American coronavirus: Nearly 70,000 lives could be saved in the next 3 months if more Americans wore masks, say researchers

08/22/2020 Health


As mask use increases from 53% to 95%, it could save nearly 70,000 lives, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

“It really depends on what our leaders do,” said Dr. Chris Murray, head of the institute.

At least 175,409 Americans have died since the pandemic began, a number that could reach institute projects by Dec. 1 nearly 310,000. The new forecast is about 15,000 deaths higher than its previous forecast two weeks ago due to several factors, Murray said.

“In some states, California is a good example, cases are rising higher, they are coming down, but deaths are not,” Murray told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday night. “They stay pretty stable.”

And there is still increased transfer in states like Kentucky, Minnesota and Indiana, he said.

“There’s more going on about Covid than we kind of expected for this time of year and that plays out in those forecasts,” Murray added.

In parts of the US, cases have been declining for weeks, but deaths remain relatively high. The country’s seven-day average for daily deaths was 1,000 for at least 24 days in a row. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield said earlier this week that he expects deaths to begin declining by next week as a result of ongoing mitigation measures.

Another wave occurred

The CDC director expressed concern that although parts of the country report improvement in new cases, states in Midland America such as Nebraska and Oklahoma appear to be “stuck” and cases are not falling.

“We don’t have to have a third wave in the heartland right now,” Redfield said Thursday. “We need to prevent that.”

CDC updates school guidelines for Covid-19 pandemic
Getting security measures in place is now crucial, Murray said, before the fall turns around, when health officials predicted the U.S. would have a recurrence of coronavirus cases during flu season. Redfield has previously said that this fall and winter are likely to be one of the “hardest times” in American public health.

On Friday, the top health officials for Seattle and King County in Washington state the state saw an increased number of cases back to social gatherings.

“We expect that Covid-19 will decrease in the fall and winter and allow people to spend more time indoors,” said health officer Dr. Jeffrey Duchin.

To help prevent widespread infections, Murray said administrators should place mask mandates – mandates “with teeth” that allow local authorities to find residents without a face mask.

“It will take a concerted effort, but the impact is extraordinary. It is actually quite extraordinary what it could achieve,” Murray said.

6-year-old is the youngest Covid-19 victim in Florida

In Florida, a 6-year-old girl became the youngest person in the state to die from coronavirus complications. Health officials say they do not yet know if the child contracted the virus from a known cause or if it was travel-related.
The report of her death comes just weeks after 9-year-old Kimora “Kimmie” Lynum, who had no known underlying health conditions, died of coronavirus complications in Florida.
A 6-year-old girl is the youngest person to die from Covid-19 in Florida, state says

Florida has reported more than 593,000 infections since the beginning of the pandemic, second only to California, which recorded 660,000 positive results.

News about the young girl also comes as schools in the US have reopened. Some have adjusted plans after hundreds of students and staff were asked to quarantine in response to cases of coronavirus.

Purdue University students suspended after attending off-campus party, school officials say
A Florida judge is expected to rule next week on whether physical schools should be reopened. The expected verdict stems from a lawsuit filed by a union of Florida teachers in an attempt to stop the state from requiring school districts to reopen five days a week for instruction.
Across the country, students have also made their way back to college campuses. Despite security measures in place universities in more than a dozen states have reported cases of the virus, many of which are traces to meetings, Greek life or athletics. Many institutions have already announced that they will begin the semester remotely.

More than two dozen cases linked to motorcycle rally

Meanwhile, more than two dozen cases of the virus in three states are now linked back to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, an annual gathering that normally draws about half a million people.
Covid-19 cases linked to Sturgis motorcycle rally in South Dakota have reached state lines

Minnesota reported 15 cases of the virus among people attending the rally in South Dakota earlier this month, Kris Ehresmann, director of the Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease, said Friday.

Among those cases, one person was hospitalized. Officials say they expect more cases in the coming days.

In the Panhandle region of Nebraska, at least seven cases were linked to the rally, according to Kim Engel, the director of the Panhandle Public Health District told CNN.

And earlier this week, South Dakota officials announced a person working at a tattoo parlor in Sturgis tested positive for the virus and could have exposed others during the incident. Officials also said a person who spent hours at a bar tested positive during the rally.

CNN’s Kay Jones, Melissa Alonso, Jennifer Henderson, Jamiel Lynch, Janine Mack and Andy Rose have contributed to this report.

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