Since Chinese officials locked down the city of Wuhan in January, there have been more than 10.4 million cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, across the planet.
More than 510,000 people have died from the disease, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Efforts to curb the outbreak led to the global disruption of daily life and the economy, as schools and workplaces shuttered in hopes of slowing transmission. After months of precautions and lockdowns, governments have begun to reopen their economies.
HuffPost reporters around the world are tracking the pandemic and its effects.
Read the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic below. (To see the latest updates, you may need to refresh the page. All times are Eastern. For earlier updates on the pandemic, go here.)
Most Americans Favor Mask Requirements: Poll — 7/1/2020, 7:15 a.m.
Most Americans favor both a government rule to require people to wear masks in public and local stores instituting face mask policies, a HuffPost/YouGov survey finds.
The level of support varies across partisan and demographic lines, but the only group to oppose a government rule is Republicans who live in rural areas.
You can explore the results of the survey further here.
— Liza Hearon
Anthony Fauci Warns U.S. Could Reach 100,000 Cases Per Day ― 6/30/20, 1:25 p.m. ET
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned Tuesday that the U.S. could see as many as 100,000 daily coronavirus infections if states where cases are surging don’t begin taking stronger measures to combat the spread.
“We can’t just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk,” Fauci told a Senate committee. “We are now having 40-plus thousand new cases a day, I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 cases a day if this does not turn around, so I am very concerned.”
States such as New York have seen a decline in cases, but others, including Texas, Arizona and Florida, are seeing a resurgence of infections as politicians have pushed to reopen businesses. At least 16 states have now paused their reopening plans amid the spike in cases.
— Sebastian Murdock
Travelers Coming To New York From 16 States Must Self-Quarantine, Cuomo Says — 6/30/20, 11:50 a.m. ET
Travelers arriving in New York from 16 states must self-quarantine for 14 days or face penalties, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Tuesday.
The governor added states to the travel advisory in an effort to keep New York’s once-abysmal COVID-19 infection and death rates on the decline. The list is made up of states with recent spikes in infections, or a high rate of infections per 100 people tested.
The states are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
The civil penalty for violating the rule is a fine of up to $10,000.
— Andy Campbell
Major Movie Theater Chains Delay Reopening Plans Again — 6/30/20, 11:10 a.m. ET
The largest movie theater chains in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have all postponed their plans to welcome back moviegoers after several major Hollywood films delayed their release dates once again.
AMC, Regal and Cinemark — the three biggest movie theater chains in the U.S. and Canada — as well as Cineworld, the U.K.’s biggest movie theater chain (and the parent company of Regal), will not begin reopening their locations until at least the end of July.
The announcements came after the release dates for “Tenet” and “Mulan,” two major Hollywood films that were initially slated to come out in July, were pushed back to mid-August.
But even delaying everything by a month seems optimistic, as COVID-19 cases are spiking in significant portions of the country. Movie theaters and other enclosed spaces are among the highest-risk locations for spreading the virus, and many of the new outbreaks in the U.S. are tied to indoor spaces like restaurants and bars.
— Marina Fang
European Union Bans Travelers From U.S. — 6/30/20, 11 a.m. ET
In a rebuke of the Trump administration’s handling of the pandemic, travelers from the U.S. will be temporarily banned from visiting the European Union when the 27-nation bloc opens its borders next month, according to a list released Tuesday.
Russia and Brazil also didn’t make the cut, as outbreaks surge in those countries.
Officials in Brussels attempted to make the decision nonpolitical and base it on science. The EU’s ban follows a similar restriction that President Donald Trump imposed in the U.S. as the virus started to spread.
— Nick Visser
UK Imposes First Local Lockdown After COVID-19 Spike — 6/30/20, 4 a.m. ET
Britain has imposed its first local lockdown in the city of Leicester, just days before the country is due to go into the next phase of relaxing coronavirus restrictions.
U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed the English city of 330,000 people has recorded 10% of all positive COVID-19 cases in the country this week.
