U.S. COVID-19 cases rise 35K; smallest increase in almost 2 months

Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The United States on Monday recorded about 35,000 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest one-day national count in almost two months, according to figures Tuesday from researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

Data from the university's Center for Systems Science and Engineering showed 35,100 new cases. That's the smallest figure since June 24, before a surge of cases in July.

Tuesday's figures showed there have been 5.443 million cases and 170,600 deaths in the United States since the start of the outbreak.

Nationally, there were another 445 deaths Monday, marking just the second day of fewer than 500 since mid-July.

The national case total has been on a gradual decline since a single-day peak of 77,000 new cases in the middle of July.

In Mississippi, more than 2,000 students and hundreds of teachers have been placed in quarantine after some schools resumed in-person classes, officials said.

State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs told reporters at an update that most of the students who tested positive were exposed to the virus in the community and not on school campuses.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said the state is expanding access to testing for teachers, even if they're asymptomatic. He also said emergency telehealth services will now be offered at schools for students covered under Medicaid.

Mississippi has the nation's fourth-highest rate of new cases per 100,000 residents over the last seven days, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute. It trails only Georgia, Florida and Texas.

In California, the Los Angeles County public health director said there's been real progress in slowing the spread of the virus.

"We have to continue to be diligent," Barbara Ferrer said during a briefing. "This is not a time to let down our guard."

The county, she said, has met five of the state's six key metrics for removal from California's coronavirus watch list -- including the seven-day positivity rate, which fell to about 6%. The state's threshold is 8%.

The county, however, is still well above statewide guidelines on the number of new cases per 100,000 residents, at 295 -- nearly three times the level needed to be within safety limits. It's down, however, from 333 last week.

"I urge everyone, let's just stay the course right now ... in the hopes that within weeks we are actually getting to a place where we can get off the state's monitoring list," Ferrer said.