Focus on Arts and Ecology

By Angela Fritz, June 25, 2020 with Avi Selk  Email

State health departments reported 38,115 new infections on Wednesday, the highest single-day caseload in the United States since the pandemic began. As for the total, true number of infections, CDC Director Robert Redfield said Thursday: “Our best estimate right now is that for every case that’s reported, there actually are 10 other infections.”  

The new spike was caused by a rush to reopen without proper safety measures in place, infectious-disease experts say, and the push to do so, even as cases climb, sends a dangerous and inaccurate message.

The outbreak is growing increasingly worse in Texas, and Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced the state would delay moving into its next reopening phase as health officials there struggle to contain infections and hospitalizations. The intensive care unit at Texas Medical Center is at 100 percent capacity because of the influx of covid-19 cases. Abbot issued an executive order to suspend elective surgeries at hospitals in Bexar, Dallas, Harris and Travis counties to ensure room for coronavirus patients.

As cases and hospitalizations surge in some states, deaths have not been rising with the trend. It's something that health experts have taken some solace in, but it may only be a matter of time. The death toll is likely to rise over the next several weeks, experts say. Read more about the fatality rate and the projections in today's Q&A, below.

Despite pulling federal support for 13 testing sites — seven of which are in hard-hit Texas — the Trump administration is saying that they are not ‘pulling the rug’ out from testing sites. But local officials in hot spots are worried about the strain it will put on resources as they battle growing outbreaks. Meanwhile, Vice President Pence met with Republican senators Wednesday to urge them to focus on “encouraging signs” as infections soar in Florida, Arizona, Texas and other states, some of which are key to the outcome of the presidential election and critical GOP down-ballot races.

Fearful of a simultaneous assault of coronavirus and influenza this fall and winter, vaccine manufacturers are making millions of extra doses of the flu vaccine to protect those most vulnerable to the pandemic and influenza. The CDC has taken the rare step of buying 7 million flu vaccine doses directly from manufacturers to be distributed to states for adults. “This is a big move,” said Redfield, the CDC director.

There are many reasons the U.S. response to the pandemic has faltered, experts say, but three recent studies have focused on conservative media's role in fostering confusion and complacency. The studies paint a picture of a media ecosystem that amplifies misinformation, entertains conspiracy theories and discourages audiences from taking concrete steps to protect themselves and others.

President Trump's use of racist language at his rally in Tulsa — calling the coronavirus “kung flu” — has drawn considerable backlash. But it also turned into a rallying cry among his supporters. He hadn’t even used the term at a campaign event in Phoenix on Tuesday before audience members started shouting it, prompting Trump, with a grin, to repeat it.