At the Republican National Convention Tuesday night, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow talked about the COVID-19 pandemic in the past tense, declaring, “it was awful.” That same day, the U.S. announced more than 38,000 new cases. For anyone paying attention, it’s worrying to see leaders celebrating a premature victory over the virus instead of reminding the public of the task at hand.
Some RNC speakers avoided the pandemic entirely. Both White House aide Kellyanne Conway and Second Lady Karen Pence largely skipped over COVID-19 in their speeches. Meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence appeared to be following the same playbook as Kudlow, praising the Trump Administration’s efforts to reboot the economy and declaring that “we are slowing the spread, we are protecting the vulnerable, and we are saving lives, and we are opening up American again.”
Political figures at a convention can be forgiven for spinning their presidential candidate’s record in the best possible light—that’s their job, after all. However, it is difficult to let slide national political figures completely eliding the Trump Administration’s abject failures over the last few months: the White House’s minimization of the pandemic’s severity and the importance of mask-wearing; the lack of adequate testing and contact tracing; and, most of all, the deaths of some 180,000 Americans from the virus.
We’re still months away from knowing what impact the coronavirus crisis will have on the 2020 presidential election. But while Representative Lee Zeldin, a Republican from New York, described the pandemic as an “unforeseeable crisis sent to us from a faraway land,” many Americans don’t agree that we should be exporting all of the blame for the virus’ devastating impact on the U.S.; 58% of Americans say they disapprove of Trump’s coronavirus response, according to FiveThirtyEight ’s poll tracker. And even if, as Pence said, the U.S. develops the “first safe, effective coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year,” it will be cold comfort to the countless Americans who already lost someone they love.
More than 24.1 million people around the world had been sickened by COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. eastern time today, and more than 825,000 people have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Aug. 26, there were nearly 288,000 new cases and 6,282 new deaths confirmed globally. Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here is every country with over 300,000 confirmed cases to date:
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention head John Nkengasong says there’s been a big decline in new infections in Africa, Al Jazeera reported today, with 23 of 54 countries reporting a decline in daily cases over the past few weeks. Nkengasong said testing and other efforts seem to have slowed the spread of the virus.
India reported 85,687 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, the highest number of new cases in a single day for the country, which in recent days has seen the most daily cases in the world by far. Troublingly, this might represent only a fraction of the actual cases, which studies suggest outnumber reported cases by at least 20 to 1, according to Scientific American.
The French government announced Thursday that 21 of its 101 administrative regions are now “red zones” where the virus is spreading, according to the Associated Press. There are now more than 50 positive tests per 100,000 people in the regions, which include Paris and Marseille. The Paris police have ordered pedestrians to wear masks outdoors starting tomorrow morning; however, schools are still slated to reopen next week—and the Tour de France is expected to begin Saturday.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 5.8 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. eastern time today. Nearly 180,000 have died. Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
On Aug. 26, there were more than 44,000 new cases and 1,222 new deaths confirmed in the U.S. Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
More than half a million people were forced to flee the path of Hurricane Laura, which made landfall in Louisiana early this morning, according to the Associated Press . Dealing with a hurricane on top of the pandemic has added another layer of complexity for local officials, who avoided opening big shelters to stop the virus’ spread. Instead, evacuees have had to sleep in hotels and cars.
More than a million Americans filed new unemployment claims during the week ending on Aug. 22, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department announced today. But while many Americans remain jobless, the housing market has been booming. The National Association of Realtors today said that pending sales rose 5.9% month over month; there are now 15.5% contract signings than there were during the same time last year, per the AP.
Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clarified his agency’s guidelines for testing yesterday, which said that some close contacts of COVID-19 patients do not need to be tested for the virus. After critics alleged that the recommendations seemed to have been influenced by the Redfield said in a statement released to news outlets yesterday that “testing may be considered for all close contacts of confirmed or probable COVID-19 patients.”
Some manufacturers are packaging hand sanitizer in water bottles, beer cans and children’s food pouches, creating a risk that confused consumers will drink it, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned today. People who drink hand sanitizer can be seriously injured or die; even a small amount could kill a young child. Some of the sanitizer products cited by the FDA are even flavored like food, including chocolate and strawberry.
The Hawaiian island of Oahu, which includes capital city Honolulu, has issued a stay-at-home order starting today, banning dining in, barber shops and salons, gyms and other restrictions, according to the local ABC affiliate, KITV4. The order will be lifted in two weeks, so long as COVID-19 cases go down.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of August 27, 1 a.m. eastern time. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
A New COVID-19 Test Takes 15 Minutes and Costs $5
The FDA yesterday gave an emergency use authorization to a 15-minute coronavirus test made by Abbott Laboratories. The test, which is expected to cost $5 and is about the size of a credit card, could enable more people to get tested, and speed up the time it takes to know if a patient is positive. Read more here.
Travel Is Worsening Europe’s Coronavirus Woes
Over the last few weeks, Germany and France have reported their highest daily cases since April; Spain reported its highest daily number to date this week. Tourists may be the problem, experts tell TIME’s Madeline Roache, and countries are putting in place new quarantine measures and other restrictions for travelers from certain parts of the world. Read more here.
The Chaos at American Schools Pushed Some Families Abroad.
Some U.S. families have opted to move overseas to ensure that their children can attend classes in-person, according to the Washington Post. Read more here.
Visualizing Data Can Help Save Lives
Since the 19th century, people have used data visualization techniques to help their fellow citizens understand important facts, especially information related to health. Read more here.
Teletherapy May Be Here to Stay
Of all the telehealth services that have become much more popular during the pandemic, teletherapy seems especially likely to stick around, writes TIME”s Jeffrey Kluger. The practice seems to be making therapy more accessible to busy people on the go, and can allow doctor-patient relationships to continue if the patient moves. 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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