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What you need to know about the coronavirus today

U.S. to surpass grim milestone
The death toll from the spread of coronavirus in the United States was approaching more than 200,000 lives on Monday, more than double the number of fatalities in India, the country reporting the world’s second-highest number of cases.

The United States, on a weekly average, is now losing about 800 lives each day to the virus, according to a Reuters tally. That is down from a peak of 2,806 daily deaths recorded on April 15.

During the early months of the pandemic, 200,000 deaths was regarded by many as the maximum number of lives likely to be lost in the United States to COVID-19.

The pandemic is no longer focused on one or two epicenters. Instead it is smoldering across all states, raising fears that when colder weather forces more people inside, it could surpass the surge seen in the summer.

Track the spread of the virus with this state-by-state and county map.

UK ‘at critical point’
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was pondering a second national lockdown as an accelerating coronavirus outbreak threatened to destroy any shoots of economic recovery and send millions back into isolation. The UK already has the biggest official COVID-19 death toll in Europe - and the fifth largest in the world - while it is borrowing record amounts in an attempt to pump emergency money through the damaged economy.

Czech Republic sees surge in cases
Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech resigned following criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic after a surge in cases. Before the start of the summer, the government lifted almost all restrictions imposed during the first wave of the pandemic. The number of infections has doubled this month and has grown at the second fastest rate in Europe in recent weeks, behind Spain.

‘Light at the end of the tunnel’ Down Under
Australia reported its smallest daily increase in new coronavirus infections in more than three months, but authorities in the nation’s virus hotspot of Victoria said they could not hasten the easing of restrictions. The 16 new infections are Australia’s smallest daily jump since June 14, while two additional deaths were reported.

Taj Mahal welcomes back visitors
India reopened its famed monument to love, the Taj Mahal, with the first visitors trickling in as authorities reported 86,961 new coronavirus infections, with no signs of a peak yet. A Chinese national and a visitor from Delhi were among the first to step into the white marble tomb built by a 17th-century Mughal emperor for his wife when it opened at sunrise, ending six months of closure.

Breakingviews - Corona Capital: South Korea, G4S, Informa.
Read concise views on the pandemic’s financial fallout from Breakingviews columnists across the globe.

Reuters reporters and editors around the world are investigating the response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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SCOTUS

Joe Biden urged Senate Republicans not to vote on any candidate nominated to the Supreme Court as the November election nears, calling President Trump’s plan an “exercise of raw political power.” A second Senate Republican on Sunday voiced objections to Trump’s plan for a quick vote on a replacement to liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday.

Such an appointment by the president, if approved by the Senate, would cement a 6-3 conservative majority that could influence American law and life for decades.

Barbara Lagoa, the Cuban-American federal appellate judge under consideration by President Trump for the U.S. Supreme Court, is a conservative jurist whose resume includes a role in a heated international custody battle and the distinction of being the first Hispanic woman to serve on Florida’s top court.

If picked by Trump and confirmed by the Senate to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Lagoa would become only the second Hispanic to serve on the Supreme Court, following current Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

In considering Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court, President Trump has turned to a federal appellate judge known for conservative religious views who liberals worry could become instrumental in rolling back abortion rights.

Barrett is a favorite among religious conservatives. A devout Roman Catholic, Trump in 2017 appointed Barrett to the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the regional appeals courts that are one step below the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Congress this week will try to pass legislation funding the federal government through mid-December, avoiding the spectacle of a government shutdown amid a pandemic and just weeks before the Nov. 3 elections.

Prior to the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which has set off an intense partisan battle over Trump’s plan to replace her, negotiators behind the scenes last week cobbled together a bill that would keep most federal programs operating at current levels through Dec. 11.

Environment

The deaths of hundreds of elephants in Botswana this year which had baffled and alarmed conservationists were caused by toxins produced by cyanobacteria in water, officials said. Cyril Taolo, deputy director of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, told a news conference that the number of dead elephants had risen to 330, from 281 last reported in July.

In the forests and on remote offshore islands of Taiwan, a group of conservationists are racing to collect as many rare plant species as they can before they are lost to climate change and human encroachment.