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NEW YORK (AP) – The United States on Tuesday saw a record number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations and surpassed one million new confirmed cases in the first 10 days of November, amid a surge in infections in nationwide which shows no signs of slowing down.
The new wave appears larger and more widespread than the surges that occurred in the spring and summer – and threatens to get worse. But experts say there is also reason to believe the nation is better able to tackle the virus this time around.
“We’re definitely in a better place” for improving medical tools and knowledge, said William Hanage, infectious disease researcher at Harvard University.
Recently confirmed infections in the United States were reaching all-time highs of over 100,000 a day, bringing the total to over 10 million and eclipsing 1 million since Halloween. There are now 61,964 people hospitalized, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Several states released records Tuesday, including more than 12,600 new cases in Illinois, 10,800 in Texas and 7,000 in Wisconsin.
Deaths – a lagging indicator, as it takes time for people to get sick and die – are increasing again, averaging over 930 per day.
Hospitals are criticized. And unlike previous epidemics, this one is not confined to one or two regions.
“The virus is spreading in a largely uncontrolled manner across the vast majority of the country,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University.
Governors have made increasingly desperate calls for people to take the fight against the virus more seriously.
In an unusual prime-time speech hours after Wisconsin set new records for infections and deaths, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced he was advising people to stay in their homes and businesses to allow people to work remotely, require masks and limit the number of people in shops and offices.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, ordered bars and restaurants to close at 10 p.m., and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said she would demand masks at indoor gatherings in 25 or more people, progressing to stricter measures after months. to hold on.
While deaths are still well below the US peak of around 2,200 per day in April, some researchers estimate the country’s overall death toll will reach around 400,000 by February 1, compared to around 240,000 today.
But there is also good news.
Doctors now know better how to treat severe cases, which means higher percentages of COVID-19 patients who go to intensive care units are coming out alive. Patients are benefiting from new treatments, namely remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone and a drug antibody that gained approval from the Food and Drug Administration on Monday. In addition, the tests are more widely available.
Additionally, a vaccine appears to be on the horizon, possibly towards the end of the year, with Pfizer this week reporting the first results showing that its experimental vaccines are surprisingly 90% effective at preventing disease.
And there is a pending change in the White House, with President-elect Joe Biden pledging to draw on a set of well-respected medical advisers and implement a comprehensive coronavirus plan which experts say understands the type of actions that will be needed to cause the outbreak. under control.
Biden pledged during the campaign to be guided by science, make testing free and widely available, hire thousands of health workers to undertake contact tracing, and ask the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide clear and expert advice.
“We are already seeing encouraging signs from President-elect Biden regarding his handling of COVID-19,” said Dr. Kelly Henning, a senior epidemiologist who heads the public health programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
“I am relieved to see that he has already put some of the smartest scientific minds into his new coronavirus task force and that they are acting urgently to try to bring the pandemic under control as quickly as possible,” said Henning.
While the first wave in the Northeast caught many Americans off guard and cut a particularly deadly swath in nursing homes, the second ridge along the nation’s southern and western edge has been attributed primarily to a reckless behavior, especially among young adults on Remembrance Day and July 4, and hot weather that sent people indoors, where the virus spreads more easily.
The fall surge was also blamed in large part on the cold pushing people in and out of masks and social distancing, fueled by President Donald Trump and other politicians.
Even in areas of the country that have experienced coronavirus outbreaks before, “you see people coming out” and letting your guard down, Schaffner said.
“There is really some COVID fatigue that blends into the COVID embarrassment,” he says.
The near-term outlook is bleak, with colder weather and Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years ahead. Generations of family members meeting indoors for meals for long periods of time “is not a recipe for anything good,” Hanage said.
Other factors could contribute to the spread of the virus in the weeks to come: last weekend, large street celebrations and demonstrations were organized during the elections. On Saturday night, an upset victory for the Notre Dame football team sent thousands of students en masse to the pitch, many without masks.
Meanwhile, the next two months will see a lame Congress and a president who may be even less inclined than before to adopt disease-fighting measures. Those who have been removed from their posts or who no longer fear being re-elected for at least two years, “will not be motivated to do a fantastic job,” Hanage said.
Experts are increasingly alarmed by the resurgence of the virus in places like Massachusetts, which has seen a dramatic increase in cases since Labor Day, largely blamed on young people who socialize.
Republican Gov. Charlie Baker warns the health care system could be overwhelmed this winter, and he recently ordered restaurants to stop table service, forced many businesses to close before 9:30 p.m., and asked residents to stay away. home between 10 p.m. and 5 p.m. a m
Brooke Nichols, professor and mathematical modeler of infectious diseases at the Boston University School of Public Health, said the governor’s actions do not go far enough.
“Right now, because of the exponential growth, throw out the kitchen sink, and you will be able to do that for less time,” Nichols said.
Meanwhile, political leaders in a number of new coronavirus hotspots are doing less. In hard-hit South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem has made it clear that she will not institute a mask requirement and has cast doubts among health experts who say face covers prevent infections from spreading. spread.
Even higher case and death rates have been seen in North Dakota, where many people have refused to wear masks. Governor Doug Burgum pleaded with people to do so and praised the local towns that commissioned the masks. But he avoided demanding masks himself.
Noem and Burgum are both Republicans and have taken positions consistent with those of the president.
“It would be simplistic to say it’s a red against blue experiment, but it does go with the party’s direction whether people took it seriously, tried to prevent it, and took painful measures, for example. compared to those who said: Let it rip, ”said Dr. Howard Markel, public health historian at the University of Michigan.
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Associated Press editor Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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