The U.S. was on the brink of another historic milestone Sunday, poised to surpass 5 million reported cases of COVID-19 — a number roughly equal …
The U. S. was on the brink of another historic milestone Sunday, poised to surpass 5 million reported cases of COVID-19 — a number roughly equal to one-quarter of total worldwide cases reported. The numbers continue to roar higher: More than 56,000 new U. S. cases were reported Sunday, with more than 1,000 deaths. More than 162,000 Americans have died in little more than six months. The Johns Hopkins University’s coronavirus dashboard also reported record-breaking numbers in Brazil, the second hardest-hit nation in terms of deaths and cases. Brazil has now exceeded 100,000 deaths and 3 million cases. All this as the world neared 20 million cases, a number experts widely believe is underreported due to insufficient testing. The staggering numbers come as world leaders grapple with the ongoing human and economic toll of the virus. President Donald Trump has previously attributed high number of cases in the U. S. to expanded testing, but data shows testing alone cannot explain the high number of cases. As economic worries mounted over stalled stimulus negotiations in Washington, Trump sought to act unilaterally by signing executive orders on unemployment benefits and other measures to prop up the economy. Our live blog is being updated throughout the day. Refresh for the latest news, and get updates in your inbox with The Daily Briefing. Speaking from his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump said his orders would provide an additional $400 per week in unemployment benefits, which is $200 less than the supplemental benefit that expired at the end of July. Trump said he also would suspend payments on some student loans through the end of the year, protect renters from being evicted from their homes, and instruct employers to defer certain payroll taxes through the end of the year for Americans who earn less than $100,000 annually. It was not immediately clear if he has the power to issue such an order while sidestepping Congress. Trump said he decided to act on his own and order the benefits after two weeks of negotiations with congressional Democrats collapsed without an agreement on a new coronavirus relief package.
