“What is inevitably going to happen is that states that are not yet in trouble are likely to get in trouble,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday.
The White House coronavirus task force has warned Midwest governors that the time to get ahead of the curve is now before numbers begin to skyrocket in their states, Fauci said.
“Before you know it, two or three weeks later, you’re in trouble,” he said.
West Virginia is already seeing coronavirus migrate from the south daily, said West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. The state has lost five more people to the virus since Monday, bringing the total to more than 1,100 people.
“It just isn’t good. That’s all there is to it,” Justice said.
Where are the western and southern states now?
States across the west and south have established daily case and death records this month as the virus has increased.
California set a grim record of 197 deaths in a single day, the California Department of Public Health reported Wednesday. The state’s last record was set the week before at 159.
Los Angeles County also experienced the highest number of Covid-19 deaths to date with 91 deaths, bringing the county’s total to 4,516. But county health director Barbara Ferrer warned that some of Wednesday’s deaths are also attributed to a backlog of reports.
Also setting a record for coronavirus deaths in one day, Florida reported 216 deaths on Wednesday. The state has been at the forefront of the resurgence of coronavirus cases.
Meanwhile, Texas cases reached 417,098, beating New York, which was once the epicenter of the pandemic.
Midwest working to get ahead of the curve
Officials in the Midwest should begin preparing for a similar peak, Fauci said.
“What we are seeing now is what really happened a couple of weeks ago and what we will see in a few weeks is what we are doing now,” he said.
As cases in Indiana increase, officials there decided to conduct a second round of testing on nursing home staff in August to prevent an increasing number from reaching the facility, said Dr. Daniel Rusyniak, medical director of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Wednesday. Long-term care facilities and nursing homes have been the sites of deadly outbreaks in many states.
In Illinois, the Board of Directors of the High School Association on Wednesday proposed “unprecedented programming changes” for sports in the new school year. Sports seasons will be cut short, and fall sports, including soccer, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball, will move to spring, according to a press release, which said the final plan needs approval from the Department. Illinois Health.
On Wednesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people and closing bars across the state for indoor service as of July 31, according to a statement from the governor’s office. .
“After seeing a resurgence in social gathering-related cases across the state, we must further limit meetings for the health of our community and economy,” the statement said. “By taking these strong steps, we will be better positioned for our children to return to the classroom and avoid a potentially devastating second wave.”
Experts say rebooting is necessary to get the virus fight back on track
Health experts urge federal, state and local leaders to take political steps to control the pandemic.
Scholars at the Johns Hopkins University Health Security Center said in a report that the United States needs to restart its response to the virus.
“Unlike many countries in the world, the United States is not currently underway to control this epidemic,” the report says. “It is time to restart.”
The report includes 10 recommendations including universal mask mandates, federal leadership to improve testing, and, in places where transmission rates are worsening, orders to stay home.
Although some have called for another shutdown, Fauci said the best option could be to reduce reopens and move more cautiously from there.
“If you’re going to quickly call a pause, a timeout, and think you might want to go back a bit, not necessarily all the time to close, but enough to regain your balance, so you then proceed to open at a much more cautious fashion, “he said.
CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman, Rebekah Riess, Haley Brink, Naomi Thomas, Cheri Mossburg and Raja Razek contributed to this report.
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