The United States has recorded its worst day on record for daily coronavirus cases, as new infections topped 38,000 in a single day on Wednesday, raising fears the nation is heading for a second wave of the deadly outbreak.
According to The COVID Tracking Project, a staggering 38,115 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, marking the highest number of cases daily since the killer virus first landed on US soil.
The dire figure dwarfs the previous record of 34,203 on April 25, when the nation was thought to be at the peak of the pandemic.
According to John Hopkins’ count, more than 120,000 Americans have been killed by the virus, with a death toll that reached 121,979 and confirmed cases of 2,381,538 at midnight Wednesday.
States that rushed to ease their blockades and return to business as usual are posting record levels in cases and hospitalizations this week, and a new model warns that the death toll in the United States could top 180,000 in October.
The three most populous states in California, Texas and Florida set new records for the number of new daily infections, beating more than 5,000 cases in the past 24 hours.
The United States has recorded its worst day on record for daily coronavirus cases, as new infections top 38,000 in a single day on Wednesday, according to the COVID Monitoring Project.
The resurgence of cases threatens to wipe out two months of progress made in the US. USA As a growing outbreak spreads across the south and west.
While infections have steadily declined in early hot spots like New York and New Jersey, several states set single-day records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Seven states in Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are also recording their highest number of hospitalizations since the pandemic began to devastate the nation.
California announced 7,149 new shocking infections on Wednesday for its latest daily count on Tuesday, bringing the state total to 190,222 cases.
Some 4,095 residents are currently hospitalized with the virus, after hospitalizations soared 29 percent in the past two weeks.
More than 30 percent of the intensive care beds available in the state are now occupied by patients with COVID-19.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom said he would withhold pandemic-related funds from local governments that ignore state mask requirements and other anti-virus measures in response to the increasing numbers.
Florida’s single-day count rose to 5,506 on Wednesday, a 25 percent jump from the record set last week.
In Texas, which was one of the first states to start reopening in April, hospitalizations have doubled and new cases have tripled in two weeks.
Oklahoma also reported a record day Wednesday, with 482 cases a day bringing the state’s total to 11,510.
This marked the third time in the past week that the state reported record increases in one day, including the previous high of 478 new cases on Sunday and 450 on Thursday.
It comes after President Trump went ahead with his campaign in Tulsa, where attendees didn’t have to wear masks or social distance, despite repeated warnings from local health officials.
In Texas, which was one of the first states to start reopening in April, hospitalizations have doubled and new cases have tripled in the past two weeks alone.
Governor Greg Abbott told KFDA-TV that the state is facing a “massive outbreak” and that it may need new local restrictions to preserve the hospital space.
The Houston-area intensive care units are nearly full, and two public hospitals are operating at full capacity, said Mayor Sylvester Turner.
The Houston Methodist Boom said Texans must “behave perfectly and work together perfectly” to reduce the infection rate.
“When I look at a restaurant or a business where people … don’t follow the guidelines, where people just throw caution to the wind, it makes me angry,” he said.
The Texas governor was forced to back down a bit on his more relaxed approach to the virus.
California announced an astonishing 7,149 new infections for its latest daily count on Tuesday.
Another 52 Californians died while 4,095 residents are currently hospitalized with the virus, of which 1,268 are in the ICU.
Oklahoma health officials reported a record one-day increase in the number of positive COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with 482 positive tests reported in a 24-hour period.
It initially banned local officials from fining or penalizing anyone for not wearing a mask when the state reopened.
But after cases began to escalate, Abbott said last week that cities and counties could allow businesses to require masks.
Some business owners criticized the Republican governor saying it is too little and too late since the outbreak has also spread throughout Texas.
“I can’t risk my staff, my clientele, myself, my family, and everyone else in that chain just because other people are too uncomfortable to wear a face cloth,” said Michael Neff, owner of the Cottonmouth Club. In Houston
Tech giant Apple made the decision to close its retail stores in Houston on Wednesday.
Alabama hospitals also double under the weight of the pandemic, with only 17 percent of intensive care beds available Wednesday, including just one in Montgomery, said Dr. Don Williamson, head of the Association of Hospitals of Alabama.
“There is nothing I am seeing that makes me think we are getting ahead of this,” he said.
In Arizona, emergency rooms treat about 1,200 suspected COVID-19 patients per day, compared to about 500 a month ago.
If trends continue, hospitals will likely exceed capacity in the coming weeks, said Dr. Joseph Gerald, professor of public health policy at the University of Arizona.
“We are in serious trouble,” said Gerald, who urges the state to impose new restrictions on companies, something that Governor Doug Ducey has refused to do.
Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, said he is concerned that states waste what time they have to avoid a much bigger crisis.
“We are still talking about subtlety, still arguing whether we should wear masks or not, and we still don’t understand that a vaccine is not going to rescue us,” he said.
In a reverse of events, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced Wednesday that anyone coming from states that are still seeing high numbers of coronaviruses will have to remain in quarantine for 14 days.
Quarantine applies to any state with an infection rate of 10 infections per 100,000 people on a seven-day moving average or 10 percent of the total population with positive results.
The states to which it currently applies are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah, and Texas.
With cases rising to record levels, experts reviewed the leading coronavirus model and predicted that the death toll in the United States will reach nearly 180,000 by October 1.
The model released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Washington forecasts 179,106 deaths (ranging from 159,497 to 213,715) by October 1.
The model released Wednesday by researchers at the University of Washington predicts 179,106 will be killed (ranging from 159,497 to 213,715).
But the school’s Institute for Health Assessment and Metrics estimates that the numbers would drop to 146,047 (with a range of 140,849 to 153,438) if the majority of the population wears face masks.
By August 1, 5,000 lives could be saved, on September 1, 17,000 lives saved, and on October 1, a total of 33,000 lives were saved with the majority use of nose and mouth covers.
“People need to know that wearing masks can reduce virus transmission by up to 50%, and those who refuse are putting their lives, their families, their friends and their communities at risk,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray. in a statement on Wednesday.
He added that even as states open, the United States is still “dealing with a major epidemic on a course to escalate starting in late August and intensifying in September.”
Worldwide, more than 9.4 million people have been confirmed infected, and nearly 500,000 have died, according to the Johns Hopkins count.
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