The White House's bleak Covid-19 projections

The White House warns of 100 million new Covid-19 cases in late 2022; Sri Lanka’s prime minister resigns amid an unprecedented economic crisis.

Tonight's Sentences was written by Jariel Arvin.

100 million Americans could be newly infected with coronavirus this fall and winter

Bernd Weißbrod/picture alliance via Getty Images

• The Biden administration says the US could see 100 million new coronavirus infections, and a surge in deaths, this fall and winter, and argues more federal funding is needed to meet the coming wave. [Washington Post / Yasmeen Abutaleb and Joel Achenbach]
• The projection comes from a new analysis of models from outside experts. It assumes that lawmakers take no further action to combat the virus and no new variants arise. [CNN / Kaitlan Collins]
• It comes as the White House has tried and failed to get Congress to provide more money for vaccines, testing, and therapeutics. [The Hill / Peter Sullivan]
• Without more money, the administration claims the US won’t have enough vaccines for all Americans to get a fourth dose, and that’s partially why the infection projection is so high. [Politico / Hannah Farrow]
• If Congress doesn’t approve additional funding, the White House plans to reroute its testing and drugs funding to an emergency vaccination program covering the elderly and immunocompromised. [New York Times / Sheryl Gay Stolberg]
• Experts not involved in the White House projection agree a fall and winter surge is possible. But they are hesitant to make specific projections about that surge’s severity given the unpredictability of the virus. [ABC News /  Cheyenne Haslett]

Sri Lanka's prime minister resigns amid economic turmoil

• Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned on Monday, bowing to months of pressure amid the worst economic crisis in the country’s history. [Reuters]
• Sri Lankans have been calling for Rajapaksa to step down after struggling for months with rising fuel, food, and medicine costs; the government is also struggling to pay its bills. [CNN / Iqbal Athas]
• Rajapaksa’s exit came just hours after a bus of his supporters clashed with anti-government protesters outside his residence in the capital, Colombo. At least 150 people were injured. [Washington Post / Niha Masih and Gerry Shih]
• It’s unclear if the prime minister’s resignation will be enough to calm the unrest. The public also wants his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to step down. [NYT / Skandha Gunasekara and Mujib Mashal]

On Monday, protesters covered the Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, with red paint as he paid respects to fallen Soviet soldiers. [CNN]

• An Alabama law that makes providing gender-affirming care for trans youth a felony took effect on Sunday. A federal judge could put a hold on it. [Reuters]
• On Monday, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — son of a former dictator — took a commanding lead in the Philippines’ presidential election. [Washington Post / Regine Cabato]
• Twenty internet providers will offer service to low-income families through a government subsidy, which could provide millions with free internet. [Associated Press / Aamer Madhani]

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“You don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline.”

[Dr. Anthony Fauci, Biden’s chief medical adviser on the state of Covid-19 in the US / CNN]

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