One projection revised lower to 143,000 deaths
A prominent yet volatile coronavirus model often been cited by the White House has again revised its death projection.
On Monday, as the U.S. death toll topped 90,000, the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation lowered its prediction to 143,360 deaths by Aug. 4, down slightly from its projection of 147,000 a week earlier. The IHME model, at one point, had forecast 72,433 fatalities by early August, with a maximum range up to 114,228.
“We were pretty surprised,” Chris Murray, an IHME researcher, said Monday on CNN. “We were expecting to probably go up because of the big surge in mobility.”
Instead, Murray said, researchers believe the use of masks and social distancing have helped lower death projections.
As of Tuesday afternoon, U.S. deaths stood at more than 91,000 with more than 1.5 million infections reported. Worldwide, the virus has killed nearly 321,000 people and infected more than 4.8 million.
NY presidential primary back on for June 23
A three-judge panel from the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday ordered the state Board of Elections to reinstate the Democratic primary, ruling the board’s decision to cancel the election infringed on the constitutional rights of Andrew Yang, Bernie Sanders and other Democratic candidates.
In late April, the Board of Elections’ Democratic commissioners canceled the primary as the coronavirus continued its spread through New York, reasoning that it was a “beauty contest” since former Vice President Joe Biden was the lone Democrat still actively seeking his party’s nomination.
But Yang, a Manhattan resident, challenged the decision, arguing it unconstitutionally infringed on his ability to remain on the ballot and pick up delegates for the DKemocratic National Convention. The decision to cancel also drew a rebuke from the Sanders campaign, which wanted to keep his name on the ballot in hopes of winning more delegates and influencing the party’s platform at the convention.
Mo. has first US execution amid outbreak
A Missouri man was put to death by lethal injection Tuesday for fatally stabbing an 81-year-old woman nearly three decades ago, the first U.S. execution since the coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Walter Barton, 64, had long maintained he was innocent of killing Gladys Kuehler, and his case was tied up for years due to appeals, mistrials and two overturned convictions. His fate was sealed when neither the courts nor Gov. Mike Parson intervened.
Concerns related to the coronavirus caused several states to postpone or cancel executions over the past 2 ½ months. Until Tuesday, no one had been executed in the U.S. since Nathaniel Woods was put to death in Alabama on March 5. Ohio, Tennessee and Texas were among states calling off executions.
States move forward with reopenings
Monday brought significant change across the U.S. – including Arkansas, where movie theaters, casinos and bowling alleys reopened, and South Carolina, where gyms, barbershops and salons did, too.
Other states will take similar steps toward normalcy this week: Kentucky will allow in-person worship services and horse racing without fans starting Wednesday, and Ohio will allow dine-in restaurants and campgrounds to reopen on Thursday.
Some coronavirus survivors, however, worry that states are rushing to rescind stay-at-home orders, potentially setting the stage for a new wave of infections.