The dearth of tourists in the pandemic’swake strangled an economy alreadydamaged by U.S. sanctions. PAGE A12

Food Shortage Grips CubaThe sitcom won all the major comedyawards. Below, Daniel Levy took homefour for his work on the show. PAGE C1

‘Schitt’s Creek’ Sweeps Emmys

C M Y K Nxxx,2020-09-21,A,001,Bs-4C,E1

U(D54G1D)y+@!;!=!$!"

It is a staggering toll, almost200,000 people dead from the co-ronavirus in the United States,and nearly five times that many —close to one million people —around the world.

And the pandemic, which sentcases spiking skyward in manycountries and then trendingdownward after lockdowns, hasreached a precarious point. Willcountries like the United Statessee the virus continue to slow inthe months ahead? Or is a newsurge on the way?

“What will happen, nobodyknows,” said Catherine Troisi, aninfectious disease epidemiologistat The University of Texas HealthScience Center at Houston. “Thisvirus has surprised us on manyfronts, and we may be surprisedagain.”

In the United States, fewer newcoronavirus cases have been de-tected week by week since lateJuly, following harrowing out-breaks first in the Northeast andthen in the South and the West.

But in recent days, the nation’sdaily count of new cases is climb-ing again, fueling worries of a re-surgence of the virus as universi-ties and schools reopen and ascolder weather pushes people in-doors ahead of what some epide-miologists fear could be a devas-tating winter.

The coronavirus death toll inthe United States is now roughlyequal to the population of Akron,Ohio, or nearly two and a halftimes the number of U.S. servicemembers who died in battle in theVietnam and Korean Wars com-bined, and about 800 people arestill dying daily.

Around the world, at least 73countries are seeing surges innewly detected cases, and worriesare fast mounting.

In India, more than 90,000 newcases are now being detecteddaily, adding a million cases sincethe start of this month and send-ing the country’s total cases soar-

A NATION’S ANGUISH AS DEATHS NEAR 200,000

Shane Reilly, an artist in Austin, Texas, planted a plastic flag in the yard to honor each person in the state who has died as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.TAMIR KALIFA FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

Close to a MillionHave Perished

Worldwide

Continued on Page A9

This article is by Simon Romero,Manny Fernandez and Marc San-tora. Twelve days after his wife died

of the coronavirus, increasing theenormous toll in the United Statesby one, Michael Davis, dazed andgrieving, went back to work.

He hoped that his job, at an as-sembly plant in Louisville, Ky.,would keep his hands busy, whichmight then occupy his mind, too.Maybe it would ease his longingfor Dana, 51, a nurse with blondhair and a bright smile. They werejust shy of their seventh weddinganniversary when the coronavi-rus took her life.

But at work, it felt like the pan-demic was the only thing peoplecould think about, the center ofconversation at his sprawling fac-tory. And on the news, every storyseemed to be about the coronavi-rus.

“Everything’s corona, every-thing’s corona — that’s all youhear about all the time,” Mr. Davissaid. “You don’t want that remind-er all the time of why she’s gone.”

The coronavirus crisis in theUnited States has claimed nearly200,000 lives, the young and theold, those living in dense cities andtiny towns, people who spent theirdays as nursing home attendants,teachers, farm laborers and retir-ees.

The loved ones left behind aretrapped in an extraordinary stateof torment. They have seen theirspouses, parents and siblings fallill from the virus. They have en-dured the deaths from a distance,through cellphone connections orshaky FaceTime feeds. Now theyare left to grieve, in a country stillfirmly gripped by the coronaviruspandemic, where everywherethey turn is a reminder of theirpain.

That aftermath has beenuniquely complicated, and cruel.In dozens of conversations, peopleacross the United States who havelost family members to the co-ronavirus described a maelstromof unsettled frustration, anger andisolation, all of it intensified by thefeeling that the pandemic is im-

Grim Reminders That Are Hard

to Escape

Nearly 900 poster-size photos of coronavirus victims filled a memorial on Belle Isle in Detroit.CARLOS OSORIO/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Spain has honored its victims with an eternal flame rising from a black steel brazier in Madrid.GABRIEL BOUYS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Crosses and balloons were placed as tributes on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.RICARDO MORAES/REUTERS

Continued on Page A8

This article is by Julie Bosman,Serge F. Kovaleski and Jacey Fortin.

ABORTION FIGHT A volatile issuewith political risks for both sidesreturns to the fore. PAGE A20

California is one of America’smarvels. By moving vast quanti-ties of water and suppressingwildfires for decades, the statehas transformed its arid andmountainous landscape into therichest, most populous and boun-teous place in the nation.

