With 3,246 on Friday, Arizona’s COVID cases continue surge

PHOENIX — Arizona’s count of confirmed COVID-19 cases has surged again, setting the third record in four days for daily high numbers of new cases.

The state Department of Health Services reported 3,246 additional cases on Friday, increasing the statewide total to 46,689.

Arizona has also reported 1,312 deaths from the virus, including 41 reported on Friday.

The state has become a national coronavirus hotspot since Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-home orders last month. Ducey on Wednesday reversed himself and allowed local governments to mandate use of face masks in public to slow spread of the coronavirus.

Tucson and Flagstaff are among cities that have imposed mandates and the Phoenix City Council planned Friday to consider imposing one.

Here’s what you need to know about the virus outbreak

— Confirmed cornavirus cases linked to Germany slaughterhouse surpass 800

— World Health Organizations chief says pandemic is “accelerating,” confirmed cases hit daily high

— Decline in new US virus deaths may be temporary reprieve

— A South African activist and doctor who died of COVID-19 spent his life fighting apartheid, the government’s denial of HIV/AIDS and rampant corruption. Loved ones say Clarence Mini knew the odds were against him but he was committed to what he believed was right. He died in May at age 69.

— The United Nations food agency i s warning that without immediate funding it will stop delivering masks, gloves and other critical equipment to tackle the pandemic to 132 countries by the third week of July.

— New York City restaurants will be allowed to open with outdoor seating on Monday as the city enters the second phase of easing coronavirus restrictions.

Here’s what else is happening

WHO: Pandemic ‘accelerating’

The head of the World Health Organization said the coronavirus pandemic is “accelerating” and that more than 150,000 cases were reported Thursday — the highest single-day number so far.

In a media briefing on Friday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly half of the newly reported cases were from the Americas, with significant numbers from South Asia and the Middle East.

“We are in a new and dangerous phase,” he said, warning that restrictive measures are still needed to stop the pandemic. “Many people are understandably fed up with being at home (and) countries are understandably eager to open up their societies.”

But Tedros warned that the virus is still “spreading fast.” He noted the toll would be especially great on refugees, more than 80% of whom live in mostly developing nations.

“We have a shared duty to everything we can to prevent, detect and respond to the transmission of COVID-19 detected among refugees in hospitals.”

Navy upholds firing of carrier captain in virus outbreak

In a stunning reversal, the Navy has upheld the firing of the aircraft carrier captain who urged faster action to protect his crew from a coronavirus outbreak, according to a U.S. official.

The official said the Navy also extended the blame for the ship’s pandemic crisis, delaying the promotion of the one-star admiral who was also onboard, concluding that both men made serious errors in judgment.

The spread of the coronavirus aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt while on deployment in the Pacific in March exploded into one of the biggest military leadership crises of recent years. More than 1,000 members of the crew eventually became infected, and one sailor died. The ship was sidelined for weeks at Guam but recently returned to duty.

The decision by Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations, to hold both Capt. Brett Crozier and his boss, Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, accountable is a confirmation of concerns expressed by top Pentagon officials who demanded a deeper investigation last month when the initial probe recommended Crozier’s reinstatement as the ship’s captain. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a report not yet made public.

Apple temporarily closing 11 stores

Apple is closing 11 stores in Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina that it had reopened just few weeks ago as infections rates in some regions in the U.S. begin to rise.

Arizona and Florida have both experienced rising incidents of new cases and rates of those testing positive for COVID-19.

There were 286.7 new cases per 100,000 people in Arizona over the past two weeks, which ranks first in the country for new cases per capita. The rolling average number of daily new cases has increased by 1,024.1, or 143.1%.

Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases in Florida has increased by 1,422.7, or 144.4%., according to researchers tracking the virus at John Hopkins University.

“We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible,” Apple said in a prepared statement.

S. Carolina spikes

South Carolina’s hard-hit hospitality industry in May clawed back some of the jobs lost amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic as businesses across the state continue to reopen — and new COVID-19 case numbers continue to soar.

South Carolina’s Department of Employment and Workforce announced on Friday that the state’s jobless rate for the month of May stood at 12.5%, a slight improvement over a record-setting revised April rate of 12.8%. At that point, the coronavirus had wiped out nearly half of the state’s restaurant tourism and other hospitality jobs, with officials estimating that overall annual revenue from the $24 billion tourism industry would be cut in half for 2020.

Many of May’s gains came in the hospitality sector, which posted more than 36,000 new jobs. Employment and Workforce director Dan Ellzey pointed out that the May labor survey was conducted during the same week that Gov. Henry McMaster allowed restaurants in the state to re-open, a move that accounted for many of the hospitality job gains.

The news comes amid a record-setting week for new COVID-19 cases in South Carolina. On Thursday, state health officials announced an additional 982 people had tested positive for coronavirus — a new single-day record — for a total number of more than 21,500 across the state, resulting in 621 deaths.

Canada OKs NHL game

Canada’s deputy prime minister says Canada has approved a National Hockey League plan to play in Canada amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The plan required an exemption as the U.S.-Canada border is currently closed to all non-essential travel until at least July 21 and those who enter Canada must self isolate for 14 days.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said Canada’s top public health officer as well as the top health officers of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and Toronto worked closely with the NHL to approve the plan. Freeland says it will be very important for the players to continue to work very closely with health officials and follow their instruction.

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, says robust protocols such as group quarantining and testing will be in place. The league plans to have training camps open in July and to play games without spectators in a couple of cities in late July or August.

D.C. to go to Phase 2

The capital of the United States is moving to the second phase of its reopening next week.

Washington, D.C., officials say the anticipated spike in COVID-19 infections appears to have been successfully blunted by months of social restrictions.

