“If you look at the deaths that are happening right now, about 1,000 a day, unless we can embrace this and suppress it, we will have more suffering and more death,” said Dr. Anthony. Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert. “That is the reason why, as I have said many, many times, there are things we can do right now in the absence of a vaccine that can change us,” he added.
States crack down on social gatherings
Birx said that among the state officials they are tracking, there appears to be a pattern of infections “at home” that begins with young people, generally under the age of 30. Those residents, who are generally asymptomatic, then pass the virus on to their parents who then pass it on to other older residents, she said.
In Mississippi, approximately 80% of coronavirus patients surveyed said they had attended a social gathering, which included funerals and birthday parties, where people were not attached to social distancing. And in New Jersey, health officials said they have seen multiple outbreaks stemming from youth gatherings.
To stop these infections, states have cracked down on congregations, such as bars, and have asked younger groups to pay attention to guidelines that include wearing masks and social distancing.
“Our city, like many others across the country, is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, and there is clear evidence of community spread, especially in closed places where groups are gathering,” said Mayor Andrew Ginther in a statement. “We are also seeing a clear increase among younger people, and we know that bars and nightclubs have been the source of outbreaks locally.”
In Kentucky, the governor also imposed new restrictions on restaurants, closed bars for the next two weeks, and recommended that schools postpone in-person instruction until the end of August.
“It is time to do what we have to do, given the stage we are at, to control this virus,” said the governor. “And I know that questions ended up coming up about ‘why didn’t you take this step four weeks ago or six weeks ago?’ Listen, this virus doesn’t care about our schedules. “
New York and Miami issue hundreds of citations related to the coronavirus
But in Miami and New York, officials have duplicated the application.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that the state had issued at least 132 violations over the weekend to bars and restaurants for failing to follow coronavirus-related regulations. Most of them were in New York City, Cuomo said.
Since the state began reopening, at least 40 stores have suspended their liquor licenses as a result of violations, and 10 of those suspensions have occurred since Friday, the governor said. Lack of compliance with social distancing policies in bars and restaurants among young people is a concern for his administration, Cuomo said.
Meanwhile, in Miami-Dade County, which has reported more cases than all but 12 states, police issued more than 300 subpoenas in 10 days to individuals and businesses that failed to comply with the local mask order.
“The growth rate (of cases) has shown a flattening since we implemented the masks in the public domain and we are following the advice of our health professionals and hospital administrators who tell us that what we have to do now is focus on the application, “Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told CNN on Sunday. “We created a special force for that and have issued hundreds of tickets over the course of the week.”
Phase 3 of the ongoing vaccine trial in the US
Authorities are now taking precautions, such as face masks and social distancing, to curb the spread of the virus, but soon the country may have even more help.
Vaccine maker Moderna began its final trial of a coronavirus vaccine in the US on Monday, and volunteers from dozens of sites across the country will participate in the study, Fauci said Monday.
“There are 89 sites distributed across the country,” said Fauci. “In fact, they are widely distributed in areas where there is clearly an active infection at the moment.”
There are expected to be 30,000 adult volunteers in Phase 3 testing. The first patient was dosed at a site in Savannah, Georgia on Monday.
“I think we are going to get a good sample of the virus transmission activity that is currently taking place in the country.”
Fauci said a vaccine will likely not be widely available to people in the United States until “several months” in 2021.
And this part of the American trial cannot be accelerated, a vaccine expert told CNN on Monday.
“Vaccine development programs typically take 15 years on average. This vaccine development program will probably take a year and a half,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Center for Vaccine Education and professor of pediatrics at the Division of Infectious Diseases. at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“The only thing you can’t truncate, merge, or overlap is the phase 3 trial,” Offit said. “The proof is in the pudding. The Phase 3 proof is the pudding and now they will hopefully test 10, 15, 20,000 people who will receive this vaccine, 15,000 people who will receive placebo and see to what extent this is really safe and you’ll see how effective it is. “
CNN’s Shelby Lin Erdman, Elizabeth Cohen, Jacqueline Howard, John Bonifield, Jamie Gumbrecht, Artemis Moshtaghian, Janine Mack and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
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