The United States only started ramping up measures against the novel coronavirus over the past few days following increased criticism from citizens and experts alike who believe more can be done to tame the CoVID-19 strain.
2 Congress Members Test Positive
On Wednesday evening, the office of Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart revealed that the representative developed a fever over the weekend and he was notified four days later that he contracted the disease, CNN reported.
Diaz-Balart, who is Florida's representative to the Congress, encouraged the American public to take the CoVID-19 situation in the country "extremely seriously." He did clarify that he has felt much better from when he first started experiencing symptoms.
Later in the evening, Utah Rep. Ben McAdams took to social media to reveal that he has been infected with the novel virus. He said he will continue to serve the people of Utah as he works from home and undergoes self-quarantine.
Worst Day for U.S. in New Cases
Wednesday was the worst day yet in the United States in terms of new cases as the health department reported over 2,300 new CoVID-19 cases in the country. The death toll also passed 140 on the said day.
The news came after new test kits were made available to health providers over the past two days. On the other hand, experts said the the spike in numbers also marks a new trend in the virus' trail as it batters all American states.
Experts said now that there are additional test kits, the country should expect spikes in new cases in the coming weeks, especially after it was confirmed that asymptomatic people can spread the infection.
New York and Washington Make Up for the Biggest Number of Cases
Below are the states with more than a hundred confirmed cases as of late Wednesday evening:
- New York - 2,914
- Washington - 1,187
- California - 690
- New Jersey - 427
- Florida - 322
- Illinois - 288
- Louisiana - 280
- Massachusetts - 256
- Georgia - 197
- Colorado - 183
- Pennsylvania - 133
- Michigan - 110
- Texas - 108
Trump Signs Relief Package
As CoVID-19 deaths reached 150 on Wednesday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump finally signed a relief package that includes free coronavirus testing as well as paid sick leave for workers.
According to the New York Times, the billion-dollar relief package also includes unemployment benefits and food assistance for individuals and families who may not have the means to purchase their necessities at this time.
The said relief package was approved by the House last week and on Wednesday evening, the Senate overwhelmingly passed it. Finally, Trump signed the package, raising hopes for citizens who have been calling for more action from the Trump administration.
U.S. May Still be Lagging in Testing Measures
The U.S. has been ramping up testing across the country but some experts said the number of people that need to be tested may be much larger than the number of test kits available.
While the U.S. has carried out around 70,000 tests based on data from the CoVID Tracking Project, South Korea, which saw one of the biggest earlier outbreaks outside China, already tested over 270,000 people, NPR reported.
Health experts have repeatedly been reiterating the importance of widespread testing. The faster the government determines which people are infected with the coronavirus, the earlier treatment can be provided and isolation can be implemented.
The spike in new cases in the United States came hours after China reported zero new cases in the CoVID-19 strain's origin country.
