New US Covid Infections At Lowest Level Since Pandemic Began

Axios: COVID-19 Cases Hit Lowest Point In U.S. Since Pandemic Began 
The U.S. has brought new coronavirus infections down to the lowest level since March 2020, when the pandemic began. Nearly every week for the past 56 weeks, Axios has tracked the change — more often than not, the increase — in new COVID-19 infections. Those case counts are now so low, the virus is so well contained, that this will be our final weekly map. (Baker and Witherspoon, 6/3)

AP: Florida COVID Hospitalizations At Lowest Point In A Year
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 are at their lowest level in the state in over a year, the Florida Hospital Association said Wednesday. There were roughly 1,842 COVID hospitalizations in Florida Wednesday. According to their data, the state’s hospitalizations have declined 19% in the last two weeks and stand 38% lower than one month ago. (6/3)

Des Moines Register: New Reported COVID Cases Dip Below 100 Per Day In Iowa For First Time In More Than A Year
For the first time since April 2020, Iowa is averaging fewer than 100 new reported coronavirus infections per day, and there are fewer than 100 Iowans currently hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The Iowa Department of Public Health on Wednesday, June 2, was reporting a total of 371,617 coronavirus cases in Iowa since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 616 over the previous week. In the past seven days, Iowa has reported an average of 88 new cases each day. The rate of new infections has dropped drastically since peaking last fall. In mid-November 2020, Iowa was reporting more than 4,500 new cases per day. (Webber, 6/2)

AP: Navajo Nation Reports No Additional Deaths From COVID-19
For the second day in a row, the Navajo Nation is reporting no additional deaths of COVID-19. The Navajo Department of Health reported Wednesday that only six new cases of the virus were reported on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. (6/3)

The Baltimore Sun: Archdiocese Of Baltimore Encourages Return To In-Person Mass, Lifting COVID Exemption 
Citing declining coronavirus metrics, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced Wednesday it is imminently lifting the exemption for attending Mass on Sundays and holy days. Beginning June 26, the “faithful” are encouraged to return to full, in-person services, according to a news release from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and those in other jurisdictions. Furthermore, the church leaders lifted social-distancing requirements, where localities allow it. (Mann, 6/2)

NBC News: Right-Wing Pastor Gets Covid After Saying Vaccines Were Part Of 'Mass Death Campaign'
A right-wing Florida pastor was hospitalized with Covid-19, weeks after saying vaccination efforts were part of a "mass death campaign." The pastor, Rick Wiles, wrote Tuesday on TruNews.com, where he propagates homophobic, racist and other hateful conspiracy theories, that he had Covid-19-related pneumonia and difficulty breathing. He said that he was being released from the hospital later that day but that his wife was "still very fatigued." (Fieldstadt, 6/2)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Fox News: FDA Recalls Unauthorized At-Home Coronavirus Rapid Test Over False Results Concerns
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers to stop using an unauthorized COVID-19 at-home rapid test and antibody test over concerns that the kits may produce false results. The kits, produced by Lepu Medical Technology, were distributed to pharmacies to be sold to consumers for at-home testing and made available through direct sales despite not having FDA authorization. According to a safety communication issued by the FDA, the Lepu Medical Technology SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Test Kit and the Leccurate SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Rapid Test Kit (Colloidal Gold Immunochromatography) could result in false test results, which "may cause people harm including serious illness and death." (Hein, 6/2)

Philadelphia Inquirer: PCOS Raises The Risk Of Getting COVID-19. Women With The Complex Disorder Are Pushing For Research
In March, an advocacy group for women with polycystic ovary syndrome lobbied Congress to encourage research on PCOS and COVID-19. At that point, a year after the pandemic hit the United States, no one had studied whether PCOS — which affects at least 1 in 10 women worldwide — increases vulnerability to COVID-19, or to life-threatening complications, or both. However, the idea made sense. PCOS is a complex metabolic and endocrine disorder that is linked to a variety of chronic conditions, including obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and asthma. Federal health agencies warn that each of those conditions can make COVID-19 more devastating, as can cancer, HIV infection, dementia, and sickle-cell disease. Yet PCOS is not mentioned in high-risk groups. (McCullough, 6/2)

CIDRAP: Study Identifies COVID Risks For Kidney Dialysis Patients 
Among patients with kidney failure who underwent dialysis at clinics several times a week, the risk of COVID-19 infection was highest in those who were older, had diabetes, lived in communities with high coronavirus prevalence, and received dialysis at clinics serving more patients, finds a study yesterday in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Led by British researchers, the study also showed that COVID-19 infection risks were lowest among patients who received dialysis in clinics with more isolation rooms and mask policies for all patients, including those with no coronavirus symptoms. (Van Beusekom, 6/2)