1 in every 15 Americans has tested positive
Approximately 1 in every 15 Americans had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Saturday evening, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. had nearly 22.2 million cases as of Sunday, with more than 373,000 total deaths. In California, health officials reported a record one-day total of 695 deaths as many hospitals strain under unprecedented caseloads.
America’s current surge of cases has lead to widespread deaths all across America. Over the last month, 31 states and nearly 1,200 counties have reported their worst weekly death tolls of the entire pandemic.
Globally, more than 89.9 million infections have been reported, with more than 1.9 million deaths. Other top headlines:
• Wednesday's storming of the U.S. Capitol will likely be a “surge event” for the coronavirus, said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He told McClatchy in an interview that he’s worried because thousands of people did not wear masks and have since left Washington for various parts of the country.
On Sunday, Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician for Congress, urged all elected officials and their staff to observe public health measures and get tested after potentially being exposed to someone infected with COVID-19 while the Capitol was locked down.
• New York now has four confirmed cases of a more contagious strain of the coronavirus that originated in the United Kingdom, with three new cases announced Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The new strain has been identified in at least eight states and 33 countries.
• A CDC study, published Friday in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found U.S. counties with large colleges or universities that held in-person classes saw a 56% increase in COVID-19 cases. The data supports a USA TODAY analysis that found college students fueled the 19 hottest outbreaks in the U.S. during the fall semester.
Virus claims member of famed Tuskegee Airmen
One of the famed Tuskegee Airmen – the first Black pilots in the segregated U.S. military and among the most respected fighter pilots of World War II – has died from complications of the coronavirus, it was announced Friday.
Theodore Lumpkin Jr. was just days short of his 101st birthday.
Lumpkin, a Los Angeles native, died Dec. 26, according to a statement from Los Angeles City College, which he attended from 1938 to 1940.
Lumpkin was drafted in 1942 and assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Airmen escorted bombers in Europe. Lumpkin wasn’t a pilot because his eyesight wasn’t good enough, but he served as an intelligence officer who briefed pilots on missions, according to the Los Angeles Times, which confirmed his death through his son, Theodore Lumpkin III.
Chicago Public Schools reopens Monday, first time since March
Chicago Public Schools, the nation’s third-largest school district, will welcome some students to classrooms Monday for the first time since March. What’s unclear: how many teachers will show up.
The Chicago Teachers Union has said it’s not safe enough to return to work in person. This week, only about half of school staff required to report to buildings actually showed up.
“We must reopen our doors,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said Friday. “We’ve seen attendance, enrollment and grades drop dramatically during remote learning.”
Jackson said the city addressed the ventilation issues that concerned teachers, and that teachers required to work in-person who don’t show up next week would see their pay docked.
About 6,000 pre-kindergarten students and students with special needs are expected to return Monday. Another 70,000 students in kindergarten through eighth grade are slated to return Feb. 1.