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The United States recorded 2,015 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest number of new deaths in a single day since May, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, as a White House expert put in guard against a worsening of the spread of the disease – even as America is weeks away from the expected start of vaccination for its population.
The country also recorded more than 187,000 new confirmed cases on Thursday, another record for the daily tally of infections.
Just weeks after the United States first surpassed 100,000 new cases in a single day earlier this month, new cases are now well on their way to a grim daily milestone of 200,000.
On Wednesday, the total number of deaths in the United States from Covid-19 reached 250,000 – the most seen of any country in the world. At least 11 million Americans have been infected with the virus during the pandemic, which began to hit the United States in January.
This month, the number of Americans currently hospitalized with the coronavirus was the highest it has ever been, surpassing 80,000 people across the country on Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Unlike previous outbreaks of the virus, the rise in cases is not concentrated in one region. Cases have increased in nearly every state, a worrying scenario as the US vacation season kicks off.
Dr Deborah Birx, senior scientist on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told CNN on Friday morning that more than half of the country is in the ‘red zone’, more than 101 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
“It’s faster, it’s wider and what worries me is that it could be longer,” Birx said of the spread of the virus.
Public health experts have pleaded with the American public for weeks to limit or cancel gatherings typically held around Thanksgiving. A new ad campaign by a coalition of healthcare systems across the country is begging Americans to wear masks as hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed.
“I make personal sacrifices so as not to infect my parents and my pregnant daughter,” Birx said. “It’s up to all of us now to make sure [the spread] is not anymore. “
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new guidelines around Thanksgiving that reiterate that “staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year.” Most states have some type of mandatory quarantine for travelers, with a few exceptions for those who test negative for the virus.
On Thursday, Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert, made his first appearance at a White House coronavirus press briefing after being sidelined for months by Donald Trump and averted infections in Trump’s upper circles. Speaking from the podium, Fauci stressed the importance of “simple public health measures” as the country moves closer to a vaccine against the virus.
“Wearing a mask, social distancing, avoiding gathering places, doing things as far as we can outside versus inside,” Fauci said. “If we do that, we can delay things until the vaccine arrives.”
Public health experts believe a vaccine could be available to Americans with the highest priority by the end of this calendar year. Drugmaker Pfizer said on Friday it had asked the Food and Drug Administration to approve emergency use of its Covid-19 vaccine. At the White House press conference, Fauci praised vaccines developed by Pfizer and Moderna, another pharmaceutical company, seen in clinical trials.
“We actually need to double up on public health measures as we wait for this help to come, which will be soon,” he said.
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