https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/21/coronavirus-cdc-says-us-is-seeing-distressing-trend-in-outbreak.html
Berkeley Lovelace Jr., Noah Higgins-Dunn
Published Wed, Oct 21 20204:31 PM EDT
A top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that the agency is seeing a “distressing trend” in the United States’ coronavirus outbreak.
Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, said Covid-19 cases are now growing “really in all parts of the country,” with particularly high transmission in the Midwest.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing a distressing trend here in the United States,” he told reporters on a call. He said the surge is likely due to the arrival of cooler temperatures, adding, “Smaller, more intimate gatherings of family, friends and neighbors may be driving transmission as well, especially as they move indoors.”
“I recognize that we are all getting tired of the impact Covid-19 has had on our lives,” he said. “We’re tired of wearing masks, but it continues to be as important as it has ever been and I would say even more important than ever as we move into the fall season.”
The U.S. is now reporting roughly 60,000 new Covid-19 cases daily, growing nearly 17% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Figures are based on a weekly average to smooth out fluctuations in daily reporting. Only two states — Hawaii and Virginia — reported declines greater than 5% as of Tuesday.
The U.S. still has the worst outbreak in the world, with more than 8.2 million cases and at least 221,122 deaths, according to Hopkins data.
Health officials and infectious disease experts fear the situation could become dire as flu season begins and hospitals risk reaching capacity.
•••••
No comments:
Post a Comment