Vice President Mike Pence argued Tuesday that reports of a second wave of the coronavirus are 'overblown.' 'The media has tr...
Vice President Mike Pence argued Tuesday that reports of a second wave of the coronavirus are 'overblown.'
'The media has tried to scare the American people every step of the way, and these grim predictions of a second wave are no different,' he wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.
'The truth is, whatever the media says, our whole-of-America approach has been a success. We’ve slowed the spread, we’ve cared for the most vulnerable, we’ve saved lives, and we’ve created a solid foundation for whatever challenges we may face in the future. That’s a cause for celebration, not the media’s fear mongering,' he added.
And he pointed out in the past five days there were only 750 deaths.
'The past five days, deaths are down to fewer than 750 a day, a dramatic decline from 2,500 a day a few weeks ago—and a far cry from the 5,000 a day that some were predicting,' Pence wrote.
Vice President Mike Pence argued that reports of a second wave of the coronavirus are 'overblown'
Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump have argued that the increased number of coronavirus cases around the country are a result of increased testing, not because the country has begun reopening
Vice President Mike Pence tours Winnebago Industries in Iowa as part of the administration's push to reopen the country
In fact, yesterday there were only 296 deaths but the national death toll is now at more than 116,000.
Pence, who heads the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, repeated an argument he and President Donald Trump have been making: that the increased number of coronavirus cases around the country are a result of increased testing, not because the country has begun reopening.
President Trump has pushed hard for states to reopen for business, banking on a strong economy to help him win re-election.
The vice president was in Iowa on Tuesday to tour a Winnebago factory as part of the administration's push to reopen the country. Iowa is also a battleground state in the 2020 election.
Pence's claim comes as a leading COVID-19 model is predicting 200,000 deaths due to virus in the United States by October - up by a staggering 30,000 from its last forecast just 10 days ago - as cases nearly double in Alabama and South Carolina and Miami pauses its reopening due to a surge in infections.
The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation revised its death toll forecast upwards by 18 percent from 169,890 on Tuesday due mainly to states reopening and people not adhering to social distancing.
The model, whose estimates are cited by health experts, is projecting that Florida will see its deaths nearly triple to 18,675 deaths by October and California can expect to see deaths surge by 72 percent to 15,155.
Georgia and Arizona are also predicted to have sharp increases in deaths.
Currently, the US death toll due to COVID-19 stands at more than 116,000 and there have been more than two million confirmed cases across the country.
Health officials expressed concern a second wave of the virus could come if the country reopened too soon and too quickly.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, in an appearance on Fox News Tuesday afternoon, was asked if Pence's op-ed meant the administration was arguing there would be no second wave.
'Our position is that we are monitoring it. We can't predict the future. We think we are at a place where we have this under control and keep it under control. But we are monitoring each and every day to ensure that there is not a second wave any time soon,' she said.
President Trump, meanwhile, repeated his argument COVID-19 could go away without a cure or vaccine.
'I always say, even without it, it goes away. But if we had the vaccine, and we will, if we had therapeutic or cure, one thing sort of blends in to the other, it will be a fantastic day. I think that's going to happen and it's going to happen very soon,' he said Tuesday during his announcement on police reform.
He said a coronavirus cure was in sight by the end of the year.
'Before the end of the year, I predict we will have a very successful vaccine, therapeutic and cure. We're making tremendous progress,' Trump said.
President Trump has kept faith there will be a coronavirus vaccine by year's end and has pushed states to reopen from their shutdowns. The pandemic caused unemployment to reach 13 per cent, the stock market to tumble and the economy to tank.
The president is banking his re-election campaign on a strong U.S. economy and has unveiled a new slogan - 'Transition to Greatness' - as states go through the phases or reopening.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany would not say the administration was arguing there would be no second wave of the coronavirus
States have seen an increase in the number of coronavirus cases as they reopen; above a person is tested for COVID in Virginia
Beach goers in Miami Beach; the mayor of Miami announced Tuesday he was slowing the city's reopening because of the uptick in coronavirus cases
Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House's Coronavirus Task Force, touring Winnebago Industries in Forest City, Iowa
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers last month that scientists are already testing possible vaccines in a phase one clinical trial with an eye of going to phase two this summer.
'If we are successful, we hope to know that in the late fall and early winter,' he said in his testimony before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.
Fauci also warned as states begin to reopen - thus pulling back on stay-at-home orders and social distancing - 'you will see some cases reappear.'
'There is no doubt even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear,' Fauci warned, adding the U.S. must be prepared for 'when the inevitable return of infections occurs.'
'We will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,' he noted.
Thirteen states have since reported weekly increases in deaths related to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, new cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in Alabama and South Carolina in the second week of June compared to the prior seven days.
Alabama's new cases rose 97 percent to 5,115 for the week ended June 14, with 14 percent of COVID-19 tests coming back positive compared to 6 percent in the prior week.
New cases in South Carolina rose 86 percent to 4,509, while the positive test rate rose to about 14 percent from 9 percent over the same period.
