June 9, 2020 — A roundup of the latest news about COVID-19

The world just had the biggest daily surge in cases since the pandemic began. In the U.S., 21 states are still seeing increases, some of them quite dramatic. And the World Health Organization says true asymptomatic spread is actually pretty rare. Here’s the latest on coronavirus:

• New coronavirus cases had their biggest daily increase ever as the pandemic worsens globally and has yet to peak in central America, the World Health Organization said yesterday. Worldwide, we’re past 7.1 million confirmed cases, with 407,000 deaths and 3.3 million recoveries. Here in the U.S., we’ve had 1.96 million cases. More than 111,000 Americans have died, and almost 519,000 have recovered. But fewer than half the states are following federal recommendations to report probable cases and deaths, leading to undercounts of the disease’s impact.

• Even as the country reopens, the pandemic is far from over here. Twenty-one states reported weekly increases in new cases of COVID-19, with Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico all posting rises of 40% or higher for the first week of June compared with the prior seven days. Since the start of June, 14 states and Puerto Rico have recorded their highest-ever seven-day average of new cases since the pandemic began. Texas reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 hospitalizations yesterday, as the governor plans to reopen more businesses and double capacity. Meanwhile, President Trump’s campaign manager announced that Trump will begin holding in-person rallies within the next two weeks.

• People with intellectual disabilities and autism who contract COVID-19 die at higher rates than the rest of the population, according to an analysis by NPR.

• Spared the worst of COVID-19, the largest for-profit hospital chains in the United States are pursuing a speedy recovery backed by billions of dollars in federal aid, while other hospitals say they have been harder hit and left wanting.

• More than 50,000 people in the U.K. have died after contracting coronavirus, the second-highest total in the world after the U.S. Meanwhile, European Union member states are moving ahead with reopening their borders after the E.U. announced last Friday that most states would lift restrictions by mid-June.

• As many countries gingerly start lifting their lockdown measures, experts worry that a further surge of the coronavirus in under-developed regions with shaky health systems could undermine efforts to halt the pandemic, and they say more realistic options are needed.

• In India, Delhi’s Disaster Management Authority forecast today that as the number of virus cases in the city doubles, the nation’s capital should expect the number to grow to almost 550,000 cases by July 31.

• Moscow, the epicenter of Russia’s coronavirus pandemic, is lifting lockdown restrictions as the Kremlin prepares for a massive military parade on Red Square and a national referendum that will seal President Vladimir Putin’s political future.