A pandemic of the new coronavirus has killed more than 494,000 people worldwide.
More than 9.8 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to a paucity of evidence, many unreported cases, and suspicions that some governments are hiding the extent of the outbreaks from their nations.
The United States has become the most affected country, with more than 2.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 125,039 deaths.
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7:02 am: Maryland Reopening co-founder tests positive
The ReOpen Maryland co-founder, who organized protests to pressure Gov. Larry Hogan to lift the order to stay at the state’s home, said he tested positive for COVID-19.
Tim Walters, a former Republican candidate for the General Assembly, said he had a dry cough for months, but that it recently got worse. He said that he then began to experience an excruciating headache, fever and the inability to focus with one of his eyes, which caused vertigo.
Walters, 53, a diabetic who has suffered mini strokes, said he went to an emergency room on Monday and was diagnosed with the virus.
“Here I am months after not wearing a mask at rallies, churches, etc., and it’s funny how whimsical this is,” he said in a Facebook video.
Walters said he does not plan to provide health officials with people he has had close contact with for the contact tracking program.
5:40 am: HHS ‘actively works’ on group testing idea
The US Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to ABC News on Friday night that the agency is pushing the idea of ”pooling” the tests, which is when officials collect samples from large groups and test them immediately. to see if individual tests are needed.
The White House coronavirus task force is actively talking about trying to push it out locally as a surveillance tool. The main reason is because many people carry the virus without symptoms.
“HHS is actively working with a number of collaborators to validate the grouping so that it can generally be used as a technique,” HHS said in a statement to ABC News.
“Clustering is a public health surveillance strategy in which samples from more than one person are ‘pooled’ in the same test,” said Admiral Brett Giroir, HHS assistant secretary in charge of coordinating the tests. prevalence of the disease, this can be extremely beneficial. For example, if five samples are grouped into a single test and the test is negative, then all five people are negative. ”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, said that clustering of tests may be necessary on Friday because the current contact-tracking test strategy has not worked.
One problem with contact tracing for COVID-19, Fauci said, is that there are too many asymptomatic people, which means you can’t identify them if they don’t have symptoms. Fauci also said that since many people do not trust the government, people do not answer contact tracking calls.
4:53 am: Miami will close beaches
As the number of coronavirus cases increases in the state of Florida, Miami-Dade County announced that it will close all beaches for the July 4 holiday weekend.
Mayor Carlos Giménez announced that he will sign an executive order on Saturday to close all beaches from July 3 to at least July 7, although he said it could be extended “if conditions do not improve and people do not follow the new normal rules. requiring masks to be worn. ” Always used in commercial and outdoor establishments when social distancing of at least 6 feet is not possible. ”
Particularly troubling in recent spikes, the mayor said, is that the area is seeing a higher rate of hospitalization with its younger population.
“As we continue to see more positive COVID-19 results among young adults and the increase in hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent way to stop this recent increase is to crack down on recreational activities that elevate our community. overall risk, “Giménez said in a statement Friday.
In his order, the mayor is also banning any gathering of more than 50 people and is closing all parks and beaches to limit the display of fireworks. He said fireworks should be viewed from the house or the parked vehicle.
“After all the success we’ve had in reducing the COVID-19 curve, we can’t go back and overload our hospitals, putting our doctors and nurses at greater risk with more cases in the emergency room,” Giménez said Friday. “Everyone must do their part and follow the rules.”
Florida is one of several states in the US that has recently seen a significant increase in diagnosed cases of COVID-19. His coronavirus positivity rate jumped to 13% on Friday, according to new numbers from the Florida Department of Health.
Florida has more than 122,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, with at least 3,366 deaths.
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Anne Flaherty and Brian Hartman of ABC News contributed to this report.
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