The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Sunday morning, July 19, at 7:34 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:  14,348,475     Worldwide deaths:  603,285

U.S. cases: 3,739,726   U.S. deaths: 140,294   

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide cases increased by 228,712 in the last 24 hours, and 5,424 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 66,779  cases in the last 24 hours, and deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by 762.

The United States has just over one quarter of all the cases in the world.  Brazil has the next highest number of cases at 2,074,860, with India third with 1,077,781 cases of COVID-19.

The U. S. continues to lead the world in deaths (140,294).  Below is a screenshot from the Johns Hopkins Dashboard of the five countries with the most deaths.

According to the CDC, the United States has done 47,313,367 tests as of July 18, with a 9% positive rate.  By comparison, Hawaii has done 126,454 tests, with around a 1% positive rate.

Hawaii has had 1,354 COVID cases as of noon on Saturday, with 1,019 released from isolation and monitoring.   Hawaii County as of Saturday, according to State Department of Health, had 13 active cases out of 111 cumulative.  The state has had 24 deaths from COVID-19, with State Department of Health reporting that most of them are elderly.

Some of the most recent cases on the Big Island have been in connection with Kona Community Hospital, which has 3 employees who tested positive for COVID-19.  On Thursday and Friday, Premier Medical Group tested all KCH employees and contractors on site at the hospital, and the hospital itself tested all of its patients, which was at least the second test for them as all patients are tested upon arrival.   Kona Hospital announced on Saturday that 42 out of 43 patients had tested negative (one was hospitalized already for COVID-19), and 545 employees and contractors tested negative.  Three test results were still being processed or were under review.

To hear a 40-minute interview with Dr. Scott Miscovich about the different kinds of COVID-19 testing, the new G mutation and how it might affect vaccine development, COVID-19 in nursing home, and more, click here.

Note:  when numbers are taken from different sources …CDC, Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the Hawaii COVID-19 Joint Information Center…there may be differences in when they’ve posted the number, with time lags meaning numbers may not match exactly.