Overnight Health Care: Newsom imposes new restrictions on businesses as coronavirus surges in California | Trump maintains coronavirus will ‘just disappear’ at some point | Six months in, coronavirus failures outweigh successes

Welcome to Wednesday’s Overnight Health Care.

There are 2.65 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S., and 128,000 people have died from the disease, but President Trump again on Wednesday said that the virus will “just disappear” at some point.

Meanwhile, states are issuing more restrictions ahead of the Fourth of July weekend amid fears that gatherings could lead to more spread of the coronavirus. 

A number of states are in worsening condition with it comes to COVID-19.

Let’s start with California, the site of one of the largest outbreaks in the U.S., which at one point seemed ahead of the curve.

The Golden State is now reimposing restrictions amid a surge of the coronavirus. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday ordered all indoor non-essential businesses to close in 19 counties across the state, including some heavily populated Los Angeles County and Orange County. 

Bars, dine-in restaurants, indoor movie theaters, breweries that don’t serve food and indoor tasting rooms at wineries are all ordered to close. Restaurants may remain open for takeout meals.

Newsom recommended that fireworks shows be cancelled, and said parking lots at state beaches in Southern California and the Bay Area will be closed this weekend in an effort to limit crowds. The beaches will remain open.

The numbers: California reported 110 deaths on Wednesday, the most the state has recorded since April, and nearly 6,000 new cases, Newsom said. Hospitalizations have jumped 51 percent in the past two weeks, and ICU admissions are up 47 percent over the same period. The concern is that just like Memorial Day, crowds on July 4th will make a bad situation worse.

California is hardly alone

Georgia, Texas, Ohio and Arizona all set records for new cases. Hospitalizations are rising, and even more concerning, death rates are too. 

Read more here.

Related: Arizona reports record number of new coronavirus cases, deaths

Michigan shuts down most indoor bar service in bid to prevent virus resurgence

Trump still says it will disappear

President Trump on Wednesday stood by his belief that the coronavirus will eventually “just disappear.” 

Trump told Fox Business that he is optimistic about the economic recovery from the pandemic-induced shutdown, citing recent strong jobs numbers and a bounce back in retail sales.

“We’re headed back in a very strong fashion with a ‘V,'” Trump said, referring to a V-shaped recovery. “And I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.”

Pressed by reporter Blake Burman about if he still believes it will disappear, Trump said he does.

“I do. Yeah, sure. At some point, and I think we’re going to have a vaccine very soon, too,” Trump said.

Read more here.

More Americans concerned about hospital resources, testing as COVID-19 cases surge

Americans’ concerns about the health care system’s capacity to treat COVID-19 cases as well as testing spiked in late June after plateauing earlier in the month, according to new polling from Gallup.

The percentage of Americans saying they are either moderately or very worried about access to hospital supplies, treatment or services in their area grew 10 points to 44 percent between June 22 and June 28.

Availability of coronavirus tests, meanwhile, is now a concern among 39 percent of Americans — a 6-point increase.

On the ground: The concern may be somewhat justified. As some states are grappling with spikes, the Trump administration’s “testing czar,” Adm. Brett Giroir, said some labs are reaching capacity, or are close to it.

“It is absolutely correct that some labs across the country are reaching or near capacity,” Giroir said during a call with reporters, though he couched it as a good thing, because of increases to states doing baseline tests of all nursing home residents and staff along with testing in prisons.

What labs say: The American Clinical Laboratory Association (ACLA), which represents independent labs like Quest and LabCorp, on Monday warned of increased turnaround times because increased demand will likely exceed capacity in the coming weeks.  

Read more here.

A big picture look from Reid Wilson: Six months in, coronavirus failures outweigh successes

In the six months since the World Health Organization (WHO) detected a cluster of atypical pneumonia cases at a hospital in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus pandemic has touched every corner of the globe, carving a trail of death and despair as humankind races to catch up.

At least 10.4 million confirmed cases have been diagnosed worldwide, and the true toll is likely multiples of that figure. In the United States, health officials believe more than 20 million people have likely been infected.

A staggering 500,000 people around the globe have died in just six months. More people have succumbed to the virus in the U.S. — 126,000 — than the number of American troops who died in World War I.

But even after months of painful lockdowns worldwide, the virus is no closer to containment in many countries. Public health officials say the pandemic is getting worse, fueled by new victims in both nations that have robust medical systems and poorer developing countries.

Read more here.

Politicians, scientists back masks: They work  

Political leaders are increasingly embracing recommendations from scientists and public health experts that face masks can drastically slow transmission of the coronavirus.

The science is clear: Face masks reduce transmission of COVID-19 by about 85 percent. At least three dozen studies have been published in recent months. A review of recent studies published by 19 public health experts in May found dramatic reduction in spread even if only half the population of a given country wears masks.

Those findings make scientific sense based on what is known about other respiratory diseases: Similar studies of diseases like influenza, transmitted through aerosol droplets produced by coughs or sneezes, also find masks effective.

Read more here

What we’re reading: 

Hollowed out public health system faces more cuts amid virus (Kaiser Health News and The Associated Press

‘Cries for help’: Drug overdoses are soaring during the coronavirus pandemic (The Washington Post

Why surviving the virus might come down to which hospital admits you (The New York Times

Young adults unconcerned by coronavirus “may be killing other people,” doctor warns (CBS News)

State by state: 

Oklahoma votes for Medicaid expansion (NPR)

Coronavirus is spreading so fast among Wisconsin 20-somethings that the CDC came to investigate. (Appleton Post-Crescent

Alabama adds 906 coronavirus cases, COVID hospitalizations reach new high of 776 (AL.com

Internal messages reveal crisis at Houston hospitals as coronavirus cases surge (ProPublica)

The Hill op-eds

Health disparity crisis: Insulin prices and COVID-19

President Trump should wear a mask

Take care of the elderly by testing their caregivers  

Tags Donald Trump Gavin Newsom

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