TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: "With an increasing number of coronavirus cases across the country, President Donald Trump pointed to a metric that reflects more favorably on his administration's pandemic response. On June 23, Trump tweeted, ""Cases up only because of our big number testing. Mortality rate way down!!!"" Cases up only because of our big number testing. Mortality rate way down!!! https://t.co/bKFmgOLEGZ His argument that tests are the only reason for rising cases is not accurate. But on the trend for mortality, Trump has a point. Epidemiologists told PolitiFact that due to wide variations in testing patterns, the data doesn't offer a clear look at how likely someone is to die from the virus if they are infected with it. Gaps in testing leave too many undiagnosed cases to reliably determine a person's likelihood of dying from the coronavirus, much less whether the likelihood of dying has risen or fallen over time. Instead, researchers say, the most solid metric for assessing Trump's statement is the number of new coronavirus deaths reported per day. The number of daily deaths from coronavirus has been falling consistently since peaking in late April. In fact, even as infections have risen since early June, deaths have not. (The orange line in the following chart shows the seven-day rolling average of coronavirus deaths, which smooths out data variations.) At the peak in late April, more than 2,000 were dying from coronavirus on a typical day. In late June, it's less than 600. That's still a large number of deaths every day. All told, roughly 115,000 have died from COVID-19 to date. The White House told PolitiFact that the per-capita number of deaths in the United States is also lower than it is in several advanced industrialized countries in Europe that were hard hit by the virus. According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of coronavirus deaths per 100,000 population is about 37 for the United States, compared with 65 in the United Kingdom, 61 in Spain, and 57 in Italy. But other European countries have lower death rates for COVID-19 than the United States does, including the Netherlands, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Denmark. So why are deaths falling? There may be several reasons, and for now, they're somewhat speculative. One possibility is that the initial wave of infections disproportionately reached more patients with weaker immune systems, including those in nursing homes, or more vulnerable Americans who hadn't yet taken up effective social distancing. By contrast, more recent waves of infections may be reaching younger and healthier people who are better able to survive an infection. Another possibility is that we're ""getting better at treatment and keeping people alive,"" said Tara Smith, an epidemiologist at Kent State University's College of Public Health. Still, epidemiologists caution that deaths are a lagging indicator. The disease often takes two to three weeks to run its course, meaning that one day's crop of new infections tends to drive the deaths that occur two to three weeks later. ""We might not expect an increase in the death rate until approximately 21 days from when we started to see an increase in cases,"" said Brooke Nichols, an infectious disease modeler at the Boston University School of Public Health. So far, the age breakdown for deaths has been fairly consistent people older than 65 accounted for 81% of coronavirus deaths at the mortality peak in mid-April, and that age group still accounted for 82% of in mid-July, a time when the total number of deaths had fallen significantly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since we're about two weeks into the national rise in infections, scientists will be watching to see if deaths start increasing a week from now. Trump said that mortality from coronavirus is ""way down."" This is one of the few coronavirus measurements that Trump can point to with optimism. The number of deaths has remained substantial, at a bit below 600 per day by mid-to-late June, but that's more than two-thirds lower than the peak of about 2,000 daily deaths in late April. The number of coronavirus deaths per day has continued to fall in June even as the number of cases has risen. Trump's statement is accurate for now, though it's too soon to know whether the recent rise in new cases will produce an uptick in deaths by early July."

SOLUTION: As of June 23, the COVID-19 death rate is "way down."

PROBLEM: Firefighters were battling to control more than 40 wild fires that remained ablaze across NSW, the state's Rural Fire Service (RFS) said. There were no reports of injuries caused by the fires by mid-afternoon local time, though 45 homes were destroyed. The strong winds have blown the dangerous smoke across large parts of NSW. The RFS said the smoke was unlikely to clear for at least 24 hours, while hot, dry conditions are expected to linger for several days more - exacerbating the threat of more fires as authorities try to access the damage of blazes now extinguished. "Dust may aggravate existing heart and lung conditions and cause symptoms like eye irritation and cough," said Richard Broome, director of environmental health, NSW Health. "Symptoms can occur for several days after dust is inhaled, so people with the chronic conditions need to be vigilant with their treatment programs." One of the biggest fires in recent days was recorded in Lake Cathie, 379 kilometers (235.5 miles) north of Sydney - which has destroyed more than 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of a national park. The fire is now contained, though the area is a prime breeding ground for koalas, stoking fears that hundreds will have been killed by the fires. "Based on our calculations, with a minimum 60% mortality rate about 350 koalas will be lost," Sue Ashton, president of the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital told Reuters. "It's terrible, it's absolutely devastating. It's a national tragedy." Ashton said seven rescuers on Thursday attempted to enter the worst affected areas but were advised to leave as strong winds stoked fears of the fires spreading.

