Aug 2, 2020 - Health

Trump says Fauci is "wrong" about coronavirus cases surge

President Trump and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci during an April daily coronavirus task force briefing at the White House. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump called out Anthony Fauci Saturday in a comment retweeting a video of the NIAID director explaining why coronavirus cases have been surging in the U.S.

Driving the news: In the video of Friday's testimony, Fauci explained that while European countries shut 95% of their economies, the U.S. "functionally shut down only about 50%." Trump responded, "Wrong! We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000.

"If we tested less, there would be less cases. How did Italy, France & Spain do? Now Europe sadly has flare ups. Most of our governors worked hard & smart. We will come back STRONG!"
— Trump's comment on Twitter

Reality check: The rise in COVID-19 cases in early July came as new infections rose faster than the number of completed tests.

By the numbers: More than 154,300 Americans have died of the novel coronavirus as of Saturday night, Johns Hopkins data shows.

  • Over 4.6 million people have tested positive for the virus from over 56 million tests in the U.S. per Johns Hopkins. Almost 1.5 million have recovered.

The big picture: During his testimony, Fauci explained that the increase could be attributed to several factors, "one of which was that in the attempt to reopen, that in some situations, states did not abide strictly by the guidelines that the task force and the White House had put out."

  • In other states where officials did abide by the guidlines, "the people that were in the state actually were congregating in crowds and not wearing masks," Fauci added.

Of note: Fauci has been at odds with Trump and members of his administration in recent weeks over the handling of the pandemic.

  • Trump questioned at a briefing on Tuesday why Fauci has a much higher approval rating than him, noting the NIAID director is "working for this administration."

Go deeper: Coronavirus testing still can't keep up with demand

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Rebecca Falconer
Sep 28, 2020 - World

India's coronavirus cases top 6 million

A health worker checks vitals of a coronavirus patient inside the Commonwealth Games Village Covid Care Centre, in New Delhi, India, on Sunday. Photo: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

India's Ministry of Health confirmed the country's coronavirus case numbers surpassed 6 million on Monday after reporting 82,170 new infections in 24 hours.

Why it matters: India is the second country after the U.S. to hit 6 million cases. The South Asian country's COVID-19 tally hit 5 million on Sept. 16 and 4 million on Sept. 4. The ministry said that over 5 million Indian residents have recovered from the virus. But, AP notes, "New infections in India are currently being reported faster than anywhere else in the world."

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

Orion Rummler
Updated Sep 27, 2020 - Health

3 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week

Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Utah, North Carolina and Wyoming set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project (CTP) and state health departments. Utah and Wyoming surpassed records set the previous week.

Why it matters: Record case highs have usually meant that more hospitalizations and other serious outcomes are on the way, CTP's latest weekly update notes.

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Axios
Updated 3 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 33,362,341 — Total deaths: 1,001,800 — Total recoveries: 23,153,572 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 7,149,073 — Total deaths: 205,069 — Total recoveries: 2,794,608 — Total tests: 102,342,416 — Map.
  3. Business: Companies are still holding back earnings guidance.
  4. Health: Trump announces plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests —The childless vaccine.
  5. Media: Fauci: Some of what Fox News reports about COVID-19 is "outlandish"
  6. States: Cuomo extends New York moratorium on evictions until 2021.
  7. World: More than 1 million people have now died from coronavirus — India the second country after U.S. to hit 6 million cases.
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