But now, those same feats havegiven California a new and unwel-come category of superlatives.

This year is the state’s worstwildfire season on record. Thatfollows its hottest August onrecord; a punishing drought thatlasted from 2011 to last year; andone of its worst flood emergencieson record three years ago, whenheavy rains caused the state’shighest dam to nearly fail, forcingmore than 180,000 people to flee.

The same manufactured land-scapes that have enabled Califor-nia’s tremendous growth, buildingthe state into a $3 trillion economythat is home to one in 10 Ameri-cans, have also left it more ex-posed to climate shocks, expertssay.

Mankind’s FeatsPlace CaliforniaAt Climate RiskBy CHRISTOPHER FLAVELLE

Continued on Page A15

A television drama on China’s fight withCovid-19 drew ire because it down-played women’s contributions. PAGE A10

INTERNATIONAL A10-13

Left Out of the PictureSeveral major hotels in New York Cityhave announced that they are closed forgood, and some experts say that moreshutdowns are coming. PAGE A4

TRACKING AN OUTBREAK A4-9

‘Washout’ Year for Big HotelsAn agreement to keep the China-basedapp operating in the U.S. gives contractsto Oracle and Walmart, and the presi-dent a chance to claim victory. PAGE B1

BUSINESS B1-8

Deal Keeps TikTok TickingThe monks of a German abbey hopenew windows by Gerhard Richter willsecure the community’s future. PAGE C1

ARTS C1-6

Putting Hope in Stained GlassThe muscular Bryson DeChambeaushot the only under par round on Sun-day to prevail at Winged Foot. PAGE D1

SPORTSMONDAY D1-8

A U.S. Open Powerhouse

AstraZeneca acted in response to con-cerns about two vaccine trial partici-pants who fell ill. PAGE A6

Trial Details Revealed

Polls suggest that President Trump’sstatements about lower property valuesand crime are not resonating. PAGE A14

NATIONAL A14-20

Little Fear in the Suburbs

The plug-in vehicle age is dawningahead of schedule as battery pricesdrop and technology advances. PAGE B1

Electric Cars Catching Up

A Chinese immigrant, Mabel Ping-HuaLee stood out as a leader of a women’ssuffrage march in New York. PAGE A22

OBITUARIES A22-23

Overlooked No More

Tadej Pogacar, a 21-year-old Slovene,capped a Tour de France triumph thatsurprised even himself. PAGE D6

A Victory, Believe It or Not

WASHINGTON — PresidentTrump and his adversaries mobi-lized on Sunday for an epic cam-paign-season showdown over thefuture of the Supreme Court evenas the nation prepared to honorthe life of Justice Ruth BaderGinsburg in an outdoor viewing tobe held according to pandemic-era guidelines.

The president’s determinationto confirm a replacement for Jus-tice Ginsburg before the Nov. 3election set lawmakers on a colli-sion course with one another at atime when Congress already hasmajor issues on its agenda, includ-ing spending bills to keep the gov-ernment open past next week anda stalled coronavirus relief pack-age to help millions of Americansleft unemployed by the pandemicthat has killed nearly 200,000 peo-ple.

Undaunted by the prospect ofsuch a volatile fall, Mr. Trump pre-pared to announce a nominee asearly as Tuesday in hopes of pres-suring the Senate to ratify hischoice before voters decidewhether to give him a second termand spoke multiple times withSenator Mitch McConnell, the ma-jority leader. Even as a moderateRepublican senator reaffirmedher opposition to such an acceler-ated timetable on Sunday, otherslike Senator Lamar Alexander ofTennessee fell in line and it ap-peared increasingly likely that Mr.Trump may get the votes to pro-ceed, although there were a fewholdouts still to be heard from.

The political maneuvering tookplace even as the nation wasmourning Justice Ginsburg, achampion of women’s rights and ahero to the left who died at age 87on Friday night. Admirers contin-ued to flock to the Supreme Court

ADVERSARIES GIRDAS BATTLE BREWSOVER COURT SEAT

TRUMP WANTS FAST VOTE

Biden Says Winner of theElection Should Pick

the New Justice

By PETER BAKERand MAGGIE HABERMAN

Continued on Page A18

Jamelle Bouie PAGE A25

EDITORIAL, OP-ED A24-25

Late Edition

VOL. CLXX . . . . No. 58,823 © 2020 The New York Times Company NEW YORK, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2020

Today, abundant sunshine, cool,high 65. Tonight, mainly clear, cool,low 48. Tomorrow, mostly sunny, abit warmer, seasonable, high 72.Weather map appears on Page B6.

$3.00