Hancock said the national lockdown easing would not be happening in the Midlands city – meaning pubs, hairdressers and restaurants would not be able to open alongside other areas of the U.K. Nonessential shops in Leicester will close from Tuesday and schools will close to most pupils from Thursday as part of restrictions imposed after the rise in coronavirus cases.
On Sunday, the government said the city could become the first area to have a local lockdown imposed to address a flare-up after 658 new cases were recorded in the two weeks up to June 16.
The U.K. has been one of the world’s worst-hit countries with more than 43,000 suspected deaths.
— Graeme Demianyk
Los Angeles County Will Close Beaches Over July 4 Weekend — 6/29/20, 8:30 p.m. ET
Officials in Los Angeles County announced that beaches, piers and bike paths across the region would be closed for the upcoming July 4 weekend in an effort to curb new coronavirus infections.
County Supervisor Janice Hahn said the decision was linked to a surge in reported cases throughout the county and California. LA County has had more than 100,000 cases since the pandemic began.
“We had almost 3,000 reported cases just today,” Hahn wrote Monday on Twitter. “We cannot risk having crowds at the beach this holiday weekend.”
Those who violate the ban can face fines up to $1,000.
— Nick Visser
Oregon Requiring Masks Indoors Statewide — 6/29/20, 5:45 p.m. ET
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said that she’s requiring everyone in the state to wear protective face masks when inside public spaces.
“Over the last month, COVID-19 spread at an alarming rate in both urban and rural counties,” she tweeted. “That’s why I’m requiring face coverings in indoor public places in ALL counties, effective 7/1. We can & must reduce the spread of this disease.”
A recent surge in cases in Oregon has pushed the total number of cases there to over 8,000.
— Lydia O’Connor
Broadway Cancels Fall Performances As National Rate Of COVID-19 Cases Continues To Rise — 6/29/20, 11:30 a.m. ET
The trade association for Broadway announced that it’s canceling all performances for the remainder of 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Refunds and exchanges will be offered for tickets that had already been issued through Jan. 3, 2021. Performances are scheduled to proceed next winter and spring.
In the meantime, the Broadway League said it’s working with experts to implement critical safety protocols in theaters, including backstage.
“The Broadway experience can be deeply personal but it is also, crucially, communal,” said Broadway League board chair Thomas Schumacher in a release.
“The safety of our cast, crew, orchestra and audience is our highest priority and we look forward to returning to our stages only when it’s safe to do so,” he continued. “One thing is for sure, when we return we will be stronger and more needed than ever.”
— Ryan Grenoble
New York City To ‘Reexamine’ Opening Indoor Dining — 6/29/20, 11:15 a.m. ET
New York City will reassess whether to include indoor dining in its next phase of reopening, as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in other parts of the U.S., with many of the new outbreaks tied to restaurants and bars.
“We are now going to reexamine the indoor dining rules for Phase 3,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at his daily press briefing Monday, adding that he was “increasingly concerned” about the new outbreaks across the country, and will announce new guidelines in the next few days. “The rest of Phase 3 is moving on pace for next Monday, July 6, but the indoor dining element is now in question.”
Once the epicenter of the pandemic, the city is now one of the few regions of the country where cases have dramatically declined. Earlier this month, it began a phased reopening. Under New York state’s reopening guidelines, Phase 2, which began last Monday, included outdoor dining. The guidelines for Phase 3, slated to begin next Monday, had included indoor dining if restaurants could place tables at least 6 feet apart.
Many states where the pandemic continues to worsen initially had lax restrictions and quickly reopened, especially Arizona, Texas and Florida, which now face a skyrocketing rate of new infections. Public health experts attribute many of these new outbreaks to the lack of mask wearing and social distancing in restaurants and bars.
— Marina Fang
More Than 500,000 People Have Died Of The Coronavirus Worldwide — 6/29/2020, 7:00 a.m. ET
At least 500,000 people worldwide have died of the coronavirus, Johns Hopkins University reported Sunday night. Over the weekend, worldwide infections passed the 10 million mark. The grim milestone comes as infections surge in the U.S., prompting governors to rein in opening plans.
