President Donald Trump wore a face mask when he visited the Walter Reed National Military Medical ... [+] Center this month. AFP via Getty ImagesKEY FACTSThe number of total fatalities attributed to the virus has exceeded 143,000, the Times reported. The troubling numbers come as calls for widespread use of face masks grows, with President Donald Trump, who has in the past downplayed the garment, calling their use “patriotic” in a tweet this week. Labor Department numbers released Thursday showed unemployment claims over the past week have jumped for the first time since March, rising by upwards of 100,000 to total 1.4 million. KEY BACKGROUNDAround 230 million Americans are under a form of public masking mandate where they live, amounting to some 70% of the country, according to a Forbes analysis.

Source: Forbes July 23, 2020 16:32 UTC