Coronavirus updates: US records more than 1,000 new deaths from COVID-19

Posted By: Staff
August 12, 2020 @ 7:00 am
ABC National

narvikk/iStock

narvikk/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 741,000 people worldwide.

Over 20 million people across the globe 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 believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than five million diagnosed cases and at least 164,537 deaths.

Here’s how the news is developing Wednesday. All times Eastern:

5:20 a.m.: Two men facing charges for allegedly hosting house party in Nashville

Two men are facing criminal charges for violating public health emergency orders by allegedly throwing a large party at their house in Nashville, Tennessee earlier this month.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has issued arrest warrants for Christopher Eubank, 40, and Jeffrey Mathews, 36, who were both reported to be out of state Tuesday night and have been told to surrender upon returning to Nashville. Eubank and Mathews are each charged with three separate counts — all misdemeanors — of violating health orders by hosting a gathering in excess of 25 people, not requiring social distancing and not requiring face coverings.

Police said hundreds of people attended the Aug. 1 party at the property owned by Eubank and Mathews, located on Fern Avenue in Tennessee’s capital. Patrol officers responded to the home late that night and ultimately directed that the party cease.

Cellphone footage, obtained by Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN-TV, purportedly shows large crowds of people at the party wearing no masks and not maintaining social distancing.

4:39 a.m.: Nearly one-third of Kentucky’s new cases among teens

Nearly one-third of new COVID-19 cases in Kentucky at the end of July were among those 19 years old or younger, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News Tuesday night.

In Mississippi, Black residents represented 58.5% of the state’s new cases during the period from July 5 through Aug. 1 — a 37.2% difference between cases and census racial distribution, according to the FEMA memo.

Meanwhile, the test-positivity rate was greater than 10% last week in Arkansas, where 5,593 additional cases were reported and two counties have emerged as new hotspots. Logan County reported 90 new cases last week, an increase of 428% and a test-positivity rate of 17.59%. Poinsett County reported 74 new cases, an increase of 189% and a test-positivity rate of 15.43%, according to the FEMA memo.

However, the national test-positivity rate continues to decline. Over the past seven days, the rate was 6.6% — down from 7.9% from the previous week. The nation also saw a 12.7% decrease in new cases as well as a 4.3% decrease in new deaths being confirmed over the last week, compared with the previous seven-day period, according to the FEMA memo.

The memo shows that just five states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, while two states are at a plateau and 49 states are going down.

3:45 a.m.: US records more than 1,000 new deaths from COVID-19

There were 46,808 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Tuesday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

An additional 1,082 coronavirus-related deaths were also reported — more than double the amount from the previous day.

Still, it’s the third consecutive day that the nation has recorded less than 50,000 new cases. Tuesday’s caseload is also well below the record set on July 16, when more than 77,000 new cases were identified in a 24-hour reporting period.

A total of 5,141,208 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 164,537 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 70,000 for the first time in mid-July.

Many states have seen a rise in infections in recent weeks, with some — including Arizona, California and Florida — reporting daily records. However, the nationwide number of new cases and deaths in the last week have both decreased in week-over-week comparisons, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News Tuesday night.