Weekly Covid-19 case and death records in the United States have never been higher, and state officials warn of more alarming patterns after the holiday season.
The total number of Americans infected with the virus exceeded 22 million on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, and more than 372,000 have died.
Of the states: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said the state saw a “real and significant increase in cases and our rate of positivity in people’s meetings during the holidays.”
“This rise we are in now is at least twice the rate, the severity, of the previous rises we have seen,” the governor said Friday.
This is our most dangerous moment. “
Colorado state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy warned Friday of the “first signs” of an increase in Covid-19 cases. “We’re starting to see the impact of the holidays on our data,” he said. Health experts believe one in 105 residents is currently contagious, Herlihy added.
United States Capitol riots: Health officials are also concerned that Wednesday’s assault on the U.S. Capitol could have consequences for the pandemic.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Friday that the riot would likely be an “intense event” that will have “public health consequences.”
“You had largely unmasked individuals remotely, who were all over the Capitol,” Dr. Robert Redfield told the McClatchy newspaper group. “Then these people are all going in cars, trains and planes coming home all over the country right now.”
So I think this is an event that is likely to lead to a significant spread, ”he added.
Registration of cases and deaths: In the nine days since the beginning of 2021, the United States has reported more than 2 million new cases of Covid-19 and more than 26,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The nation has averaged about 247,200 cases of Covid-19 a day over the past week as of Friday, a record high and more than 3.7 times higher than the summer peak set in late July, according to Johns Hopkins data.
And the country has averaged 2,982 deaths a day over the past week, the highest pandemic figure, according to Johns Hopkins. This week also saw the first time the United States reported more than 4,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day on Thursday.
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