American Coronavirus: Country is at tipping point of another outbreak of Covid-19, expert says. This is why security measures remain crucial now

The infection numbers, after weeks of decline, now appear to have peaked at high levels. The United States has recorded an average of more than 60,000 cases of Covid-19 per day over the past week. More than 41,000 people remain hospitalized with the virus across the country, according to the COVID follow-up project. And an average of more than 1,700 Covid-19 deaths in the United States have been reported each day for the past seven days.

And highly contagious variants already circulating have made experts fear that another peak of Covid-19 will be in a few weeks. More than 2,700 cases of variants first spotted in the UK, South Africa and Brazil have been reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – but the agency warned that this was not is not the total number of cases in the country, but rather those that were spotted using genomic sequencing.

“This strain is growing exponentially, it is increasing,” infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist Dr. Celine Gounder told CNN on Saturday. “So we’re probably on the tipping point of another wave right now.”

Speaking about the dangers of this variant, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, warned CNN on Friday, “this virus is about to take off in the United States.”

Variants are a big reason why experts have repeatedly warned that now is the time to double down on measures that help curb the spread of the virus – not ease the restrictions on Covid-19.

“There are so many reasons you don’t want to retire right away,” Dr Anthony Fauci told CNN late last week. “You want to predict that you’ll be able, within a reasonable time, to opt out. But not at a time when we have variants going around and you have what looks like a cap on the decline in cases.”

These states announced an easing of restrictions last week

Despite warnings from health officials, several state leaders have announced they are easing restrictions on Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled a series of relaxed restrictions, including increased capacity for restaurants, retail stores, gyms, stadiums and other facilities.

And in Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards also eased restrictions. The majority of businesses – including restaurants and lounges – are now allowed to operate at 75% of their capacity, while church services no longer have capacity limits.

Meanwhile, in California, all amusement parks in the state, including Disneyland, Magic Mountain, and Universal Studios, as well as sports and concert venues, will be allowed to reopen with limited capacity starting on the 1st. April, Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said on Friday.

“We believe the time has come to start reintroducing these activities in one way or another, in a cautious, slow and steady manner,” Ghaly said.

Here’s how many Americans have been vaccinated

In their announcements to ease restrictions, several heads of state pointed to the growing light at the end of the tunnel and expressed optimism fueled by the increasing numbers of vaccinations.

But experts have warned that the United States likely still had a few months before enough Americans were vaccinated to help suppress the spread of the virus. So far, less than 10% of the country’s population has been fully immunized.

Last week, new research offered reassuring news that there is now more evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant poses little threat to vaccine efficacy.

The research, released Thursday, shows that while the variant may hide somewhat from the immune system, it is not enough to decrease the value of vaccines significantly – and it does not threaten to re-infect people who have recovered from the variant. dominant previous. virus.

“These results indicate that the B.1.1.7 variant is unlikely to be of major concern for current vaccines or for an increased risk of reinfection,” the researchers wrote in their report, published in the journal Cell Host and Microbe. .

Receiving both doses in a timely manner is “encouraged for maximum effectiveness” in areas where the variant is circulating, the researchers said.