The confirmed death toll from COVID-19 in the United States is poised to surpass 200,000 — the highest of any nation by far. On Sunday, the Washington National Cathedral marked the sobering milestone by tolling its bell 200 times, once for every thousand lives lost. In New York, families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 led a march, chanting “Trump lied. Two hundred thousand died.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reversed course and now says people who are asymptomatic but have had contact with an infected person should be tested. The earlier recommendation by the CDC that such individuals do not need testing was reportedly not written by scientists and was published over their strenuous objections.
Congressmember Jahana Hayes, the first African American woman to represent Connecticut in Congress, has become the latest lawmaker to test positive for COVID-19.