June 22, 2020 Brazil and the U.S. Drive New Coronavirus Infections The W.H.O. reported more than 183,000 new cases, the largest one-day increase so far, as the global tally inched toward nine million. A Trump administration official said the White House was preparing for a potential wave of infections in the fall. Published June 21, 2020 Updated June 22, 2020, 5:32 a.m. ET A drive-through Covid testing site in Phoenix on Saturday.Credit…Matt York/Associated Press As new cases surge in the U.S., the White House acknowledges preparing for a fall wave. Peter Navarro, the White House director of trade and manufacturing policy, said in an interview on Sunday that the White House was working to prepare for the possibility of a second wave of the coronavirus in the fall, though he said it wouldn’t necessarily come. “We are filling the stockpile in anticipation of a possible problem in the fall,” Mr. Navarro told Jake Tapper on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “We’re doing everything we can.” The comments come in contrast to President Trump’s repeated assertions that the virus will “go away” and his questioning of its ability to last into the fall and winter. But if anything, the virus is gaining ground. Nationwide, cases have risen 15 percent over the last two weeks. Cases are rising in 18 states across the South, West and Midwest. Seven states hit single-day case records Saturday, and five others hit a record earlier in the week. In Harris County, Texas, which includes most of Houston, more than 1,100 new infections were reported both Friday and Saturday, by far the two highest daily totals there. Public health experts in Texas warned of a dire outlook. The Trump administration’s latest reckoning with the magnitude of the health crisis came on the same day that the World Health Organization reported the largest one-day increase in infections across the globe. It said that there were 183,020 new cases, with Brazil and the United States accounting for the most new infections. The pandemic has now sickened more than 8,899,000 people, and at least 466,200 people have died, according to a New York Times database. Also Sunday, Missouri reported 397 new cases and Oklahoma reported 478 new cases, which were both records. Across the United States, the number of new infections has steadily risen during the past five days after plateauing for the previous 80 days. At the same time, overall deaths have dropped dramatically. The 14-day average was down 42 percent as of Saturday. Strikingly, the new infections have skewed younger, with more people in their 20s and 30s testing positive, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said. These clusters may be especially worrying to colleges and universities that plan to bring students back to campus in the fall, when the coronavirus and the flu virus are expected to be circulating simultaneously. In Florida — which “has all the makings of the next large epicenter,” according to model projections by the PolicyLab at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia — an advisory from the state’s Department of Health this weekend recommended that people avoid crowds larger than 50 people. It also encouraged social distancing and mask wearing at smaller gatherings. Mr. Trump is set to deliver his national convention speech on Aug. 27 in Jacksonville, Fla., inside an arena that holds 15,000 people. New York Times
