ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

As U.S. states and countries around the world look to boost their economies by loosening restrictions, coronavirus infections continue to spread, with more than a million new infections world-wide in less than two weeks. Globally there are more than 5.1 million recorded cases of the coronavirus, up from 3.85 million two weeks ago, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and more than 333,000 deaths. In the U.S., there have been nearly 1.58 million confirmed infections. The death toll reached 94,702, including 1,222 deaths recorded between 8 p.m. Wednesday and the same time Thursday, a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data showed. (Craymer, 5/22)

Fresh data from Michigan, one of the states hardest hit by the new coronavirus, show that a testing shortfall there is likely fueling a substantial undercount of deaths attributed to Covid-19 and points to the broader challenge of tracking deaths from the disease nationwide. An exclusive Wall Street Journal analysis of death certificates indicates that Michigan could have undercounted hundreds of fatalities connected to Covid-19 during a period in March and April when deaths had surged above normal levels. (Jones and Kamp, 5/21)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio deflected blame Thursday in the wake of a bombshell study confirming that New York’s elected leaders stalled when it was time to take action on battling the spread of the coronavirus. An analysis by Columbia University released Wednesday night concluded that if New York acted even one week earlier in ordering people to stay home and mandating social distancing, it would have spared more than 17,000 lives in the New York metro area. (Gronewold, Goldenberg and Durkin, 5/21)

Epidemiologists with the Washington State Department of Health believe COVID-19-related deaths are likely being undercounted in Washington. In a virtual briefing with reporters Thursday, DOH officials said tracking COVID-19 death data is not an easy task."There are a number of nuances to the data that we report and often it is very difficult – especially quickly – to make an assessment on the cause of death," said Dr. Katie Hutchison, Health Statistics Manager for the Washington State Department of Health. (McCarron, 5/21)

Another 539 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases brought the total so far to 18,200 in Minnesota, which is among a minority of states in which the global pandemic of the infectious disease is still peaking. The Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday reported another 32 deaths associated with COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus. That was a single-day high for the state and brought the death toll of the pandemic to 809. Long-term care residents made up 28 of the newly reported deaths and 663 total. (Olson, 5/21)

Clark County reported 84 new COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Thursday by the Southern Nevada Health District. The cases brought the total for the county to 5,734 and the fatalities pushed the death toll to 320. The district also reported 21 additional hospitalizations, substantially above the daily average of nearly eight over the preceding week. That pushed the hospitalization rate among those who have tested positive for COVID-19 slightly higher, to 21.08 percent. (Brunker, 5/21)