US faces ‘worst’ flu season, coronavirus death toll of 300,000 by December

The United States surpassed 170,000 coronavirus deaths as health officials expressed concerns over Covid-19 complicating the autumn flu season.

Deaths rose by at least 515 on Sunday, with Florida, Texas and Louisiana, leading the rise in fatalities.

The United States has at least 5.4 million confirmed cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the highest in the world. However that figure was likely an undercount as the country still has not ramped up testing to recommended levels.

US public health officials and authorities were concerned about a possible autumn resurgence in cases amid the start of the flu season, which would likely exacerbate efforts to treat the coronavirus.

Centres for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield has warned the United States may be in for its “worst fall” if the public does not follow health guidelines.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation was anticipating an uptick in Covid-19 cases in the coming months, resulting in around 300,000 total deaths by December, and a nearly 75 per cent increase in hospitalisations.

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Worldwide there were at least 21.5 million coronavirus cases and over 775,000 confirmed deaths. The United States remains the global epicentre of the virus in deaths, followed Brazil, Mexico, India and Britain.

The grim US toll came after President Donald Trump found a new doctor for his coronavirus task force – someone whose thinking on Covid-19 closely aligned with his.

Trump last week announced that Dr Scott Atlas, a frequent guest on Fox News Channel, joined the White House as a pandemic adviser. Atlas, the former chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University Medical Centre and a fellow at Stanford’s conservative Hoover Institution, has no expertise in public health or infectious diseases.

But he has long been a critic of coronavirus lockdowns and has campaigned for children to return to the classroom and for the return of college sports, just like Trump.

“Scott is a very famous man who’s also very highly respected,” Trump told reporters as he introduced the addition. “He has many great ideas and he thinks what we’ve done is really good.”

Atlas’ hiring comes amid ongoing tensions between the president and doctors Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, and Deborah Birx, the task force’s coordinator.

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While Birx remains closely involved in the administration’s pandemic response, both she and Fauci have publicly contradicted the rosy picture the president has painted of US efforts.

Elsewhere in the world, Brazil reported 50,644 cases, down from 60,091 the previous day, for a total of 3,275,520, according to the Health Ministry’s website. Another 1,060 deaths were reported, compared with 1,262 the previous day, for a total 106,523.

Italy – once the global epicentre of the coronavirus – has ordered the three-week closure of all dance venues after a pickup in infections over the weekend blamed in part on young partygoers.

Spain’s Basque region was expected to declare a health emergency on Monday, giving the local government exceptional powers to control the spread of the coronavirus, El Confidencial reported. It would be the first of Spain’s 17 regions to grant its local leader exceptional powers to order mini-lockdowns since the national government ended the state of emergency in June.

Germany reported 1,510 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the highest single-day increase since April 30, according to data from Johns Hopkins.

South Korea warns of tighter rules; New Zealand postpones election

In the Asia-Pacific region, South Korea counted its fourth straight day of triple-digit increases in new cases as the government urged people to stay home and curb travel.

The country had brought its initial outbreak largely under control, but thousands of Protestant church members were asked to quarantine as authorities battled virus clusters linked to religious groups.

India’s death toll passed 50,000 with 941 deaths reported in the most recent 24-hour period. August has seen a big spike in fatalities with more than a quarter of the country’s total deaths coming in the past 17 days.

Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus that’s been found to be 10 times more infectious. The mutation has become the predominant variant in Europe and the US, with the World Health Organisation saying there’s no evidence the strain leads to a more severe disease.

Australia’s hard-hit Victoria state recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic with 25 fatalities. The death toll surpasses the previous 24-hour record of 21 set last week.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed elections until October 17 after a new outbreak in Auckland.

Reuters, Associated Press, Bloomberg