Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States Struggle To Cope With High Infection Tallies
AP: Oregon Smashes Daily Virus Record With Nearly 400 New Cases
Oregon smashed its previous daily record for COVID-19 cases on Thursday with a 389 new diagnoses and six deaths. The number of cases was the highest seen in the state since the start of the pandemic, the Oregon Health Authority said, and brings total cases statewide to 11,188. There have been at least 220 deaths. (7/9)
AP: Wisconsin Officials Confirm 754 More COVID-19 Cases
Wisconsin health officials confirmed about 750 more cases of COVID-19 in the state Thursday.The state has now seen 33,908 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March. That’s an increase of 754 cases from Wednesday. Health officials recorded two more COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, bringing the overall death toll to 809. (7/9)
AP: Illinois Logs 1,000-Plus Virus Cases; First Time In Weeks
Illinois had more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases for the first time in five weeks, the health department said Thursday.COVID-19 deaths, meanwhile, rose by 20 to 7,119. The state said the rate of positive cases over the past seven days was 2.6%. (7/9)
AP: Navajo Nation Reports 61 More COVID-19 Cases, 4 More Deaths
Navajo Nation health officials have reported 61 more coronavirus cases and four additional known deaths. Tribal Department of Health officials said 8,042 people on the vast reservation that spans parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have tested positive for COVID-19 with 386 known deaths as of Wednesday night. (7/10)
In related news —
AP: New Mexico Halts School Sports, Indoor Dining, Filmaking
New Mexico will halt indoor restaurant service, close state parks to nonresidents and suspend autumn contact sports at schools in response to surging coronavirus infections within its boundaries and neighboring Texas and Arizona, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Thursday. (Lee, 7/10)
The Washington Post: More Than 1,000 TSA Employees Have Tested Positive For Coronavirus
More than 1,000 employees at the Transportation Security Administration have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to figures the agency released Thursday. Nearly all of them are security officers who have continued to work screening passengers at airports throughout the pandemic. (Duncan, 7/9)
CNN: 7 Prisoners With Coronavirus Died At San Quentin And Hundreds More Are Dying In US Jails And Prisons
Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing mounting pressure to release inmates as corrections officials scramble to contain outbreaks of coronavirus at state prisons. The outbreak at San Quentin State Prison, where more than half of the Covid-19 cases in state prisons have been reported, has claimed the lives of at least seven incarcerated people, according to a tally from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. (Chavez, 7/10)
