As predicted, the US is now grappling with a new Covid-19 surge — one that could overwhelm hospitals, kill thousands of Americans a day by January and leave even young survivors with long-term complications.
“We went down to the lowest point lately in early September, around 30,000–35,000 new cases a day. Now we’re back up to (about) 50,000 new cases a day. And it’s going to continue to rise,” Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said Tuesday.
Man who dismissed Covid-19 and then survived it says he is an example for doubters
Man who dismissed Covid-19 and then survived it says he is an example for doubters
“This is the fall/winter surge that everyone was worried about. And now it’s happening. And it’s happening especially in the northern Midwest, and the Northern states are getting hit very hard — Wisconsin, Montana, the Dakotas. But it’s going to be nationally soon enough.”
Across the country, more than 30 states have reported more Covid-19 cases this past week than they reported the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
In Denver, recent case counts are as “high right now as they were at the height of the pandemic back in May,” Mayor Michael Hancock said Monday.
He said hospitalizations have also soared, and residents could face tighter Covid-19 restrictions if the numbers keep going up.
In Wisconsin, a field hospital is opening this week to handle a rapid rise in coronavirus patients. The state recently reported record-high numbers of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and daily deaths.
If Americans don’t turn the tide around, the US could be in for a devastating winter. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects more than 135,000 people in the US could die within the next three months.
“This winter — this November, December, January, February — could be the worst time in our epidemic,” Hotez said. “Get ready to hunker down.”