New coronavirus cases in the United States continued to rise in the past week, jumping by as much as 12 percent nationwide, as senior officials implored Americans to stick to public health measures to help reverse the trend.The seven-day average of new cases topped 63,000 for the first time in nearly a month, according to data compiled by The Washington Post, while states such as Michigan, Vermont and North Dakota reported substantial spikes in new infections. The nation appeared poised for a fourth wave of illness even as vaccine eligibility is expanding in many states.

Michigan led the nation in new cases with a 57 percent rise over the past week. The state, which relaxed covid-related restrictions earlier this month, also reported the largest increase in coronavirus hospitalizations, which grew by more than 47 percent.

Here are some significant developments:
  • Two dozen world leaders joined the World Health Organization on Tuesday to call for a global pandemic treaty that would prepare future generations for a health emergency similar to covid-19.
  • President Biden on Monday implored leaders of state and local governments to continue requiring face coverings in public in an effort to curb coronavirus infections that are back on the rise across the country.
  • Scientists in Canada recommended against the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for people age 55 and younger, citing “substantial uncertainty” over its benefits because of “rare” cases of serious blood clots.
  • Former president Donald Trump responded to criticism of his coronavirus policies by his health officials with a caustic statement ridiculing them as “self promoters” with “bad instincts and faulty recommendations.”
  • The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were 90 percent effective at preventing infections in a real-world study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was one of the first to estimate vaccine effectiveness among participants against any infection — rather than just monitoring for symptomatic cases.
  • A forthcoming joint World Health Organization-China report on the origins of the coronavirus says it most likely jumped from animals to humans via an intermediate animal host, downplaying the possibility it leaked from a lab.
  • More than 550,000 people have died due to covid-19 in the United States, out of more than 30 million infections. At least 95 million people have received one or both doses of a coronavirus vaccine.
Posted in: USA