The US tops 5 million cases of coronavirus early Sunday – and as experts have previously noted, the true number of infections could be many times higher.
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – AUGUST 07: Medical staff train to receive Covid-129 patients at the Austin Convention Center on August 07, 2020 in Austin, Texas. The cavernous facility was prepared for use as a field hospital for Covid-19 patients, as Austin hospitals are overcome. In recent weeks, however, Texas has seen the number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations decline, even as pandemic-related deaths remain high. (Photo by John Moore / Getty Images)
The number means that the country contains about a quarter of the worldwide cases of the virus and also tops the list of the most reported deaths in the world. Of the country’s 5,036,387 estimated cases, 162,851 were fatal, according to data collected by John Hopkins University.
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To put the number in perspective, this means that the United States had more Covid-19 cases than Ireland has people. The number of cases is also slightly higher than the entire Alabama population.
To put the rate at which the number is growing in perspective: It took the country 99 days to reach 1 million, 43 days to reach 2 million, 28 days for 3 million and 15 days to reach 4 million on July 23rd. come. The number has jumped to 5 million in 17 days.
“This is such a sober number,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University.
“That’s an enormous number of cases and a very large number of hospitalizations and deaths – and more to come,” Schaffner said. “Because over a large part of this country this virus is spread unhindered because so many people do not get with the program to contain it.”
The pandemic shows no signs of slowing down, with deaths rising, with more than 1,000 deaths reported each day in the past five days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University’s Covid Tracker. Since July 21, there have been only four days that the US has reported no more than 1,000 deaths.
As of this week, five states are responsible for more than 40% of U.S. infections: California (with the most cases in the country), Florida, Texas, New York and Georgia.
New York, once the epicenter of the country, has been overrun by several states that have seen spikes in recent months. On Sunday, the state reported the day-to-day positivity rate – how many people tested positive compared to how many were tested – was 0.78%, the lowest one-day positive infection rates since the pandemic began, according to the mayor’s office.
“Our daily numbers remain low and stable, despite rising infection rates across the country, and even in our region – and we had the lowest positive day of any day since we started,” God said. Andrew Cuomo in a statement Sunday. “That’s an incredible achievement, all thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers.”
Florida reported 6,190 new cases on Sunday – the 13th consecutive day that the state reported more than 6,000 cases, according to CNN’s tally. There are more than 527,000 cases among residents in the state, according to the state Department of Health.
California, which on Saturday reported more than 7,000 cases for a total of more than 545,000, had the positive of 6% in the past two weeks, according to health officials. Hospitalizations throughout the state are declining, and there are about 5,746 hospital patients – more than 1,000 down from two weeks ago.
In Texas, the governor extended his declaration of disasters because the state counted its highest seven-day positivity: 19.41%. The previous high, 17.43%, was recorded around mid-July. More than 481,000 infections have been reported statewide and about 7,872 people remain in hospitals.
Schools are starting to welcome students back
As schools reopen to classes, researchers are still working to understand the spread and effects of the virus when it comes to children.
Research has shown that older children can transmit coronavirus just like adults, and another study said that children under 5 have a higher viral load of the virus in their nose compared to older children and adults, and also raise questions about how likely they are are to transmit the virus.
While some U.S. officials have said that an infection poses less risk to younger populations, a 7-year-old boy who died without underlying health conditions died last week in Georgia, becoming the youngest victim in the state. Earlier this month, two teenagers in Florida died of coronavirus complications, bringing the total number of minors in the state who died in relation to the virus to seven.
With a positivity rate of less than 1%, New York has wiped out all school districts in the state to reopen, Cuomo said Friday, adding that plans could change as infection rates begin to pick up ahead of schedule.
Local school districts will decide what their reopens will look like, whether they choose to go back in person, learn remotely or opt for a hybrid model.
The New York City Department of Education will offer a mix of options for personal and distance learning. Families also have the choice to do distance learning.
Department of Education Chancellor Richard Carranza told CNN last week that schools will implement a number of precautionary measures, such as requiring face masks, random temperature checks and one-way corridors.
Officials will “look like heels on the numbers,” Carranza said. “When the numbers of the positivity rate start to go up and when it comes to 3%, we will learn at a distance for the whole system.”
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In Georgia, many schools have already reopened.
Just outside Atlanta at North Paulding High School, which was then “releasing” the suspension of a student who posted a photo of her attendees, six students and three staff members contracted the virus, according to a letter that the main character has sent to parents. As a result, the school district said Sunday that the school would only have online learning on Monday and Tuesday.
At least 260 students and eight teachers in the Cherokee County School District were quarantined after multiple students and teachers tested positive for the virus during the first week of school. In a statement on its website, the district, which is located north of Atlanta, reported positive cases in at least 11 students and two staff members. Among them was a second grader who tested positive for the virus after the first day of school.
Northeast of Atlanta, Barrow County Schools announced that the district would begin the year just after more than 90 staff members were forced to quarantine because they had a confirmed or suspected case of the virus, or were exposed to someone who ‘. t die.
Thousands gather in small town in South Dakota
While the virus is rampant through many American communities, visitors to a town in South Dakota have flocked to the 80th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The event, hosted in the city of about 7,000, brings in hundreds of thousands of people each year. While officials say this year is a scaled-down version, people are still expected from across the country – including hotspots such as Florida, Texas and Arizona.
There will be concerts, races and competitions on nearby campsites. City officials say they have recommended social distance guidelines and capacity limits for bars and restaurants, but none of that is legally enforced, City Manager Daniel Ainslie told CNN.
“I guarantee you, any number of people have brought the virus to this event and it will spread among many of the participants and will be returned to their homes, where they will spread it further,” Drs. Schaffner of Vanderbilt University on CNN on Sunday. “This is an acceleration of the outbreak we are having in the United States today.”
South Dakota has so far recorded one of the lowest numbers of cases with about 9,605 infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Dr Carlos del Rio, a professor of infectious disease at Emory University, does not worry about the rally itself, as he will mostly be outside, he said. Instead, he said he was worried what would happen after hours, when people would go to restaurants, bars and gather indoors.
“I am very worried that this event could potentially be a disaster,” he said. “Not only could there be a lot of transmission there, but a lot of people could get infected there and return to their home states and take over the virus there.”
The event is scheduled to run through August 16th.
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