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July 8th: Coronavirus Updates from The Washington Post

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In the wind

The latest
President Trump and senior administration officials on Wednesday ramped up pressure on schools to reopen in the fall, and downplayed the recommendations of their own health experts. Trump tweeted that the safety measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — like spacing desks apart and wearing masks — are “very impractical” for schools. Vice President Pence said at a task force briefing that the agency would issue additional recommendations next week that would provide “more clarity.” (Scroll down to see how other countries are handling reopening schools.)

As the United States hit 3 million confirmed cases and hospitals in some states reach capacity, the Trump administration’s covid-19 response coordinator Deborah Birx acknowledged Tuesday that the country underestimated the spread among young Americans. Birx said states that weren't hard-hit early on “thought they would be forever spared through this,” and when they reopened their economies, they didn’t expect surges spurred by cohorts of mostly millennials.

Florida is one of the places where officials believe young people are driving up the infection rate. The state at one time seemed like a great place to emerge from isolation — Republicans picked it for their convention and sports leagues chose it to build a bubble of safety around players. But now Florida is a coronavirus epicenter, reporting around 10,000 new cases per day since last week, and hospitals there are running out of beds.

The Post's Philip Bump analyzed county-level case numbers to determine where the coronavirus is most pervasive. Combined with population data, he found that more than one-fifth of the country's population — 71.5 million people — live in counties with new highs in coronavirus cases as of early this week. Read the analysis and check out the charts and maps to see your area.

Volunteers can now sign up for large coronavirus vaccine studies. The Covid-19 Prevention Trials Network launched with a website for volunteers to be considered when the first trials begin later this month. At least five such large vaccine trials are planned through the network over the coming months, along with other preventative treatments like antibody drugs. Learn about the trials and how you can volunteer.

Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are suing the Trump administration after it announced that visas would not be issued to students enrolled in schools that are fully online for the fall semester, and that those students would be barred from entering the country. University officials had been preparing for the fall under the assumption that the federal government would continue to grant flexibility during the pandemic.

Other important news
Fact Checker: Trump’s four Pinocchio claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases are ‘totally harmless’.

Despite receiving billions in federal aid, United Airlines says it may furlough as many as 36,000 workers on Oct. 1 because of pandemic losses.

Republicans are split over whether to attend the GOP convention in Jacksonville, Fla., next month. So far, five senators have said they won't and one specifically cited the pandemic.

After railing against federal spending, Republican lawmakers and conservative groups are benefiting from the coronavirus aid program.

A senator wants to ban middle seats on airplanes after finding himself on a packed pandemic flight.