The coronavirus outbreak in the United States is surging at a record, near unmanageable rate as the nation heads towards its colder months. Coronavirus hospitalizations in the U.S. have reached an all-time high of 65,368 on Wednesday, with daily new cases also totaling 144,270 for the first time ever, as the pandemic continues to shatter record after record on an almost daily basis. The staggering new case numbers have already topped one million new infections for November, leading the nation to only brace for the anticipated deadly wave that is to come in the next few weeks.
Understanding the Numbers
The outbreak in the U.S. is reaching levels that are beginning to exceed the first wave of infections experienced last spring. The number of people who have been hospitalized due to their infection has more than doubled since September, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project, now exceeding the previous all time high of 59,940 patients recorded back in April and the 61,964 tallied on Tuesday. The second viral peak in the U.S. seen last summer fell short of the surpassing the peak recorded following the first wave of infections.
Those hospitalization spikes experienced during the infection waves in April and July lasted only a few days and then quickly began to fall as infection rates were brought under control. Yet, the looming winter season is giving the current third peak in hospitalizations a grimmer outlook, for infections have spread almost unhindered throughout much of the country with no sign of slowing.
Daily deaths in the U.S. are also increasing and the nation's healthcare system is being strained again. Although nowhere near the nation's peak of 2,752 seen back in May, the current seven-day average is about 1,035 per day, with new deaths continuing to raise at a daily rate.
Bleaker still, the U.S. surpassed 10 million confirmed cases earlier this week, with averaging 125,057 new daily cases in the past seven days, which is a 41% increase than the seven-day average seen two weeks ago.
Is Another Lockdown Needed?
Predicting the worst and hoping to curb infection rates, some U.S. cities and states have begun issuing new social restrictions. Notably, the state of New York has set new restrictions on restaurants, bars and gyms to not allow public access past 10 p.m. and for private gathering to be limited to 10 people max ahead of the holiday season.
According to researchers at Stanford University and Northwestern University in a study published in the scientific journal Nature on Tuesday, these types of social restrictions play a major role in keeping the virus under control.
Researchers tracked cell phone data from 98 million Americans in major metropolitan areas between March and May, and mapped out the movements of the public to get a clearer picture of where people traveled to, how long they stayed, how many people they closely interacted with, and what neighborhoods they returned to. The researchers then combined that analysis with information on the number of cases in the areas tracked to create accurate infection models. These models were able to identify which locations posed the greatest spread risk, and what works to diminish the virus's spread.
Researchers ultimately concluded that full-blown lockdowns are not necessary to control the virus, arguing that reducing maximum occupancy to public spaces like restaurants, gyms and hotels could control the pandemic down to a containable level. The study also highlighted that masks and social distancing is also important, and can help curb infection rates while also supporting the economy.
Speaking of masks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a scientific brief on Tuesday that found the wearing a mask also protects the wearer to some degree while preventing the spread of respiratory droplets to others. The C.D.C.'s update shows that wearing a multi-layer cloth mask can prevent 50-70% of an individual's respiratory droplets from spreading to others, while new data suggests that the cloth masks can filter nearly 50% of the respiratory droplets and particles coming in.
"Adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical inventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene, and adequate ventilation," the federal health agency concluded.