SOLUTION: Hazardous smoke blankets Sydney as winds fan Australia bushfires.

PROBLEM: Families of the victims of Heparin reactions testify during a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Heparin imports from China on Capitol Hill, April 29, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Young Leroy Hubley said his wife, Bonnie, and son, Randy, had undergone kidney dialysis at an Ohio clinic and were given heparin that was later recalled by Baxter International Inc. Both had reactions to the blood thinner and died within one month of each other. "Now I am left to deal not only with the pain of losing my wife and son, but anger that an unsafe drug was permitted to be sold in this country," Hubley, who frequently choked back tears and wiped his eyes, told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee hearing. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration probe found a contaminant in some batches of Baxter's heparin. Officials said tests showed the chemical could have caused the reactions reported in 81 deaths of patients treated with some brand of heparin since January 2007. Lawmakers questioned Baxter and its ingredient supplier, Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC (SPL), about why they failed to detect the heparin contamination. Both companies said it appeared the chemical was deliberately added before either company received the ingredients. Baxter, which had supplied about half of the U.S. heparin market, recalled most of its heparin products in February. The action followed a string of U.S. recalls linked to China last year, ranging from tainted pet food and toothpaste to excessive lead in paint that swept millions of toys from stores. The heparin contaminant has been detected in 13 countries, FDA officials have said, but only the United States and Germany have seen reports of an increase in allergic reactions. The FDA says all heparin imported into the United States is now tested for contamination and the current supply is safe. Hubley and other relatives of heparin victims urged new steps to keep medicines free of contamination. "I want to know what is going to be done to rectify the matter. I want to know if my daughter, Dawn, and the millions of others who continue to receive dialysis are safe," Hubley said. Baxter Chief Executive Robert Parkinson said the company was "alarmed that one of our products was used, in what appears to have been a deliberate scheme, to adulterate a life-saving medication, and that people have suffered as a result." "We deeply regret that this has happened, and I feel a strong sense of personal responsibility for these circumstances," he said. Heparin used in dialysis and some surgeries to prevent blood clots is derived from pig intestines and often collected from small, mostly unregulated farms in China. FDA tests found the recalled drug contained an altered form of chondroitin sulfate that mimics raw heparin. Chinese officials have said the chemical was present but is not to blame for the reactions or deaths. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat, said it remained uncertain whether the contamination was intentional or accidental. He said both companies should have done more to assure their products were safe. "Both Baxter and SPL have failed the American public," said Stupak, chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations panel. Using the contaminant would be about 100 times cheaper than real heparin, said committee investigator David Nelson. Lawmakers attacked the FDA for failing to inspect SPL's plant in Changzhou, China, before approving Baxter's heparin. Agency inspectors found a series of manufacturing problems during a visit in February, after Baxter'S recall. Baxter officials audited the facility five months earlier and said they found acceptable conditions, Nelson said. "I'm really baffled by that. How is it you can have two divergent findings from the same plant?" Stupak asked. Baxter's Parkinson said the visits happened at different times, and the drug maker's audit was routine while the FDA visit was in response to a specific problem. Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the agency needed more tools and better technology to hold companies accountable. "FDA needs the help of Congress to make sure that a tragedy like this does not happen again," Woodcock said. Woodcock said it would cost about $225 million annually for the FDA to inspect, every other year, all pharmaceutical plants around the world that supply the U.S. market. Lawmakers are considering legislation that would charge drug and device makers fees to boost inspections.

SOLUTION:
Families tell U.S. lawmakers of heparin deaths.