This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
Published on June 22, 2020, the New York Times reported that the United States accounted for 20% of all new coronavirus infections worldwide on Sunday, despite making up only 4.3% of the global population.
According to the New York Times data, new cases continued to surge over the weekend in 22 states, particularly in the West and the South. Oklahoma and Missouri reported their largest single-day case increases yet on Sunday, and Florida passed 100,000 total cases, according to the state's health department.
Washington's Yakima County, where the number of cases has more than doubled in the past month, is facing a dire situation. Governor Jay Inslee described the county as being at a 'breaking point,' with a shortage of hospital beds and patients being taken to Seattle, over two hours away, for medical care.
The World Health Organization's head, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned countries not to make the virus a political issue, particularly as infections worldwide are on the rise.
Dr. Tedros said, 'We know the pandemic is so much more than a health crisis — it's an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis.'
Over the weekend, Brazil became the second country to log more than 50,000 virus-related deaths. New cases across the country continue to spike, particularly in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Some epidemiologists say if that trend continues, Brazil could top the United States for the most virus-related deaths by late July.
Parts of Africa are also becoming global hot spots, after being largely spared from the virus earlier this year. South Africa is now seeing an average of 1,000 new cases a day, and virus-related deaths in Egypt are on the rise.
