In the United States, the place where you live can influence how much money you make, how healthy you are, and how long you live. During the pandemic, this inequality also means the people most at risk of getting COVID-19 are concentrated in certain neighborhoods.
To get a better picture of how this plays out, the City Health Dashboard, run by New York University Langone Health, calculated the relative risk of getting infected from neighborhood to neighborhood in 500 U.S. cities, factoring in things like racial demographics, residents with chronic conditions, and overcrowded housing. Taking all these factors into account, they gave each neighborhood a score of 1-10, with 10 representing the highest risk.
As TIME’s Jamie Ducharme writes, about 200 cities had at least one neighborhood that scored a 1—and one neighborhood that scored a 10. In many cases, these neighborhoods are close by each other. In Boston, for example, residents of Beacon Hill have a very low risk of getting COVID-19, while in Roxbury, just 15 minutes down the road, residents have a much higher risk.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Beacon Hill is one of the wealthier neighborhoods of Boston, while Roxbury is poorer, and predominantly Black and Latinx. Although COVID-19 is a national tragedy that has left few parts of the country untouched, it has disproportionately affected many communities that were already facing the brunt of inequality, especially people of color and the poor. Going forward, such data could help lawmakers target interventions to limit the spread of the virus, and to ensure that vulnerable families have access to healthcare.
More than 1.52 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 1 AM eastern time today, and more than 623,000 people had died.
Here is every country with over 250,000 confirmed cases:
The United Nations is calling for a new program to help the world’s poorest people get through the pandemic. In a report released today , the U.N. called for temporarily sending a basic wage to people in 132 developing countries, using funding from a range of sources, including reallocating debt payments. The report noted that such cash transfers to vulnerable communities are often used for food and essentials, and can have a major fiscal impact at local levels.
South Africa has reported nearly 6,000 COVID-19 deaths, but there are signs the pandemic’s full impact could be much worse. In a report published yesterday, the South African Medical Research Council said it had found about 17,000 “excess deaths” from May 6 to July 14, compared to data from the last two years, according to the AP. The difference—about 11,000—might be due to decisions to use health resources to fight the pandemic, leaving others in need of health care without, said council head Glenda Gray.
The U.S. has demanded that China close its consulate in Houston, claiming that the diplomats were involved with an attempt to steal scientific research, the New York Times reported. China’s embassy in Washington denied the U.S.’s accusations, calling them “groundless fabrications.”
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. recorded nearly 4 million coronavirus cases as of 1 AM eastern time today. More than 143,000 people have died.
On July 22, there were 71,695 new cases and 1,195 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Senate Republicans unveiled a $1 trillion relief package today, which would designate $105 billion for school reopenings and $15 billion to child care centers, and liability protections for schools and businesses to shield them from lawsuits related to the virus, according to the Associated Press . The proposal would also give most Americans a second $1,200 stimulus check.
The check may be sorely needed by many people, as the number of workers applying for jobless benefits rose for the first time since March, to 1.4 million claims. The rise comes as the extra $600 weekly payment for the unemployed is set to expire on Saturday.
The National Institutes of Health is gearing up to start a series of clinical trials on treatments for COVID-19, according to agency director Francis Collins, STAT reported today. The trials will focus on potential treatments such as viral monoclonal antibodies and blood thinners.
Major League Baseball will begin its (shortened) season later today. The Washington Nationals, who won the World Series last year, will play the New York Yankees in D.C. The stadium will be empty, but the players will welcome a special guest to throw out the first pitch: Dr. Anthony Fauci.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of July 23, 1 AM eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Misinformation Is Also Spreading During the Pandemic
The pandemic has been a boon to another contagion: misinformation, TIME’s Jeffrey Kluger writes. However, a recent study shows that a few small changes can make a big difference and push readers to think twice before sharing. Read more here.
Could Your Political Party Affect Your Health?
Americans are largely split along party lines when it comes to how much they fear the consequences of the pandemic, and the divide has widened, according to FiveThirtyEight. However, there isn’t much evidence yet that the discrepancy is actually making the pandemic worse. Read more here.
COVID-19 Could Dramatically Impact Education
Across the country, parents, teachers and communities are facing tough decisions that could have major consequences both for the health of their communities, and for children’s futures, write TIME’s Molly Ball and Katie Reilly. Read more here.
Coronavirus Has Upended Clinical Trials for Cancer
The pandemic has disrupted trials for cancer treatments, cutting patients who have exhausted their options off from a potential lifeline and possibly delaying treatments from getting to the public, TIME’s Alice Park writes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to keep some trials moving, including by allowing therapies to be sent to patients. Read more here.
Why Are Some People Asymptomatic?
Factors like your genes and age could make the difference between life-threatening COVID-19 symptoms and not feeling ill at all, according to new research. However, as National Geographic reports, researchers still don’t agree about how often people infected with COVID-19, but who never have symptoms, actually spread the virus. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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