South Carolina and Alabama health officials say the increases are down to some residents not following social distancing guidelines to avoid large gatherings and wear a mask in public.
In Oklahoma, where President Trump plans to hold a campaign rally on Saturday, new cases rose 68 percent to 1,081 in the second week of June, while the positive test rate increased to 4 percent from 2 percent the previous week. Pence is also scheduled to attend the rally.
The three states are among hot spots throughout the South and Southwest that helped push the total number of new infections in the US up 1 percent in the week ended June 14 - the second increase after five weeks of declines.
Nationally, the rate of positive tests has hovered around 5 percent for several weeks, according to the analysis. More than 583,000 tests were reported in a single day last week, which was a new record.
At least 17 states across the US have seen COVID-19 infections surge in the last week as record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations continue to sweep through the likes of Florida, Texas and Alabama
New cases of COVID-19 nearly doubled in Alabama and South Carolina in the second week of June compared to the prior seven days as 17 states reported weekly increases in the spread of coronavirus
| STATE | TOTAL CASES | NEW CASES | WEEKLY CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 25,615 | 5,115 | +116.6% |
| South Carolina | 18,795 | 4,509 | +85.9% |
| Oklahoma | 8,231 | 1,081 | +67.9% |
| Florida | 75,568 | 11,630 | +49.6% |
| Nevada | 11,173 | 1,524 | +44.3% |
| Arkansas | 12,501 | 3,075 | +41.5% |
| Louisiana | 46,619 | 3,803 | +31.1% |
| Mississippi | 19,516 | 2,246 | +27% |
| Arizona | 35,691 | 8,802 | +26.6% |
| North Carolina | 44,119 | 8,573 | +23.2% |
| Texas | 87,854 | 12,876 | +20.4% |
| Tennessee | 30,432 | 4,051 | +20% |
| Georgia | 57,681 | 5,783 | +17.7% |
| California | 148,855 | 20,043 | +10% |
| Iowa | 23,926 | 2,259 | +6.8% |
| South Dakota | 5,898 | 460 | +3.4% |
| Oregon | 5,377 | 569 | +0.7% |
New deaths from coronavirus nearly doubled in Georgia and Missouri in the second week of June compared to the prior seven days. Thirteen states have reported weekly increases in deaths related to COVID-19
| State | Total deaths | New deaths | Weekly increase | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 2,451 | 271 | +96.4% | |
| Missouri | 879 | 70 | +89.2% | |
| Washington | 1,213 | 60 | +71.4% | |
| Alabama | 773 | 81 | +32.8% | |
| Maryland | 2,939 | 190 | +24.2% | |
| Illinois | 6,489 | 585 | +13.8% | |
| Washington, D.C. | 515 | 26 | +13% | |
| Rhode Island | 833 | 61 | +13% | |
| California | 5,063 | 437 | +5.8% | |
| South Carolina | 600 | 54 | +3.8% | |
| Arizona | 1,186 | 142 | +2.9% | |
| North Carolina | 1,109 | 113 | +2.7% | |
| Connecticut | 4,201 | 130 | +2.4% |
At least 17 states have seen COVID-19 infections surge in the last week as record numbers of new cases and hospitalizations continue to sweep through the likes of Florida, Texas and Alabama.
Several of the states, mostly in the South, have seen an increase in new cases since Memorial Day as health officials warn of a potential surge in new coronavirus infections as states push ahead with reopening.
Alabama reported a record number of new cases for the fourth day in a row - more than 1,000 cases were reported in a day on Sunday alone - the first time that's happened since the start of the pandemic.
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina all had record numbers of new cases in the past week days.
ARIZONA HOSPITALIZATIONS: Arizona has continued to have record hospitalizations for coronavirus in the past few days
NORTH CAROLINA HOSPITALIZATIONS: North Carolina had a record number of patients enter the hospital on Saturday
TEXAS HOSPITALIZATIONS: The number of people being admitted to hospital in Texas for COVID-19 continues to increase
ARKANSAS HOSPITALIZATIONS: Arkansas had a record number of patients enter the hospital over the week to be treated for coronavirus
In Louisiana, which had been one of the earlier virus hot spots, new cases were again on the rise with over 1,200 - the most there since May 21.
Nationally, there were over 25,000 new cases reported on Saturday, the highest tally for a Saturday since May 2, in part due to a significant increase in testing over the past six weeks.
The rise of new infections in Florida has prompted Miami to halt its reopening.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on Monday that the city wasn't ready to enter phase three of the state's reopening plans.
'Although hospitalizations have remained consistent, the overall number of positive cases has increased and even the number of positive cases proportional to testing has slightly increased,' Suarez said.
Many of the states that have seen increases in cases are also seeing record hospitalizations - a metric not affected by increased testing and perhaps more troubling for health officials.
Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and Utah all had a record number of patients enter the hospital on Saturday.
In South Carolina, 69 percent to 77 percent of hospital beds are occupied in various regions.
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