Virus cases continue surge in U.S.

(AP) Three nations are accounting for more than 60% of new cases, according to recent tallies from Johns Hopkins University. India on Thursday reported 25,000 new infections; the United States on Wednesday reported nearly 59,000, just short of the record 60,000 set a day earlier, as President Donald Trump insisted that schools reopen in the fall; and Brazil reported nearly 45,000 new cases.

Much of Europe appears to have put the worst of the crisis behind it, at least for now. But Serbia has emerged as a new focus of concern — and of unrest. On Thursday, the country’s crisis team was expected to ban gatherings in the capital, Belgrade, and limit the operations of cafes and night clubs following a spike in infections that officials say threatens the health system.

In the U.S., the number of confirmed cases has passed 3 million — meaning nearly one in every 100 people has been confirmed as infected — and the number of deaths is more than 132,000.

Trump remains determined to reopen America’s schools despite worries about the virus, and on Wednesday threatened to hold back federal money if school districts don’t bring their students back in the fall. He complained that his own public health officials’ safety guidelines are impractical and too expensive.

Despite Trump’s pressure, New York City announced that most of its students would return to classrooms only two or three days a week and would learn online in between.

A growing chorus of public health experts is urging U.S. officials to reconsider how they are reopening the broader economy, and to prioritize schools. That effort that will likely require closing some other establishments like bars and gyms to help curb the virus spread and give children the best shot at returning to classrooms.

“We need to think about what our priorities are as a society, and some other things may just have to wait,” said Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University. “I think there are hard choices having to be made by decision-makers.”