The Hill: WHO records new single-day high in global coronavirus cases
“The World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 210,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus around the world on Saturday, marking a new high in infections over a 24-hour period. Data from the agency showed that 211,411 cases of the virus were confirmed worldwide, representing a 20 percent increase from the previous day. The previous high in single-day infections was reported on June 28, when roughly 190,000 cases of the virus were confirmed globally…” (Wise, 7/5).

New York Times: The Pandemic’s Big Mystery: How Deadly Is the Coronavirus?
“More than six months into the pandemic, the coronavirus has infected more than 11 million people worldwide, killing more than 525,000. But despite the increasing toll, scientists still do not have a definitive answer to one of the most fundamental questions about the virus: How deadly is it? … The figure, usually called the infection fatality rate, could tell health officials what to expect as the pandemic spreads to densely populated nations like Brazil, Nigeria and India. … On Thursday, after the World Health Organization held a two-day online meeting of 1,300 scientists from around the world, the agency’s chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, said the consensus for now was that the I.F.R. is about 0.6 percent — which means that the risk of death is less than 1 percent…” (McNeil, 7/4).

Washington Post: Coronavirus will undermine trust in government, ‘scarring body and mind’ for decades, research finds
“Two new working papers present complementary data showing that the coronavirus pandemic will leave a deep psychological scar on the nation for years to come. The first, led by Julian Kozlowski of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, finds that the experience of the coronavirus and ensuing recession could make people and businesses less likely to resume their previous spending and investment patterns, which would have an extended stunting effect on economic growth. The second, led by Cevat Giray Aksoy of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, finds that people who endure a pandemic in young adulthood tend to be more distrustful of government institutions for the rest of their lives, an outcome that makes it more difficult for governments to effectively respond to future pandemics…” (Ingraham, 7/5).