Health officials are raising a flag about what appears to be an uptick in coronavirus cases around the world, as virus mutations threaten to disrupt progress in containing the virus. The World Health Organization said Wednesday scientists are trying to find the root of the resurgence after weeks of improvement. U.S. leaders continue to warn that variants, as well as premature easing of Covid restrictions, could result in troubling new outbreaks.
The U.S. is averaging roughly 64,400 new Covid-19 cases per day, according to a seven-day average calculated by CNBC using Johns Hopkins University data. That's 6% lower than daily new case volumes this time last week. The country had been reducing daily case loads by as much as 20% to 30% for a period of several weeks.
Here are some of the biggest developments Thursday:
- Connecticut to allow restaurants, gyms and other businesses to reopen at full capacity
- Senate Democrats start debate on $1.9 trillion Covid relief bill
- Pandemic has fueled a run on suburban homes — and jacked up prices
- Global study finds 'dramatic' link between obesity and Covid deaths
- Study finds 0.6% of professional athletes suffered from inflammatory heart disease post-Covid
The following data was compiled by Johns Hopkins University:
- Global cases: More than 115.57 million
- Global deaths: At least 2.56 million
- U.S. cases: More than 28.81 million
- U.S. deaths: At least 520,071