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Dr. Anthony Fauci warned members of Congress this week of a "disturbing" surge in new coronavirus infections. U.S. cases are growing by 5% or more in over 30 states including Florida, Arizona and Texas. Several states put a pause on reopening plans, but Texas and Florida clamped down again as Covid-19 cases spiked. The surge in new cases is being driven largely by younger people getting sick. To stem the spread, both Texas and Florida placed restrictions on bars. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut implemented quarantines for travellers from hot-spot states in an attempt to keep the virus at bay. Our team coverage on the outbreak below.
Check out Meg Tirrell's latest "Healthy Returns: The Path Forward" livestream interview here with Columbia University virologist Angela Rasmussen. You can tune in Wednesdays at 4:30pm EDT on cnbc.com, CNBC's Facebook or the CNBC Events Twitter to join live.
| | Apple introduces new Covid-19 features | At Apple's WWDC this week, the company introduced some new health and medical features. That includes hand-washing reminders, which are particularly helpful during a pandemic, new mask memojis, and improved sleep tracking for the Apple Watch. The company also shared that it's adding more sophisticated mobility metrics, including to monitor so-called "functional capacity," which is particularly useful to help track older populations as they age. Apple, which has been moving into the health business for more than five years, now has a team of dozens of doctors and engineers.
- Chrissy Farr | | | | Texas rolls back its reopening, cancels elective surgeries in some counties | Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Friday that he will roll back some of the state's reopening, only a day after he said he would place the state's plans on pause. The new order will close all of the state's bars and reduce the capacity for indoor dining at restaurants, among other adjustments. "As I said from the start, if the positivity rate rose above 10%, the State of Texas would take further action to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Abbott said in a press release. On Thursday, he also ordered all licensed hospitals in four counties that include the state's largest cities — Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Austin — to postpone elective procedures in order to protect hospital capacity for Covid-19 patients. On Tuesday, Abbott recommended in an interview with KBTX-TV that residents stay home unless they have to venture outside.
- Noah Higgins-Dunn | | | | As dexamethasone demand surges, keep an eye on supply | It's not surprising prescriptions of the common steroid dexamethasone soared after a UK trial showed it can reduce mortality in the sickest patients with Covid-19. What drug industry experts are keeping an eye on is supply. The medicine comes in both IV and pill form, and - like many sterile injectable medicines - the IV form has been in shortage for years due to manufacturing issues. Now, four makers cite spikes in demand on the FDA's drug shortages database, and Cardinal Health has put the medicine on allocation. Data provider Vizient, though, says hospitals still have no trouble stocking it for now.
- Meg Tirrell | | | | Coronavirus contact tracing 'will save lives,' if health departments can build it | Contact tracing is one of the few public health interventions proven to cut off chains of transmission and contain the coronavirus. However, it's costly work that requires trained personnel and it's never been conducted on the scale demanded by the coronavirus, tracing specialists told CNBC. Earlier this week, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield testified before members of Congress that there are currently between 27,000 and 28,000 tracers on the ground. He added that he expects the country will need about 100,000 tracers total to conduct effective tracing and other public health experts, including former CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, have put that figure much higher, at 300,000 tracers. "This has to be built," Redfield said Thursday of tracing infrastructure. Here's a look at how various jurisdictions have gone about ramping up tracing and how the federal government has supported, or failed to support, those efforts.
- Will Feuer | | | | Dr. Fauci warns of "more and more" virus complications in young people | Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious disease expert, told members of Congress this week that doctors and infectious disease specialists are seeing "more and more" complications with Covid-19 in young people. The comment came as officials in the hardest-hit states say more young people are ignoring social distancing measures and testing positive for the virus. Early in the U.S. outbreak, researchers said the virus appeared to be sparing young people while being particularly severe for the elderly and those with underlying health conditions. That's not the case, Fauci said. In fact, the virus can produce a wide range of symptoms in people from no symptoms to symptoms that require intensive care, he said.
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