Universities in at least 15 states have reported outbreaks, some related to large group meetings.
Following what the dean of students and head of public safety called “incredibly reckless behavior,” 23 students from Syracuse University were detained Thursday after gathering at night on the campus quad. The next day, citing “a rapid increase” in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that testing would be conducted for three residences.
Meanwhile, at least 26 coronavirus cases in three states are linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew thousands of people to South Dakota earlier this month.
And an individual who tested positive for the virus after a Maine wedding reception died according to a statement Saturday from Robert Peterson, CEO of Millinocket Regional Hospital. At least 32 positive cases were linked to the August 7 wedding, CNN previously reported.
“We are sorry to share that this patient passed away early (Friday) afternoon. Our thoughts and sympathies are with her family as they address this difficult loss,” Peterson said.
Masks could save 70,000 lives, Murray says
To prevent outbreaks from spreading, Dr. Chris Murray that it is time for local governments to enforce stricter mask rules.
“It will take a concerted effort, but the impact is extraordinary, it’s actually quite extraordinary what it could achieve,” Murray, head of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday night. “It really depends on what our leaders do, (both) as individuals, and what governments do.”
IHME projected that if nothing changed about the nation’s approach to prevention, death rates would plummet in September, but rise later in the fall, reaching a total of about 310,000 by December 1st.
But if significantly more people – about 95% of the U.S. population – wore masks, the projection of total deaths from now until December would drop by nearly 70,000, he said.
On the other hand, if governments provide current social distancing restrictions and mask mandates, the daily U.S. death toll could reach 6,000 by December, up from its current forecast of 2,000 daily, Murray said.
At least 176,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the U.S. since the pandemic began, and more than 5.6 million have been infected, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Coronavirus rates have been falling for weeks in parts of the US, but death rates have been relatively high.
Some states are seeing positive changes
New York and New Jersey were early hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic, but both reported encouraging signs this week.
Phil Murphy of New Jersey tweeted Saturday afternoon that the state saw its lowest number of hospitalizations with coronavirus since March 24.
“It’s amazing what we’ve achieved by coming together as one family in New Jersey, but we’re not over the finish line yet. Stop it,” he posted.
And office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reported in a news release Saturday that the state’s infection rate remained below 1% for 15 straight days, setting a new record low.
For the first time in two months, the number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in Mississippi dropped below 1,000, according to Tate Reeves.
Meanwhile, other states are reaching difficult milestones.
California’s death toll is close to 12,000, the California Department of Public Health said Saturday. With 95 reported deaths reported Saturday, Georgia broke 5,000 coronavirus deaths.
Concerns and questions about the new school year
The start of a new school year with classes in person has worried some Americans because more young people are suffering from infections.
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.
Many schools across the country have implemented increased measures to protect students and staff from the virus, even though researchers are still investigating how the virus spreads among young children.
For older students, universities have responded to increasing numbers with more preventative measures.
On Friday, the University of Miami reported that four students in its Hecht Residential College tested positive for Covid-19, officials said on the university’s Covid-19 website. Those students, and several others “who showed symptoms,” were immediately removed from their floors and are in isolation, officials said.
Florida State University in Tallahassee has now “created a rapid COVID-19 test lab that runs results in 24 hours” and its own contact assessment team, FSU spokeswoman Amy Farnum Patronis told CNN.
At Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, students began moving in campus dorms on a stacked schedule with designated hours to promote social distance.
“I think it’s everywhere. I think there’s no hiding it. I think just protecting yourself is the best thing you can do,” said Kari Thronson, the parent of a news college in college.
CNN’s Sheena Jones, Jennifer Henderson, Melissa Alonso, Ganesh Setty and Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report.
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