American coronavirus: with more than 100,000 people hospitalized with Covid-19, this August is worse than the last, according to an expert

“I had to turn away a cancer patient who needed emergency treatment,” Florida oncologist Dr. Nitesh Paryani told CNN. “For the first time in my family’s sixty-year history of treating cancer, we had to turn someone away… we just didn’t have a bed. There just wasn’t room for it. ‘hospital to treat the patient. “

Paryani said his Tampa emergency room recently waited twelve hours.

In New Mexico, Acting Health Secretary Dr. David Scrase said if nothing changes, the state is on track to meet crisis care standards over the next week to do so. in the face of the continued increase in cases.

Scrase said intensive care hospitalizations for Covid-19 have increased so rapidly that officials are struggling to create accurate graphs to illustrate it.

“Because we are at over 100% of our capacity, these beds are filled before we have time to map,” he said.

Not only are the raw numbers significantly worse than they were last year, but the situation is made even more tragic by the protective measures that have since become available, Dr. Paul Offit, member of the opinion on vaccines from the United States Food and Drug Administration. committee, told CNN.

“Last August we had a fully susceptible population and we didn’t have a vaccine. Now we have vaccinated half the country and many have already been naturally infected, which is protective,” Offit said. “But nonetheless, the numbers are worse… the Delta variant is a great game changer.”

Some leaders change tactics, others double down

While cases have increased across much of the country, some leaders have implemented measures to mitigate the spread, while others have pushed back these types of measures.

Officials in Baltimore County, Maryland, declared a local state of emergency on Tuesday after the seven-day Covid-19 case rate jumped 370% since July.

“While we have made undeniable progress in our fight against this deadly virus, the rapid emergence of the Delta variant has made it clear that we need access to all the tools in our toolbox to be able to respond to it,” county director Johnny Olszewski said. said in a statement.

In Maui, Hawaii, Mayor Michael Victorino called on residents and visitors to respond to the spike in cases and hospitalizations by avoiding unnecessary activity for at least three weeks. Victorino is also asking Governor David Ige to approve new mandatory restrictions on the size of gatherings.

“It’s not rocket science, everyone. It’s very simple,” Victorino said on Tuesday. “We have to step it up again.”

In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined many other leaders who have announced warrants for government employees to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

Meanwhile, the governors of Texas and Florida have doubled down on their positions against the vaccination and mask warrants.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday issued an executive order extending the current policy banning vaccination warrants by “any government entity” throughout the state, according to a statement from his office.

And Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who previously issued an executive order banning mask warrants in schools, reiterated Wednesday that school districts imposing mask warrants “violate state law.”

“We believe parents are in the best position to make this decision and if these entities are going to break state law… there are consequences for that,” DeSantis said, responding to reporters’ questions.

Unprecedented surge in children

With no vaccines available for children under 12 and starting school across the country, experts are worried about the growing number of infections in children.

Texas Children’s Hospital is experiencing an unprecedented wave of coronavirus cases, with a record number of children hospitalized with the virus, and children showing up sicker than before, said Dr. Jim Versalovic, chief pediatrician Acting at the Houston-based Hospital System. CNN Wednesday.

“We have set new records in the Delta wave,” said Versalovic. “We had peaked at over 900 cases in one week, at the start of January 2021. It was our peak winter surge. We have now passed 1,300 cases in one week,” Versalovic said.

Earlier this year and last year, many children who tested positive for the coronavirus had mild symptoms or no symptoms, he said.

“What we are seeing now are more symptomatic children and children with fever, congestion, fatigue and other very significant symptoms,” including a cough, he said. “A greater proportion of children infected with the Delta variant show symptomatic infections, with noticeable symptomatology,” he added. “We have seen more infants and young children with symptomatic infection and hospitalized with Covid-19.”

And in Louisiana, the State Department of Health confirmed on Wednesday that a child under one year old has died from Covid-19, the first death in such a young child in the state in more than six months, said Governor John Bel Edwards.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee reminded parents on Wednesday that masks are the best tool to protect their children from the spread.

“Each parent can ask their children to wear a mask at school, as a tool to mitigate the spread, to make sure your child is in school more days than not,” the governor said.

Lee last week signed an executive order giving parents the option to remove their children from a school mask mandate if it is implemented by a school board or board of health.