Sep 16, 2020 - World

India's coronavirus case numbers surge past 5 million

A health care worker checks the temperature of a girl in Mumbai, India. Photo: Ashish Vaishnav/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

India's coronavirus cases surpassed 5 million on Wednesday morning, Johns Hopkins data shows.

Why it matters: Only the U.S. has more cases (over 6.6 million). India has the fastest-growing number of daily infections — more than 90,000 each day for the five days leading up to Tuesday, the BBC notes. The country of 1.4 billion people surpassed 4 million cases on Sept. 4. India imposed lockdown measures that saw businesses close in March, but these have since eased despite soaring cases as the government aims to revive a struggling economy.

Go deeper

Jacob Knutson
9 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Trump and Biden clash over COVID: "It is what it is because you are who you are"

Joe Biden attacked President Trump at the presidential debate on Tuesday for his response to the coronavirus pandemic, accusing him of panicking and failing to prepare for the crisis when he was warned about it in February.

The big picture: "It is what it is because you are who you are," Biden said, alluding to an answer Trump gave in an interview with "Axios on HBO" when asked about the 150,000+ death toll from the coronavirus. Trump responded by claiming that Biden would not have shut down travel from China in the early days of the pandemic, and he defended his administration's mass production of ventilators and protective equipment.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 33,642,602 — Total deaths: 1,007,769 — Total recoveries: 23,387,825 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 7,191,061 — Total deaths: 205,998 — Total recoveries: 2,813,305 — Total tests: 103,155,189 — Map.
  3. Health: Americans won't take Trump's word on the vaccine, Axios-Ipsos poll finds.
  4. Politics: 7 former FDA commissioners say Trump is undermining agency's credibility
  5. States: NYC's coronavirus positivity rate spikes to highest since June.
  6. Sports: Tennessee Titans close facility amid NFL's first coronavirus outbreak.
  7. World: U.K. beats previous record for new coronavirus cases.
  8. Work: United States of burnout — Asian American unemployment spikes amid pandemic
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Marisa Fernandez
19 hours ago - Health

NYC's coronavirus positivity rate spikes to highest since June

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio. Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images

New York City's coronavirus positivity rate has ticked up to 3.25%, its highest since June, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The jump — from 1.93% on Monday — came on the first day that public elementary classrooms reopened in the city after months of closures, but guidelines state that all public schools will have to shut if the citywide seven-day positivity rate stays above 3%.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow