The United States has officially surpassed one million known COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, after just about seven months of social distancing measures to help contain the outbreak. The U.S. has also passed over the grim threshold of 58,000 deaths. Yet, many states are beginning to reopen faster than the White House's guidelines suggest as the country begins focusing more on its reopening efforts.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that the United States will be able to run 5 million daily coronavirus tests "very soon," even as lack of testing supplies still remains a serious issue. Health excepts have estimated that the nation will need to conduct 5 million daily tests to be able to safely reopen while efficiently containing the virus.
According to the Covid Tracking Project, the most tests the United States have conducted in a day is 314,182 on April 22. The country has only run about 5.7 million tests in total since the domestic outbreak began in March.
However, White House health advisors have begun to warn the public that social distancing measures must still be implemented as the country begins to reopen. Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, stated on NBC's "Meet the Press" that, "Social distancing will be with us through the summer." Dr. Birx also added that, "a huge technology breakthrough," will be needed in antigen testing to test the United States population at a sufficient scale to contain the virus.
Adding more pressure to testing and tracking of the coronavirus, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said in an interview with The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. that the virus will certainly make a reappearance as the United States enters the fall season. Fauci noted that if researchers are unable to find an effective treatment, the outbreak in the colder months could be even worse.
Infectious disease experts have been studying the virus's response to colder weather as regions like southern Africa are starting to enter their colder months, noting emerging outbreaks.
"In my mind, it's inevitable that we will have a return of the virus [in the fall], or maybe even that it never went away," Fauci stated. Fauci warned that opening business prematurely could case "a rebound to get us right back in the same boat that we were in a few weeks ago."
Total Global Cases: Over 3.2 Million
Total Deaths: At Least 227,000
Total Recovered: At Least 1 Million
Testing Upgrade
Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) unveiled its first direct-to-consumer antibody COVID-19 test on Tuesday. The test will allow consumers to pay the test without a doctor's prescription, as the lab continues its effort to broaden COVID-19 testing. The tests requires an online screening that will determine whether testing is appropriate and request the individual to have their blood drawn for testing at one of the company's 2,200 labs. The test costs $119 and takes two days from the initial blood drawing for results.
Although researchers have not found evidence that having antibodies guarantee immunity, Quest Diagnostics states that a positive antibody test indicates that the individual may have same level of protection against reinfection.
For potential vaccines, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced on Tuesday that the drug maker could potentially produce millions of coronavirus vaccines by the end of 2020 for emergency use, if clinical trials for its candidate move within the company's timeline.
Business Impact
Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC), a major U.S. advertising firm, stated in its first quarter earnings report that some sectors of the United States' businesses and economy have been affected "more immediately and more significantly than others." The sectors include travel, lodging, entertainment, energy, non-essential retail, and automotive.
The advertising industry has been impacted by the fallout of the coronavirus outbreak as many businesses reduce spending during an uncertain economic future.