A new coronavirus pandemic has now killed more than 794,000 people worldwide.
More than 22.7 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are thought to be much higher due to lack of testing, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the extent of their outbreaks.
The United States is the least affected country in the world, with more than 5.5 million diagnosed cases and at least 174,306 deaths.
Latest headlines:
Here’s how the news develops today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates.
10:30 a.m.: Death toll could top 200,000 by Sept. 12, since CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. could peak at 200,000 by Sept. 12.
“This week’s national ensemble forecast predicts that 3,700 to 9,600 new COVID-19 deaths will be reported in the week ending September 12 and that 187,000 to 205,000 total COVID-19 deaths will be reported by that date,” “announced the CDC Friday.
This prediction is for the most part flat compared to last week’s estimates and suggests that CDC modeling takes into account declining case numbers and less positive tests in some spots of the country.
Last week, the CDC predicted Sept. 180 to 200,000 deaths by Sept. 5.
Earlier this month, the CDC predicted that between 175,000 and 190,000 total COVID-19 deaths would be reported by August 29. About 174,000 deaths were reported on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
9.45am: New York sees lowest hospital stays since March 16th
The state of New York, once the American epicenter of the pandemic, is now marking its 14th straight day of a test positivity rate below 1%, God Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
Of those who tested across the state on Thursday, 0.72% were positive, Cuomo said.
Total hospitalizations in New York fell Thursday to 490 – the lowest number of people in the coronavirus hospital since March 16, Cuomo said.
9 a.m.: 17 reported high school suspects for going to party without masks, distance
Sixteen students have been expelled from St. Louis. Olaf College of Minnesota after a party without masks or social distance, ABC Minneapolis affiliate KSTP reported.
At least one person at the party had coronavirus, the school said, according to KSTP.
St. Olaf College began the semester on Thursday. Personal classes are offered.
6:07 p.m .: CDC director warns that flu season could punish hospitals
As the U.S. draws closer to the flu season, the combination with the COVID-19 pandemic could strain hospitals across the country, according to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield.
“The biggest fear I’m obviously having at the same time due to COVID and flu is that our hospital capacity may be strained,” he said Thursday during a Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) livestream.
“We have to wait for the mitigation steps right now. Because autumn is coming, if we have flu that’s causing their problems and we have COVID that’s causing its problems, and they’re building on each other, we can end up with another significant loss of life, ”Redfield said.
Redfield said the CDC has purchased 9.3 million extra doses of the flu vaccine, and has a goal of “65% acceptance of vaccine across the board.”
The CDC estimates that in the flu season 2019-2020 (from 1 October 2019 to 4 April) there were between 24,000-62,000 deaths. To date, COVID-19 has killed more than 174,000 people in the US
“This fall and winter could be one of the most complicated times for public health we have with the two coming at the same time,” Redfield said. “On the other hand, I’m an optimist that if the American public heeded the advice we said about face covering and social distance and handwashing and being bad about crowds, this could be one of the best flu seasons you could have.” we had, and especially when they do one more thing: and that is to embrace the flu with confidence. ”
What to know about coronavirus:
Anne Flaherty and Michelle Stoddardt of ABC News contributed to this report.
.
