⁍ The increase of 10,000 deaths over the last 11 days is the fastest in the United States since early June.

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⁍ Florida, an epicenter of the pandemic in recent weeks, reported another record in one-day deaths on Wednesday, 217.

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⁍ With the scheduled reopening of schools days away in some states, U.S. President Donald Trump has pushed for students to return to class.

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– More than 150,000 people have died from the coronavirus this year, more than any other country, according to a Reuters tally based on state-by-state reports. Arkansas, California, Florida, Montana, Oregon, and Texas each reported record spikes in fatalities on Tuesday. “We have seen some signs in recent weeks that the increase in virus cases and the renewed measures to control it are starting to weigh on economic activity,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference following release of the Fed’s latest policy statement. The virus has moved from New York to the South and West, and the Miami Herald reports that Miami-Dade County Public Schools, one of the largest school systems in the nation, has decided to delay the start of the fall term by two weeks in the face of the outbreak. The school district will decide by late September if classes can resume on Oct. 5. President Trump has urged students to return to class while teacher unions and local officials have called for them to stay home. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted in March that the pandemic could kill more than 81,000 people by July. In its latest statement on July 14, the IHME said its model now projects the US death toll at more than 224,000 by Nov. 1, although the institute added that many fatalities could be avoided by preventative measures such as masks and social distancing. (Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert tested positive for the virus.)