U.S. infection rate rises outside N.Y.
Coronavirus death toll in U.K. surpasses Italy to be highest in Europe
Take the New York metropolitan area’s progress against the coronavirus out of the equation and the numbers show the rest of the U.S. is moving in the wrong direction, with the known infection rate rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns, an Associated Press analysis found Tuesday.
New confirmed infections per day in the U.S. exceed 20,000, and deaths per day are well over 1,000, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. And public health officials warn that the failure to flatten the curve and drive down the infection rate in places could lead to many more deaths — perhaps tens of thousands — as people are allowed to venture out and businesses reopen.
“Make no mistakes: this virus is still circulating in our community, perhaps even more now than in previous weeks,” said Linda Ochs, director of the health department in hard-hit Shawnee County, Kan.
Elsewhere around the world, Britain’s official coronavirus death toll, at more than 29,000, topped that of Italy to become the highest in Europe and second-highest in the world behind the U.S. The official number of dead worldwide surpassed a quarter-million, by Hopkins’ count, though the true toll is believed to be much higher.
The New York metropolitan area — consisting of about 20 million people across a region that encompasses the city’s northern suburbs, Long Island and northern New Jersey — has been the hardest-hit corner of the country, accounting for at least one-third of the country’s 70,000 deaths.
When the still locked-down metropolitan area is included, new infections in the U.S. appear to be declining, according to the AP analysis. It found that the five-day rolling average for new cases has decreased from 9.3 per 100,000 people three weeks ago on April 13 to 8.6 on Monday.
But subtracting the New York metropolitan area from the analysis changes the story. Without it, the rate of new cases in the U.S. increased over the same period from 6.2 per 100,000 people to 7.5.
The daily number of new deaths in the U.S. declined noticeably in recent weeks. But if the New York area is left out, deaths have essentially plateaued. The rolling five-day average outside the metro region for new deaths dropped slightly from 1.86 per 500,000 people on April 20 to 1.82 on Monday. Deaths in Iowa surged to a new daily high of 19 on Tuesday and 730 workers at a single Tyson Foods pork plant tested positive.
In Europe, meanwhile, Britain said about 29,400 people with COVID-19 have died in hospitals, nursing homes and other settings, while Italy reported just over 29,300 confirmed fatalities. Both countries’ counts are probably underestimates because they do not include suspected cases. Britain reported more than 32,000 deaths in which COVID -19 was either confirmed or suspected; a comparable figure for Italy was not available.
Even so, the rate of deaths and hospitalizations in Britain was on the decline, and the government prepared to begin loosening the lockdown.
A trial began in Britain of a mobile phone app that authorities hope will help contain the outbreak. The app, which warns people if they have been near an infected individual, is being tested on the Isle of Wight, off England’s southern coast. The government hopes it can be rolled out across the country later this month.
Widely seen as a success story, South Korea reported only three new cases of the virus, its lowest total since Feb. 18. Schools will reopen in phases starting with high school seniors on May 13, but the highlight Tuesday was the baseball season, which began with no spectators allowed.
Cheerleaders danced beneath rows of empty seats, and umpires wore face masks as the sport returned to action in games broadcast around the globe. Players and coaches were subjected to fever screenings before entering stadiums.