Americans told don't get retested as US hits record of 77,300 cases

A middle school teacher stands in protest in Tampa, Florida, against the reopening of schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PIC/AFP

Even as the US reported a record daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, highest in the world so far, the government's top official in charge of Coronavirus testing urged Americans not to get retested to confirm they've recovered. According to Johns Hopkins University, 77,300 new cases were registered in 24 hours on Thursday. The previous high in the country was recorded last Friday at 67,800 cases.

Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir said on Thursday that repeat testing is not necessary for most people who are infected but remain at home. He said such testing is "clogging up the system." US health officials will soon issue guidelines explicitly recommending against the practice, except for patients in the most severe cases.

Americans in many states continue to face long lines at testing sites and lag times obtaining their results. The problems are due to a combination of pressures, including increased testing demand, supply shortages and bottlenecks at labs processing the tests. US officials are aiming to increase the use of rapid tests to shorten turnaround times. Those tests can usually be developed in 15 minutes or less and can be performed at testing sites, doctor's offices and clinics. They tend to be less accurate than the tests that need to be developed at clinical laboratories.

Meanwhile, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta's Mayor Bottoms and city council to block the city from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other important rules related to the pandemic. Kemp's order was met with defiance by Bottoms, who said they would continue enforcing the order.

Brazil cases double in a month

COVID-19 has affected the US worst, with 3,576,221 infections and 1,38,358 deaths. The second worst hit nation is Brazil, where the cases crossed 2 million on Thursday, doubling in less than a month, and death toll has surpassed 76,000 - 1,000 fatalities a day, on average, since late May on a gruesome plateau that has yet to tilt downward.

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