Public Health

U.S. disaster relief organizations and agencies are racing to plan for hurricane season in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NPR.

The percentage of positive COVID-19 tests appears to be rising in Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky — an early indication that outbreaks are worsening in those states, Anthony Fauci, MD, said July 28 on ABC's "Good Morning America." 

While several states saw record-setting days July 27, new COVID-19 cases are starting to flatten in hard-hit areas like Texas and Florida. 

COVID-19 cases are starting to flatten in hard-hit states like Texas, Arizona and Florida, reports CNBC.

Many counties nationwide have recently experienced a dangerous uptick in opioid-related overdoses, a trend that is getting worse as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt daily processes, according to upstate New York radio station WRVO.

The state agency tracking virus data says Florida hospitals can exclude COVID-19 patients being treated for other medical conditions from the data, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

As the world battles one major crisis, efforts to combat other crises are being put on hold. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended healthcare efforts on several different fronts, including work to mitigate the U.S. opioid crisis.

Deaths attributed to pneumonia, flu or COVID-19 increased the week of July 18 for the first time since mid-April, according to the CDC's weekly COVIDView report. 

New COVID-19 cases stabilized in the U.S. last week after rising over the past month, according to The New York Times.

The prevalence of underlying health issues among U.S. adults in more than 3,000 counties was nearly 50 percent in 2018, according to the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published July 24.