Total global casualties from the raging COVID-19 pandemic topped 10 million confirmed cases and 500,000 deaths as of Sunday morning, according to data from Worldometer.
This grim milestone is being driven to more horrific new highs by the United States, which is undergoing what some medical experts say is a catastrophic resurgence in the disease. This demoralizing upsurge has seen cases reach new daily highs not seen since the pandemic was declared in March.
U.S. medical experts agree the cause of this spike -- which they foretold -- is the premature and unwise reopening of all 50 states for business by early this month. The decision by individual states to prioritize the health of their economies over the health of their residents was condoned by president Donald Trump, who still sees a strong economy as his only hope for reelection on November 3.
This hope stands to be quashed if cases and deaths continue to soar over the third quarter. As of Sunday, total confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. came to 2.6 million and 128,000 deaths. The U.S., which has only four percent of the world's population, still accounts for 25% of all confirmed cases and deaths.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week estimated the true number of new COVID-19 cases in the entire country might be in excess of 20 million due to the dearth of coronavirus testing. The U.S. is only conducting from 300,000 to 500,000 tests daily compared to the recommended number of two million daily tests. Some doctors say 3.5 million daily tests are needed for them to get a grip on the disease.
California, Texas, and Florida -- the three most populous states accounting for over a third of the total population -- are experiencing their worst outbreaks since the pandemic was declared.
California, the second worst hit state as far as confirmed cases go, had more than 206,000 cases Friday and some 5,900 deaths. Texas is the fourth worst hit state. It reported 142,800 cases and 2,400 deaths.
Florida, the state with the sixth highest number of cases, reported 123,000 cases and 3,400 deaths. It reported 8,900 new cases on Friday and 9,600 on Saturday, the two highest daily totals thus far. These unwanted records brought the state's total numbers last week to more than 28,000 new cases.
Together, California, Texas, and Florida account for 19% of all U.S. cases. The huge spike in new cases have forced Texas and Florida to shut down parts of their economies like bars and entertainment centers to prevent a faster spread of the disease.
There were 45,255 Covid-19 cases reported across the U.S. on Friday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, which usually lags behind Worldometer. On the other hand, Worldometer data shows more than 147,600 cases on Friday.
Johns Hopkins University data reveals the U.S. seven-day average of new cases surged by more than 41% compared to the week of June 14 to 20. Alarmingly, cases are growing by 5% or more based on a seven-day average in 34 states across the U.S.
"There are more cases," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)."There are more hospitalizations in some of those places and soon you'll be seeing more deaths."
Dr. Fauci added that even though the deaths are decreasing nationwide, "this doesn't mean that you're not going to start seeing them coming up now."
