent that," Hahn said.
Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Austin Meadows bumps elbows Friday during a workout at Tropicana Field. Photo: Kim Klement/USA Today Sports via Reuters
When MLB teams arrived at the ballpark this weekend for the first summer workouts of 2020, the comforting sounds of baseball brought smiles to players' faces.
Between the lines: Even the loudest crack of the bat couldn't mask the eerie silence or distract from the ever-present coronavirus threat.
People walk at the boardwalk in Venice Beach. Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
A group of 239 scientists in 32 countries is calling for the World Health Organization to revise its recommendations to account for airborne transmission as a significant factor in how the coronavirus spreads, the New York Times reports.
The big picture: The WHO has said the virus mainly spreads via large respiratory droplets that fall to the ground once they've been discharged in coughs and sneezes. But the scientists say evidence shows the virus can spread from smaller particles that linger in air indoors.