The U.S. now has had more cases and deaths than any other nation. But cases are also surging rapidly in Russia and Brazil.
— Nick Visser
Pelosi Calls For National Mask Mandate ― 6/28/20, 2:50 p.m. ET
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called for a federal mask-wearing mandate to curb the spread of the coronavirus amid a surge of infections across some parts of the country.
“It’s time for this administration to take this seriously,” Pelosi said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week.”
She added: “We are 4% of the world’s population; we are 25% of the cases and the deaths. ... We have the worst record any country in the world, and the president says we’re making progress.”
Asked if it’s time to mandate mask wearing nationwide, Pelosi said, “definitely, long overdue for that. My understanding that the [CDC] has recommended the use of masks but not ... required it because they don’t want to offend the president. The president should be [an] example. You know, real men wear masks. Be an example to the country.”
U.S. Death Toll Hits 125,000 As Global Cases Surpass 10 Million ― 6/28/20, 12:05 p.m. ET
There have been over 125,000 coronavirus-linked deaths in the U.S. and more than 2.5 million confirmed cases of the virus nationwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The number of known cases globally has surpassed 10 million.
The U.S. has by far the highest number of confirmed cases and deaths; Brazil has the second highest numbers, with over 1.3 million recorded infections and at least 57,00 deaths as of Sunday.
The U.S. appeared to be flattening its curve, but surges in infections across some parts of the country in recent weeks have led to record numbers of hospitalizations. Vice President Mike Pence said earlier this week that the death toll in the U.S. could top 240,000.
— Hayley Miller
Former CDC Chief: Increased Testing Doesn’t Account For Surge In Cases— 6/28/20, 11:40 a.m. ET
Dr. Tom Frieden, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that new spread of the coronavirus — not increased testing capacity — is largely responsible for the surge in COVID-19 cases across parts of the country.
His statement contradicts President Donald Trump’s claim that the number of confirmed cases has skyrocketed simply because more tests have been made available.
“As a doctor, a scientist, an epidemiologist, I can tell you with 100% certainty that in most states where you’re seeing an increase, it is a real increase,” Frieden told “Fox News Sunday.”
He continued: “It is not more tests. It is more spread of the virus. ... The numbers you’re seeing are just a tip of the iceberg of even more spread.”
On Friday, the U.S. reported over 45,000 new cases, shattering the record for the country’s largest single day total. Hospitalizations have increased dramatically in several states, including Arizona, Florida, Texas and South Carolina.
Frieden on Sunday suggested that these states reopened too early.
“If you open when cases are still increasing, as many states did, it’s like leaning into a left hook: You’re going to get hit hard,” Frieden said.
He estimated that another 15,000 people in the U.S. will die from COVID-19 in the next month.
— Hayley Miller
Scientists Beginning To Understand How COVID-19 Affects The Body — 6/27/20, 4:38 p.m. ET
Studies on the long-term effects of COVID-19 are getting started as scientists begin to understand the toll the virus takes on the human body.
Although much of the focus in the early days of the crisis was on how the virus affects the lungs, patients can also experience blood clotting that leads to strokes, as well as various neurological complications, from headaches to seizures.
“We thought this was only a respiratory virus. Turns out, it goes after the pancreas. It goes after the heart. It goes after the liver, the brain, the kidney and other organs. We didn’t appreciate that in the beginning,” Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told Reuters.
People who contract the most serious cases of COVID-19 face extensive recovery time. It can take seven days in rehab for every one day spent on a ventilator to recover, and not every patient regains the same level of function.
― Sara Boboltz
For more on the pandemic, go here.
- 7 essential pieces of relationship advice for couples in quarantine
- What you need to know about face masks right now
- How to tell if you need to start doing online therapy
- Lost your job due to coronavirus? Here’s what you need to know.
- Parenting during the coronavirus crisis?
- The HuffPost guide to working from home
- What coronavirus questions are on your mind right now? We want to help you find answers.
- Everyone deserves accurate information about COVID-19. Support journalism without a paywall — and keep it free for everyone — by becoming a HuffPost member today