Coronavirus updates: Brazil President Bolsonaro tests positive; Texas passes 10k daily cases; Drug treatments almost ready

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, and a U.S. senator says the U.S. has begun the process of dropping out of the World Health Organization.

Subscribe
Hi, Kennedy
up next
US celebrates 4th of July holiday amid increasing coronavirus cas...
Coronavirus updates: Brazil President Bolsonaro tests positive; Texas passes 10k daily cases; Drug treatments almost ready
JOHN BACON, JESSICA FLORES AND LORENZO REYES | USA TODAY | 12 minutes ago

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is impacting the global economy and raising fears of a recession. What causes a recession and what are the signs?
JUST THE FAQS, USA TODAY
Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19, and a U.S. senator says the U.S. has begun the process of dropping out of the World Health Organization.

But two U.S. pharmaceutical companies say they are closing in on drugs that could treat or even prevent COVID-19 within a few months.

A $450 million federal contract awarded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals could help get initial doses of their drug out by summer's end, the company said. Another company, Novavax, claimed a $1.6 billion contract and said if testing goes well it hopes to deliver 100 million vaccine doses as early as late 2020.

The news comes as confirmed cases surge across most of the U.S.; Dr. Anthony Fauci said the country is "still knee-deep in the first wave of this." Arizona is one hot spot: The state surpassed 100,000 cases Monday, and more than 62,000 of the 101,441 reported cases involve people younger than 44, state officials said.President Donald Trump was undeterred, tweeting Tuesday that the U.S. has "the lowest Mortality Rate in the World. The Fake News should be reporting these most important of facts, but they don’t!"

Here are some recent developments:

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, 65, revealed Tuesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after developing a cough and other symptoms.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said Tuesday that the White House has formally notified Congress that the U.S. has officially started the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization.

Caesars Entertainment told its employees in an email Monday that they could be fired for not wearing a face mask.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said FEMA denied multiple requests for a mega-COVID-19 testing site as they've done in other cities.

Florida state officials are ordering all school to reopen in August "at least five days per week for all students."

📈 Today's stats: The U.S. has seen almost 3 million confirmed cases and more than 130,000 deaths, according to John Hopkins University data. Globally, there have been 11.6 million cases and 540,000 deaths.

📰 What we're reading: Hundreds of millions of dollars has gone to COVID-19 contractors accused of prior fraud. Those contracts range from masks and medical equipment to janitorial cleaning, video productions and even ferryboat services.