From USA Today:
“US hits 150,000 deaths from
COVID-19 as states struggle to halt resurgence”
The U.S. surged past 150,000
COVID-19 fatalities Wednesday as states battle a resurgence of the virus with
differing attitudes about how to stop the spread. The bleak milestone, reported
by Johns Hopkins, comes on the heels of the U.S. hitting 4 million confirmed
infections July 23. The death toll stood at 150,034 as of 4 p.m. EDT on
Wednesday. And there is not much relief in sight. The three most populous
states – California, Texas and Florida – were among several that set seven-day
records for virus deaths this week. Others set records for new cases. Tennessee
and Arkansas set records for both.
The first known U.S. death was
Feb. 6. Almost six months later the number of deaths is appalling – and could
reach 200,000 in less than two months from now. That's based on the current
average of 1,019 deaths per day this last week. Experts say the increase in
cases and deaths is largely because of states easing restrictions and reopening
their economies too soon. “We were not careful and it became like a domino
effect,” Dr. Anne Rimoin, epidemiologist and director of UCLA’s COVID-19 Rapid
Response Initiative, told USA TODAY. State and local laws differ widely on how
to curb the spread of the virus: Some governors are advocating more aggressive
social distancing and masks; others have fought mandatory restrictions and
balked a shutting down their economies a second time in the face of a surge. “Everybody
rushed back to normal when what we really needed to be doing was doubling
down,” Rimoin said. “We are not doing enough to suppress the spread of the
virus." Increasingly, the virus is having a ripple effect on other areas of
health. The United Nations said this week that coronavirus-linked hunger is
leading to the deaths of 10,000 children a month because of fears of
contamination and movement restrictions.
Dr. Deborah Birx of the White
House coronavirus task force warned local and state leaders of a concerning
rise in cases in 11 cities, according to audio obtained by the Center for
Public Integrity. She listed Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio;
Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans,
Pittsburgh and St. Louis. “What started out very much as a southern and western
epidemic is starting to move up the East Coast into Tennessee, Arkansas, up
into Missouri, up across Colorado, and obviously we’re talking about increases
now in Baltimore,” Birx said. “So this is really critical that everybody is
following this and making sure they’re being aggressive about mitigation
efforts.”
The record numbers of new weekly
coronavirus cases that Arizona, Florida, Texas and California experienced a month
ago are now playing out as record numbers of deaths in those states. Texas'
death toll continues to rise, and the state had a record 1,607 deaths in the
week ending Monday, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data
shows. That translates into a Texan dying every 6 minutes, 16 seconds. Texas'
weekly death toll is more than seven times its worst week through April. An
analysis of Johns Hopkins data released late Monday show eight states set
records for new coronavirus counts – and eight set records for deaths. Many
states that were seeing cases surge several weeks ago have stopped breaking
records for new cases, including Alabama, Georgia, Nevada and South Carolina.
But all of those states broke records for deaths on Monday night. The U.S. is “knee-deep” in the first wave of
the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious
disease expert, recently said. "And I would say, this would not be
considered a wave. It was a surge or a resurgence of infections superimposed
upon a baseline." Southern and Southwestern states became a hotbed for the
resurgence soon after they reopened in late May and early June. In about one
month, Florida saw its case rate quadruple. In the west, Arizona's death toll
is now more than five times worse than its worst week in the spring, while
Florida is well over double. California is about 24% above its worst spring
death toll.
According to a federal report,
the "Red Zone" states climbed to 21, meaning they reached more than
100 new cases per 100,000 people in one week. According to The New York Times,
the "Red Zone" states are Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, California,
Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri,
Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah and Wisconsin. With deaths rising, Americans are preparing for
precautions to continue into the fall season. According to The Harris Poll
survey of 1,970 U.S. adults from July 18-19, 61% of Americans are anticipating
a stay-at-home fall with jobs continuing to be remote and parents choosing
virtual courses from home.
Meanwhile, more and more
retailers are mandating that face masks or coverings be worn in their stores,
including large companies like Walmart, Target, CVS, Home Depot and Walgreens.
Those decisions only add to the hot button issue as some believe that wearing a
mask violates constitutional rights while the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommended masks as a way to prevent the spread of the virus. Only
recently did President Donald Trump make his first attempt at encouraging the
use of face masks since the pandemic started. He also brought back daily
coronavirus task force briefings this month after suspending them in April. The
resurgence in cases, he claims, has been fueled by protests over the death of
George Floyd, an increase in travel, migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border
and summer holidays. Though experts generally blame the spike in cases on lax
restrictions, the resurgence has left some states reconsidering their safety
mandates. Infectious disease physician Alysse Wurcel told USA TODAY that some
states might consider going back to an earlier phase. She said people won't see
immediate effects of safety protocols such as wearing a mask, but that wearing
one is a best practice in preventing the spread of the virus. "I think actions now will only show
benefits in a month or two because the infection that spreads today will cause
the illness in 14 days, which will cause the death a month or so later,"
Wurcel said. "It’s really hard to convince people that whatever they are
doing today, you won’t see the benefits of it for a month.” As for a potential
COVID-19 vaccine, scientists across the world are rushing to develop one. The
Trump administration announced a $1.95 billion deal with Pfizer and BioNTech
for 100 million doses of their vaccine candidate, which the companies hope to
get approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration by October. The firms
said Americans will receive the vaccine for free. Meanwhile, the National
Institutes of Health and a U.S. biotech company called Moderna began the first
large-scale American test for a potential vaccine with 30,000 volunteers.
^ This is a stain on our National
Identity that will be with us forever. Every single one of those 150,000 deaths
was a person, a man or woman, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a mother or
father. The majority of the deaths could have been prevented if Americans from every
walk of life (from the Politicians to the ordinary person) took Covid-19 seriously from the very
beginning, took it seriously over the past several months or took it seriously
right now. Sadly, this number will only go up. People don’t seem fazed about Covid-19
or its impact on people’s lives and its deaths. ^
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