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Government health officials have warned tens of thousands of Americans will die in the coming weeks as the coronavirus continues to soar across the country, shattering more daily records.
In a national forecast, released Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted that over the next four weeks, deaths could reach 282,000 people.
That would be a significant increase in the current death toll, which stood at 242,423 as of Thursday, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
It came amid warnings of shortages of PPE and hospital beds in the Midwest and as the United States again set a new record of cases, with 153,496 recorded as of Thursday alone, bringing the total to more than 10.5 million.
“The nationwide forecast for the whole of this week predicts that the number of recently reported Covid-19 deaths will likely increase over the next four weeks,” according to the CDC forecast.
In the week ending December 5 alone, he predicted that 5,500 to 13,400 people would die. He added: “The nationwide predicts that a total of 260,000 to 282,000 deaths related to Covid-19 will be reported by that date.”
On the same day, California became the second US state in the top 1 million cases. This followed a day after Texas hit the historic figure as well.
Hospitalizations also reached a new record on Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, with 67,000 people hospitalized with the virus. This too reported that cases are increasing faster than at any other time in the pandemic, with a 71% increase in the 7-day average from two weeks earlier.
The tracker also revealed that one in 378 U.S. residents tested positive for Covid-19 this week. And in North and South Dakota, among the worst-affected states, one in less than 100 has tested positive.
States have warned of a desperate shortage of hospital beds in the Midwest amid a huge surge in the region.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said there was a “catastrophic” shortage of beds in the Twin Cities, where there were only 22 intensive care beds available, The Washington Post reported. Public health officials said the beds have a 90-95% capacity.
Wisconsin health officials said only 8% of its intensive care beds were available.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services Assistant Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk said: “Covid-19 is everywhere in our state. It’s bad everywhere and it’s getting worse everywhere. “
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has suggested the state could go into lockdown. “We are running out of time and we are out of options,” he said.
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a stay-at-home order, which is expected to begin on Monday. Residents are advised to leave their homes only for work, school or basic needs.
Meanwhile, in South Dakota, a hospital system said it’s not beds, but staffing, that is the problem, which it said was at “stressed capacity” across the board. the state amid a national shortage of nurses.
In North Dakota, where there are health workforce issues, Gov. Doug Burgum said asymptomatic healthcare workers with Covid-19 would be allowed to continue working in Covid-19 hospital units.
There are also concerns about a shortage of PPE for healthcare workers as manufacturers of N95 masks struggle to keep up with demand.
Elsewhere in the country, Pennsylvania reported its very daily increase, New Jersey hit its highest hospitalization rate since June and Utah, which has a 23% positivity rate, hit a new record high of case and his hospital association warned the state was running out. intensive care beds.
In New York City, where the positivity rate on Thursday was 2.95% and saw 29 new deaths, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the next few weeks would be crucial. “There is no predestined future here. It is a pure consequence of our actions, ”he said.
New restrictions come statewide on Friday, including restaurant and bar closures before 10 p.m.
Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s foremost infectious disease specialist, urged Americans to “double down” on precautions such as wearing masks and avoid crowds to avoid a national lockdown and urged the public to “s ‘hang on’ for a vaccine, which he promised would come in the coming months.
“The cavalry is coming. We will control this, I promise you, ”he told ABC on Thursday.
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