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5 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week

10 August 2020
 Dan Ackermann
Data: Compiled by Axios; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

Five states set new highs last week for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day, according to the COVID Tracking Project and state health departments. Only one state — North Dakota — surpassed a record set the previous week.

Why it matters: This is the lowest number of states to see dramatic single-day increases since Axios began tracking weekly highs in June, and marks a continued decrease from late July.

The state of play:

  • Aug. 1: No states, although Puerto Rico saw a new high with 1,091 cases.
  • Aug. 2: Washington state (1,738)
  • Aug 3: North Dakota (183)
  • Aug. 4: None
  • Aug. 5: None
  • Aug 6: None
  • Aug 7: Indiana (1,239) and Virginia (2,015)
  • Aug 8: Wisconsin (1,185)

The big picture: The U.S. saw infections fall or hold steady in most of the country last week, according to a seven-day average tracked by Axios.

What they're saying: Although cases are decreasing since surging this summer, the U.S. is still "right in the middle of the first wave" of the pandemic, NIAID director Anthony Fauci told JAMA Network on Aug. 3.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include COVID Tracking Project (CTP) data, in addition to data taken directly from state health departments. CTP began reporting non-resident cases as part of Alaska's total case count on July 16.

Go deeper: Coronavirus cases skyrocketing among communities of color

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.