Pediatric cases up 40% since mid-July; researchers find racial bias in formula for hospital aid — 4 COVID-19 updates

The U.S. reported more than 5 million total COVID-19 cases Aug. 9, jumping from 4 million reported July 23, according to data from Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University cited by CNN.

Four updates:

1. President Donald Trump signed four executive orders to provide emergency pandemic aid Aug. 8, reports The New York Times. The executive actions aim to extend supplemental unemployment benefits at $400 a week, defer some payroll taxes through 2020, provide eviction relief and extend relief for those with student loans. President Trump signed the orders after Democrats and Republicans in Congress failed to reach consensus on a stimulus bill last week. For more information, click here.

2. At least 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July, representing a 40 percent increase in pediatric cases, according to a joint report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. In total, 338,982 U.S. children have tested positive through July 30, accounting for 8 percent of all cases. 

3. Racial bias was found in the formula used to distribute COVID-19 relief to hospitals, with facilities in disproportionately Black areas receiving less money, according to a study published Aug. 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study found the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, along with the Paycheck Protection Program, distributed large portions of $175 billion to hospitals based on revenue instead of COVID-19 numbers. Despite COVID-19 burden, hospitals caring for nonwhite and indigent populations may receive less relief because such hospitals tend to have lower revenues due to underinsurance and undertreatment, the authors write. 

4. Five states make up more than 40 percent of all U.S. cases, according to CNN. California has reported the most cases in the country, followed by Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia.

Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Cases: 5,047,401
Deaths: 162,950
Recovered: 1,656,864

Counts reflect data available as of 9 a.m. CDT Aug. 10.

More articles on public health:
24 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Aug. 10
California public health director abruptly resigns
Number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, state by state: Aug. 10

24 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Aug. 10
 

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