The coronavirus outbreak in the United States is steadily spreading across the nation's southern and western states as daily infection rates sustain their record breaking trends. On Thursday, the U.S. breached 70,000 new cases for the first time, with the nation reporting the one day total of 77,225. Friday's total held fast to the new infection rate, topping 75,000. Daily new infection rates are continuing to climb in California, Florida and Texas, with the three heavily populous states accounting for half of the daily new infection totals. The current state of infection in the U.S. has seen 44 states and Washington D.C.'s seven day average increase by 5% in the last week.
In Texas, health officials are preparing for death rates to climb as well. The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency announced on Friday that it will be sending 14 refrigerated semi-trucks to serve as temporary mortuaries in Texas for the next few weeks. The state currently has about 3,700 fatal COVID-19 infections, with hospital rates foreshadowing a grimmer total.
Meanwhile, the nation is adding to its ongoing debate on public masking policies, with many governors calling for their residents to choose to wear masks without mandating they do so. BlackRock
"We need a world of compassion and that compassion is meaning wearing a mask," Fink stated. "If we all wore a mask, if we all cared about our fellow citizens a little more, we would be resolving this crisis much sooner."
Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services Admiral Brett Giroir told CNBC's "Squawk Box" in an interview later on on Friday that most viral transmission in the U.S. is coming for people who are asymptomatic and never show symptoms. That means that many people may have it and have never been tested, which adds more support to a nationwide mandate.
Total Global Cases: Over 14.1 Million
Total Deaths: Over 598,000
Total Recovered: Over 8.44 Million
Misinformation Crackdown
It is no surprise that in a time of heightened uncertainty false rumors and misinformation can spread quickly around the internet. To combat this, Google announced on Friday, reported by Reuters, that it will no longer allow websites and apps using its advertising technology to issue ads that the tech giant deems to be "dangerous content" that goes against scientific consensus surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Google defines such content as topics like debunked conspiracy theories. The search engine giant had already blocked advertisers in the past from promoting coronavirus cures or promoting the anti-vaccination movement. The new policy will now prevent ads from running on published content that encourages topics like these. In an added measure, Google is only allowing health officials and government organizations to create ads related to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the start of the global health crisis, digital advertising companies like Google and Facebook
