United States Reaches Record Number of Covid-19 Cases

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Daily COVID-19 cases have been rising significantly for the past month. According to The COVID Tracking Project, the United States reaches a new record of cases almost every day. Since the start of the pandemic, the country has reported 14.2 million cases. More than 4 million of those cases were reported in November alone,  a number which is higher than the total amount of cases seen all year in most other countries. November 24 was the deadliest day since May, with more than 2,100 deaths nationwide. The United States accounts for almost 20% of the global death toll from COVID-19. Although a vaccine clearly lies in the near future, the United States is sure to see even worse days before that treatment becomes widely available.

With the holiday season upon us, The Center for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the number of COVID cases will probably increase over the next four weeks as the delayed effects of Thanksgiving travel occur and groups gather for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The CDC predicts 9,500 to 19,500 new deaths by December 27. The current total of COVID-related deaths in the U.S. stands at 300,886,513. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates that the nation will exceed 470,000 deaths by March 1 if current trends continue. One notable pattern is that, while case numbers have exploded recently, a far smaller proportion of the people who contract the virus are dying from it. But despite this achievement, the daily death rate in the United States continues to climb. 


With such a large increase in cases, the amount of people being hospitalized for COVID-19 is rising on a daily basis. At least 15 states have above 2,000 hospitalizations, and in total, the country has over 100,000 hospitalizations for COVID-19, more than double the number at the beginning of November and double the number during the deadly first wave in spring. Hospitals in many towns are nearing capacity, and if they can’t curb the surge of cases, they will become overwhelmed. While hospitalizations are rising, total cases are soaring even more quickly. The New York Times explains that a possible cause of this trend is the increase in testing compared to the first wave of the pandemic. is testing. Testing now is confirming more mild cases that don’t require hospitalization. Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Minnesota, told the New York Times,  “patients that would have been hospitalized last month today are being sent home and watched closely.” This pattern is occurring because many health care systems are on the verge of capacity and can only care for the most severe patients. 


Winter has only just begun, and the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, warned, in a podcast, that the nation will face a devastating winter unless more Americans take precautions. Dr. Redfield said the death toll may be curbed if Americans embrace practices like mask wearing and continue to follow CDC guidelines. Redfield also cautioned Americans not to travel for the upcoming holidays. CDC officials stated that people who decide to travel should get tested one to three days before the trip and again three to five days after returning. Dr. Cindy Friedman, the Chief of the Travelers Health Branch at the CDC said that even a small percentage of infected travelers could spread hundreds of thousands additional infections. 


There is no way to restrain the virus unless everyone participates in social distancing and mask wearing. There will be many more opportunities for travel and getting together with friends and family, and now is not the time to travel and risk your health and that of others. Let's all work together to stop the virus, so we can begin to return our lives to normal once a vaccine arrives. 

By Caroline Cranman