Coronavirus Briefing: 'Like a Forest Fire'

The surges in states that reopened early show no signs of stopping.

View in browser|nytimes.com June 22, 2020 An informed guide to the global outbreak, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. (Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.) By Lara Takenaga and Jonathan Wolfe Saudi Arabia announced that the hajj, the annual pilgrimage that draws millions of Muslims, will be limited to Saudis and those already inside the country. President Trump signed an executive order suspending work visas, blocking hundreds of thousands of foreigners from employment in the U.S. The United Nations General Assembly will conduct its annual meeting virtually for the first time this September. Get the latest updates here, as well as maps and a tracker for U.S. metro areas. America’s ‘forest fire’ As the pace of the pandemic speeds up, the U.S. continues to play an outsize role, now contributing 20 percent of all new coronavirus cases worldwide — even with just 4 percent of the global population. The surges in states that reopened early show no signs of stopping, despite President Trump’s continued assertions that the virus would “fade away.” “I think this is more like a forest fire,” one infectious disease expert said. “I think that wherever there’s wood to burn, this fire is going to burn it.” By that measure, states like Texas, Florida and South Carolina are dealing with infernos, setting caseload records in recent days. Though the U.S. death count has been trending downward, cases are on the rise in nearly half of all states, particularly in the South, West and Midwest. Those cases are emerging in places that previously received little attention — fraternity houses, a strip club, churches — and experts say that is likely to continue as people socialize more. At his campaign rally in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday, Mr. Trump said he wanted to “slow the testing down” because higher case counts stem from more tests. But experts have countered that claim, pointing to increasing rates of positive tests and hospitalizations as evidence that the virus is spreading. On Sunday, Mr. Trump’s trade adviser, Peter Navarro, who has coordinated the U.S. medical supply chain, said the White House had started preparing for a possible second wave of the virus in the fall. But the pattern in the U.S. so far indicates that the first wave has not yet passed: After the number of new cases peaked in April and began to decline slowly, it plateaued in May and has begun to climb steadily again this month. A global view: Other nations’ gradual reopenings have also been accompanied by upticks in new cases, sometimes prompting a return to tighter restrictions. But Brazil, which has done little to tamp down the virus, continues to stand apart: Over the weekend, it became the second country after the U.S. to record more than 50,000 deaths. The Times is providing free access to much of our coronavirus coverage, and our Coronavirus Briefing newsletter — like all of our newsletters — is free. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription. Indian hospitals begin to buckle India is now reporting more coronavirus cases than anywhere else in the world except the United States and Brazil — and its fragile health care system is starting to fracture. Hospitals in New Delhi are overloaded, and some health care workers are afraid to treat those with the virus. Scores of people have died in the streets, in hospital lobbies or in the back of ambulances. One pregnant woman’s journey through eight hospitals in 15 hours serves as a devastating window into the reality of health care during the pandemic. At one hospital, after going into labor, she was told by a doctor that she would be slapped if she took off her mask. At another, her husband called the police, but even they couldn’t convince the doctors to give her care. For her husband, Bijendra Singh, it wasn’t simply that the doctors couldn’t help her — it was as if they didn’t want to help her. “They didn’t care if she was dead or alive,” he said. Another step in New York’s reopening New York City entered its largest reopening phase yet on Monday — one that allows office employees to return to work, outdoor dining at restaurants, some in-person shopping, and the return of hair salons, barber shops and real estate work. Offices are still required to limit their capacity and maintain social distancing measures, so only a fraction of the city’s work force — about 300,000 people — are expected to return to workplaces this week. Still, for struggling businesses and workers, Phase 2 was a major step toward something resembling a pre-pandemic life. “It feels like it’s the light at the end of a very long tunnel,” said Nancy Bass Wyden, the owner of the well-known Strand bookstore in Manhattan. “Almost like we’re Rip Van Winkle.” A potential setback. New York City’s contact tracing program, which is crucial to its ability to safely move into the new phase of reopening, is off to a rough start. The program has been hamstrung by a low response rate, scant use of technology and privacy concerns. Resurgences In Texas, the rate of positive virus tests is approaching 9 percent, up four points from a month ago, as cases explode in Houston and Dallas. Germany is scrambling to contain an outbreak that has infected 1,331 workers at its largest pork processing plant. Belarus has reported 58,000 cases, compared with 32,000 in neighboring Poland, which has four times as many people. In Australia, the state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, has brought back tighter restrictions on gatherings after six consecutive days of double-digit case increases, the country’s national broadcaster reports. What else we’re following Gilead Sciences will soon start trials of an inhalable version of remdesivir, an antiviral drug that has shown some preliminary promise as a virus treatment. Nursing homes across the country are kicking out old and disabled residents and sending them to homeless shelters and rundown motels to make room for Covid-19 patients who can generate more revenue. The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers that nine hand sanitizer products manufactured in Mexico may contain methanol, which can be toxic when absorbed through the skin. Texans in their 20s are testing positive at a higher rate than ever since the pandemic began, contributing to the state’s recent spike in cases, The Texas Tribune reports. Cases are on the rise in Arizona, but residents are divided over whether they should comply with rules requiring face masks, The Wall Street Journal reports. Sweden’s lax approach to the virus has prompted its Scandinavian neighbors to close their borders to Swedes. The psychological fallout from the pandemic has yet to fully show itself, but some experts have forecast a torrent of new disorders. Eager to take part in your favorite summer athletic activities? Here’s a guide from our Sports desk on how to manage the risks. What you’re doing After weeks cooped up together, our family of five can get testy and critical. To change the negative climate, we labeled five cups with each person’s name and lined them up on the windowsill. When someone is being kind, we drop a poker chip in their Kindness Cup. A full cup allows that person to choose a dessert for the family — that way, everyone benefits from each other’s acts of kindness. — Abigail Nields Hillman, Radnor, Pa. Let us know how you’re dealing with the outbreak. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. Email your thoughts to briefing@nytimes.com. 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