Playgrounds, libraries, gyms and nail salons will be able to reopen on a limited basis starting Monday. All nonessential businesses will be allowed to let customers inside up to 50% capacity. Restaurants also will be able to seat diners indoors, also at 50% capacity.

Theaters, cinemas and concert venues will remain closed but they can apply for a special waiver from the District government. Public pools will reopen on a limited basis, although Washington Mayor Bowser said earlier this week that it may take a few weeks to properly prepare the facilities.

Indoor gatherings of up to 50 people will be allowed, and houses of worship can hold in-person for 100 people or 50% capacity — whichever number is smaller.

As of Friday, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Washington stood at 9,952, including 530 deaths.

WHO: China shares virus sequences

The emergencies chief of the World Health Organization has confirmed that China shared coronavirus sequences from its latest outbreak with the global community and says it appears the virus was imported to Beijing from strains circulating in Europe.

At a press briefing on Friday, Dr. Michael Ryan noted that “strains and viruses have moved around the world” throughout the pandemic. Ryan said that many viruses in New York “were of European origin” but that doesn’t mean Europe necessarily was the original source.

He says analysis of the genetic sequences so far suggests that the virus spread to people in China from other humans instead of jumping from animals directly into humans.

Ryan called for a detailed investigation into the recent Beijing outbreak to determine how the imported cases sparked such a large cluster.

After the new coronavirus was first detected in people in Wuhan in late December, officials guessed that it likely jumped into people from a wildlife market, although the species responsible has never been identified.

German meatpacking plant outbreak swells

German authorities say the number of confirmed coronavirus infections linked to an outbreak at a slaughterhouse has risen to 803.

Officials in Guetersloh county in western Germany said Friday that 463 tests so far have been negative. They have tested over 3,500 people so far at the Toennies Group site in Rheda-Wiedenbrueck, and are awaiting the results of the remaining tests.

The number of confirmed cases was up from 730 on Thursday. The source of the infections remained unclear.

The flurry of cases at the site contributed to Germany’s biggest daily increase in virus cases in a month.

Following a series of earlier coronavirus clusters at abattoirs, the German government pledged to crack down on the practice of using subcontractors, who often hire migrant workers and house them in cramped accommodation. But some lawmakers have warned of the risk that jobs might move abroad.

Spain revises death toll up 1K

Spain is adding more than 1,000 more fatalities to its coronavirus death toll in the first update in nearly two weeks after officials revised a backlog of inconsistent data.

At least 28,313 people have died through Friday with a COVID-19 diagnosis, health officials. Authorities had stopped updating the tally at 27,136 on June 7.

The country has also confirmed more than 244,000 infections since the beginning of the outbreak, although an official immunization survey estimates that 5% of its 47 million inhabitants are presumed as having contracted the virus.

Spain’s health minister says that 34 clusters have been detected in the past six weeks, since Spain began to relax its confinement rules. The new clusters have infected around 1,000 people in slaughterhouses, nursing homes, hospitals and among migrant workers and party-goers.

Malaria-COVID conflict in S. Africa

A global campaign to end malaria is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic is hurting the production and supply of needed rapid testing kits and drugs as the rainy season begins in Africa, the region hardest hit by the mosquito-borne disease.

A statement by the RBM Partnership to End Malaria says there’s an immediate need for another 105 million rapid testing kits for malaria this year. It says the COVID-19 pandemic and demand for testing kits and potential drugs is creating shortages and price increases of malaria testing kits and “active pharmaceutical ingredients” used in malaria medicines.

The statement doesn’t mention hydroxychloroquine by name. But President Donald Trump aggressively pushed the drug early in the pandemic and raised its profile even though a British trial showed that it doesn’t prevent deaths among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Virus in Italy wastewater in 2019, report says

A study by Italy’s National Institute of Health has found that the new coronavirus was in circulation in wastewater in the northern cities of Milan and Turin in December 2019, at least two months before the virus was confirmed to have spread locally in the population.

The study, released Thursday, was based on 40 water samples collected as part of regular checks from sewage treatment plants in northern Italy from October 2019 to February 2020. It showed the virus that causes COVID-19 in Dec. 18 samples from Milan and Turin, while earlier samples were negative.

The research has so far not linked any confirmed cases to the virus’ earlier presence, but researchers have proposed using the system to monitor the presence of the new coronavirus in water systems to help identify any possible new outbreaks.

A pilot monitoring system will launch next month in tourist destinations, in preparation for wider monitoring ahead of a possible new spike in infections, the institute said.

Oklahoma cases surge

Oklahoma has a big surge in new coronavirus cases, to a new daily high double the previous record-setting number two days earlier.

State health officials listed 450 new cases Thursday, compared to the previous one-day high of 229 reported Tuesday. The additional cases increased the state’s overall total 5.1% to 9,354 since the outbreak began.

Two deaths Thursday brought the Oklahoma COVID-19 death toll to 366.

Tulsa County continues as the state’s leading COVID-19 hot spot with 120 new cases, for a total of 1,945. Second-place Oklahoma County reported 107 new cases, bringing its total to 1,861.

The new wave comes amid demonstrations to protest police killings of black citizens and ahead of Juneteenth celebrations and a Saturday rally planned by President Donald Trump

UN needs funding to transport PPE

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations’ food agency says ít needs immediate funding to prevent a shutdown in late July of the global transport system that has been delivering tons of masks, gloves and other critical equipment for the coronavirus pandemic in 132 nations.

The World Food Program’s director of operations said Thursday that the agency also would have to ground aircraft that have transported 2,600 humanitarian and health workers free of charge to 40 destinations across Africa, Asia and the Middle East since the pandemic began.

Amer Daoudi says the WFP requested $965 million to sustain its transport services through 2020 but so far has received only $132 million even though “the entire humanitarian and health community is relying on WFP’s logistic services now more than ever.”