Protests follow police shooting of Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Authorities imposed a curfew in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Monday as angry crowds gathered in protest after a Black man was shot and seriously wounded by police Sunday evening. Video taken by a bystander appears to show three officers with their weapons drawn following a Black man as he walks from the back of a vehicle to the driver’s side. As the man enters the vehicle, one officer, who is hanging on to the man’s shirt from behind him, opens fire. Shouting and several gunshots can be heard in the video. Police didn’t identify the man nor say what led to the shooting, though Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers identified the man as Jacob Blake, who at last word was said to be hospitalized in serious condition. Protestors gathered at the scene after the shooting, prompting authorities to impose a citywide curfew that remained in effect until 7 a.m. Monday morning. Officers were seen using tear gas on protesters who had gathered outside the Kenosha Police Department. Blake’s fiancée, Laquisha Booker, told Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN that two of their kids were sitting in the back of the vehicle when Blake was shot by police, and that the officers threatened to shoot her as well. She also told WISN she never called police and wasn’t sure why they were there, and that Blake wasn’t armed and didn’t own any guns or weapons. The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting, and said all of the officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections and deaths.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 23,456,597
Global deaths: 809,349. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 176,809.
Number of countries/regions: at least 188
Total patients recovered globally: 15,155,418
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 5,704,447 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 176,809. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 32,883.
U.S. total patients recovered: 1,997,761
U.S. total people tested: 72,183,082
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 670,254 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. That ranks third in the world after Maharashtra, India, which has 682,383 reported cases, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has 754,129 reported cases.
COVID-19 headlines
Global COVID-19 deaths surpass 800,000; cases exceed 23 million
The number of global COVID-19 deaths crossed yet another grim milestone over the weekend, exceeding 800,000. As of Monday morning, there were 809,349 confirmed novel coronavirus deaths worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Some 176,809 of those deaths are in the United States, constituting about 22% of the global total. Also over the weekend, the number of confirmed global infections surpassed 23 million, with 23,456,597 reported as of Monday morning. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last Friday updated their COVID-19 deaths forecast to estimate between 187,000 and 205,000 U.S. deaths by September 12.
FDA announces emergency authorization for expanded plasma treatment of COVID-19
A day after President Trump tweeted criticism of the Food and Drug Administration, accusing the agency of slow-walking COVID-19 treatments, the president on Sunday announced the FDA has issued an emergency authorization of convalescent plasma treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients – that is, using the blood plasma of patients who have recovered from COVID-19 to treat patients with active infections. While Trump calls it a “powerful therapy,” and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said it was “a major advance in the treatment of patients,” other health experts say it needs more study. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in a statement criticized the president for pushing what they characterize as an unproven treatment that dangerously risks lives, declaring he’s “once again putting his political goals ahead of the health and well-being of the American public.” Convalescent plasma treatment trials are ongoing in the U.S. and elsewhere, with data still being collected and analyzed. Critics also question the timing of the announcement, coming as it did one day before the start of the Republican National Convention.