Shannon Axelsson takes a break from sitting on the beach to test for coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in Revere, Massachusetts, August 11, 2020.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
New cases of coronavirus in the US grew by nearly 48,700 on Friday, marking seven consecutive days that the daily count fell below 50,000 as the nation gradually descended from a summer of outbreaks.
The coronavirus has infected more than 5.6 million people in the U.S. since Saturday, roughly a quarter of the reported cases worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The US registered at least 1,100 deaths on Friday, bringing its death toll above 175,000.
“I think we’re seeing progress over the last four weeks. I hope that progress will continue, but I think none of us should turn away from the recognition that it is the key that each of us recognizes that we want to ensure that Covid stops by us, “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield told reporters at a conference call Friday.
There are more than 10 states reporting on growing cases, based on a seven-day moving average to smooth daily reporting, according to a CNBC analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins. Many of the states are located in the Midwest, including Iowa, Kansas, Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota.
While new U.S. cases fell by nearly 17% compared to a week ago, based on an average of seven days, public health experts have recently questioned the accuracy of some declines due to reduced testing. Coronavirus testing in the US has also been hampered by severe delays.
“I’m really coming to believe that we’re entering a real, new, emerging crisis with testing and it’s making it hard to know where the pandemic is slowing down and where it’s not,” Drs. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said in an interview with CNBC earlier this month.
The decline comes as universities and schools across the country struggle to bring students back safely into the classroom. Some universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Notre Dame, have struggled to contain coronavirus outbreaks since reopening their campuses.
“The virus is a formidable enemy,” said Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins Tuesday. “Last week it won.” The university announced on Tuesday that it will pause at least two weeks of personal undergraduate classes, following a steep rise in cases that officials linked to off-campus parties just one week into the fall semester.
However, President Donald Trump urged universities to continue with their redevelopment plans during a White House press release Wednesday, saying “there is nothing like being with a teacher as opposed to being on a computer board.”
“The iPads are beautiful, but you will not learn the same way they are,” Trump told reporters.
Trump reiterated that younger people are less susceptible to severe Covid-19 disease than older adults, although public health officials have warned that there could be long-term effects from infection and not all young adults are immune to serious outcomes.
Roughly 80% of the deaths in the US as of Feb. May 12 to 18 were 65 years or older, according to a July report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also said in June that the hospital level for people who test positive for the coronavirus in their 20s is below 4%.
– CNBC’s Sil Fire en Christina Farr contributed to this report.
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