The Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Dashboard for Wednesday morning, July 8, at 7:34 a.m.:

Worldwide cases:  11,896,251      Worldwide deaths: 545,618

U.S. cases: 3,018,603    U.S. deaths:  131,766

According to the Dashboard, the reported worldwide cases increased by 207,388 in the last 24  hours, and 5,625 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported.

According to Worldometer, 6,991,379 people worldwide have recovered.

According to the Johns Hopkins Dashboard, the United States has added 57,371  cases in the last 24 hours, and deaths attributed to COVID-19 have increased by 1,015.  In the last month, the United States case count jumped by 1 million cases.

According to Worldometer, 1,372,878 people in the U.S. have recovered from COVID-19.

Health officials in the United States continue to be concerned about the rise in cases.  Although many of the latest cases are in young people, less likely to have serious impacts, part of the concern is that the cases may spread to those more vulnerable.

In a press briefing, Dr. Debra Birx of the White House Coronavirus Task Force asked people to wear masks and go back to limiting their gatherings to 10 people or less, after there were numerous large gatherings in recent weeks.   She was specifically focusing on Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, states which have been experiencing large increases in cases.

On Tuesday, the California Department of Public Health announced the state’s COVID-19 positivity rate and hospitalization rate were both trending upwards.  The Department has put 23 of California’s counties on a “watch list,” as cases are trending upwards.  Los Angeles County has around half of the state’s cases.  In Marin County, north of San Francisco, San Quentin Prison is suffering a large outbreak.

In a press update on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom said the Department of Health and Human Services is sending 180 medical professionals to assist at hospitals in California.  He said the Federal Government has assisted California in providing more than 1,900 additional hospital beds at temporary hospitals that can be activated on a 72-hour notice if needed. He was joined by Carmela Coyle, President & CEO of the California Hospital Association, who said hospitals stays for COVID-19 patients are being shortened in the state because of the use of the drug remdesivir, and because health professionals know much more now about how to deal with COVID-19.

Texas and Arizona just posted peaks in cases and deaths.  A team of military medical professionals is being deployed to Texas to help support the state’s healthcare teams.  In Florida, Miami, Orlando and Tampa hospitals have reportedly hit their capacity.  The statewide rate of positive tests for COVID-19 is just under 19%, and in Miami-Dade County, the positivity rate is 27%.

In Hawaii, by contract, the state’s positivity rate is around 3%, which is actually an increase from just under 2%, within the past few weeks.  Hawaii had its all-time high daily case increase announced on Tuesday, with 41 new cases.  The State’s total case count on Tuesday was 1,071, with 797 released from isolation and monitoring by the State Department of Health.