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Every day since November 3, more than 100,000 new infections have been reported. Every day for more than two weeks, the surge in hospitalizations broke another national record. And every day, hundreds of Americans die from the virus, Tuesday and Wednesday recording a daily toll of more than 2,100 deaths.
The devastating numbers show no sign of slowing down. An expert predicts that daily deaths will double in just a few days.
“When you look at the people who are hospitalized today, they were infected two weeks ago, maybe more. So it takes about five to seven days to become symptomatic,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor. of Medicine at George Washington University. . “Usually it takes about another week to be sick enough to be hospitalized, so it’s at least two weeks, and then it usually takes another week for people to die from the disease.”
“I expect the daily death rate to double in the next 10 days,” he said. “We’re going to see almost 4,000 deaths a day.”
More than 262,100 people have died in the United States since the start of the pandemic. An ensemble forecast released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday projects that nearly 60,000 more people could lose their lives over the next three and a half weeks.
‘We will see a wave upon a wave’
With the country deep in the fall wave of Covid-19, local and state leaders have been making last-minute attempts all week to pass the warning on to Americans: Don’t go for traditional Thanksgiving celebrations this year, otherwise things could get worse.
Telephone alerts have been sent to Pennsylvania and parts of Georgia urging residents to stay safe while on vacation. Officials in New Orleans have sent residents a reminder to celebrate within their own households and keep large celebrations virtual. In a final plea to the Kansans, Governor Laura Kelly said compliance with health regulations “will be more critical than ever in the coming days.” US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams said this year’s safest Thanksgiving includes only the immediate members of the household.
Similar warnings have poured in over the past week from officials in nearly every state. And experts have warned of what could happen in the coming weeks if Americans ignore the advice.
“It’s kind of serious news here with all these people traveling and then at their destination spending a lot of time indoors in a warm family relationship with extended families,” Professor Dr William Schaffner said Wednesday evening. of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University. .
“The virus is going to attend some of these Thanksgiving dinners and spreads, I’m afraid. And then people will go home, some of them will get sick, spread further into their families and into their neighborhoods.” , he added.
“In a week, more likely two weeks, we’re going to see a boom,” Schaffner said. “We are going through a difficult time.”
About 4.8 million people have boarded planes since the CDC warning, with more than 900,000 passing through security at airports nationwide on Tuesday, the Transportation Security Administration said.
Hospitalization records for 16 consecutive days
A push stacked on top of the current one could cripple the many communities already struggling with the spread of the virus.
In Los Angeles County, where Covid-19-related hospitalizations have climbed by about 70% in the past two weeks, hospitals could face a shortage of regular hospital beds and intensive care in both to next four weeks.
“What’s most limited in public and private Los Angeles County hospitals is staff availability,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of health services for the Los Angeles Department.
The county will be able to find flexible spaces in hospitals, using pre and postoperative space, unused wings or the emergency department to accommodate patients, but it will be more difficult to find qualified staff.
Meanwhile, the Mayo Clinic will bring in staff from other states – like Arizona and Florida – and bring back retirees accredited to fight limited capacity during Covid-19 outbreaks in Minnesota, according to Dr Andrew. Badley, chair of the Mayo Clinic Covid-19 Research Task Force.
“These are really tough times,” Badley told CNN on Wednesday. “Right now at the Mayo Clinic, about a day ago, we had about 1,400 of our staff who were either with Covid restrictions or Covid restrictions.
Washington state health officials said “the number of cases has skyrocketed” and predicted that while the current transmission of the disease continues at the same rate as at the start of this month, admissions daily in hospital could double by early December.
“The situation is extremely urgent and there is still time to turn the tide before our hospitals are overwhelmed,” Health Secretary John Wiesman said in a statement. “I know these are difficult and disappointing times for many, and I am very grateful to everyone who made the decision to stay home with their immediate homes for Thanksgiving tomorrow. The spread of COVID-19 is significant.”
CNN’s Pete Muntean, Ben Tinker, Shelby at Erdman, and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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