Coronavirus cases steady as vaccinations increase
08 April 2021
Data: CSSE Johns Hopkins University; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios
Coronavirus cases are holding steady across the U.S. as vaccinations increase and states continue to loosen their safety measures.
By the numbers: The U.S. averaged about 65,000 new cases per day over the past week, essentially unchanged from the week before.
- Daily case counts increased in 13 states and declined in nine.
- The biggest improvement was in Alabama, which saw a 33% drop in new cases. The biggest deterioration was in Nebraska, which saw a 52% jump. (Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts suggested the jump could be partly due to a data issue.)
- Michigan, which has emerged as a hotspot in the latest phase of the pandemic, recorded an average of about 6,700 new cases per day over the past week, up 24% from the week before.
- But things improved in New York, which has also emerged as a potential hotspot in the pandemic’s burgeoning fourth wave. Daily cases there were down by about 7% over the past week.
What we’re watching: The U.S. administered an average of 3 million vaccine doses per day over the past week, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. Roughly 33% of American adults have gotten at least one shot, and 19% are fully vaccinated.
The bottom line: The vaccines will ultimately be our way out of this pandemic, if Americans keep getting vaccinated at this rate. The big question is how quick and how clean that ending will be.
- Hovering around 65,000 cases per day, even with such rapid vaccinations, means that a significant fourth wave is still on the table.
- It almost certainly wouldn’t be as deadly as previous surges, but it could give rise to more new variants and ultimately prolong COVID-19’s presence in our lives.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly 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.