Labs across the country now face what seems like almost “infinite” demand, says one expert.
“We really need to improve our response times, primarily in outbreak areas and counties,” said Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus workforce.
Diagnostic labs are feeling the effects of the increase in cases, with a leading commercial laboratory saying that test results can now take up to two weeks for some patients.
Demand is even higher in the southern, southwestern, and western regions of the US, Quest said.
To help combat the spread of the virus, at least three mayors have mentioned taking stricter measures again, and nearly 40 states have some sort of mask requirement. Masks, according to experts, are one of the most powerful tools to prevent future infections.
But Osterholm stressed Monday that keeping people separate is just as important.
“It’s about distancing yourself. And that’s what really reduced the numbers last spring,” he said.
“We really create a lot of distancing and until we do, we are going to have an impossible time to bring this virus to a level that we can then test and track on a routine basis like other countries and safely open our economy again.”
Tightening measures
In Texas, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a home shelter order for all residents after a sharp increase in cases and hospitalizations. The order, which includes a curfew, essential travel limitations and facial coverage requirements, comes after county hospitals have reached capacity, Cortez said Monday.
“To care for patients who are already infected with the virus, we need more staff, and staff that means doctors, nurses, technicians, respiratory technicians,” the judge told Rachel Maddow of MSNBC. “Oxygen, of course, is a huge shortage right now. It is extremely important for us to have the necessary supplies.”
The state governor, who previously lobbied for one of the most aggressive reopens, has more recently emphasized the importance of masks. Earlier this month, he issued a mandate to cover his face, but has said there will be no other closure.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said Monday that the right precautions could be almost as powerful as another blockade.
“What if (there was) 100% use of face masks in public areas, closing bars, limiting indoor gatherings and decreasing eating capacity,” he said. “When we modeled it, it was very close to the impacts of taking refuge in place.”
At least 27 states have suspended or reversed reopening measures in response to the cases.
The governor’s office said Monday beauty salons and hair salons in 33 counties could reopen outside. That’s when Los Angeles County broke its record for daily hospitalizations for the fourth time in a week, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health. There are now 2,232 hospitalized patients, about 26% of whom are in the ICU, Ferrer said.
In Kentucky, where the governor announced the state’s highest single-day total Sunday, officials reduced the number of people allowed at social gatherings from 50 to 10.
“I’m here to tell you now, that Sunday was a rude wake-up call. Sunday is a warning, it’s a shot across the bow. If we don’t intervene, we’ll see the destination here in Kentucky that you’re seeing in some of these other states, “Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the health department, said Monday.
Missouri Governor Says Kids ‘Will Get Over It’
Teachers have argued that while children may not seem as serious of complications as adults, they could contribute to further transmission of the virus upon returning home. But President Donald Trump has said he is putting pressure on governors to reopen classrooms.
In Missouri, Governor Mike Parson said Monday that the state must continue to send children back, saying students are “least likely to have a problem” if they contract the coronavirus.
“These children have to go back to school,” said the governor during a radio interview on Friday. “They are at the lowest risk possible. And if they get Covid-19, they will, and they will when they go to school, they will not go to hospitals. They will not have to sit in doctor’s offices. They will go to home and they will get over it. “
Three vaccine trials offer hope
The evidence showed that vaccines can produce immune responses that would be expected to protect people against infection and everything seemed to be safe.
The results were promising, the researchers say, but large-scale trials are needed to determine if the vaccine protects against the virus.
“The measured responses in the blood and the absence of serious damage indicate that there is a possibility of an effective vaccine against Covid-19,” Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told the Science Center. in the UK on the Oxford trial.
“It still does not show that the disease is reduced or prevented, and this will not be easy to demonstrate until Phase 3 trials have been completed in settings where the SARS Cov-2 virus is circulating at high speed and people are getting coming back clinics and severe illness. “
But even if a vaccine were available today, nearly half of Americans would not receive it due to lack of confidence, former US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN on Monday.
“We know that distributing vaccines will be quite difficult. And if people are not willing to take it because we have not generated enough public confidence, that will seriously affect our ability to develop collective immunity,” said Murthy.
The estimate comes from surveys that have already been carried out, Murthy said, adding that he finds it “a shocking and deeply troubling number.”
CNN’s Matthew Hilk, Rebekah Riess, Jenn Selva, Sarah Moon, Jamie Gumbrecht, Naomi Thomas, Dana Vigue and Jacqueline Howard contributed to this report.
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