The United States is moving closer to realizing a horrific prediction it might see 100,000 new COVID-19 cases per day. More than 77,000 daily cases were recorded Thursday -- the highest single day total on record -- even as the disease's resurgence is spiraling out of control.
There is no federal government master plan or response for dealing with the crisis. The coronavirus calamity will soon be uncontrollable as president Donald Trump has brushed aside the pandemic to focus on his reelection campaign. Trump is also silencing the medical community for the same reason.
Daily deaths in the U.S. are rising inexorably once again. Reuters reports the number of deaths in a 24-hour period came to 969 Thursday, the biggest increase since June 10. The hardest hit Sun Belt states of Florida, South Carolina and Texas all reported their biggest one-day jump in deaths on Thursday. Florida, Texas and South Carolina all set records for daily deaths. They reported 156, 129 and 69 fatalities, respectively.
U.S. deaths were at their highest in April when the country reported 2,000 daily deaths. Fatalities have fallen since, however, averaging 1,300 daily in May and fewer than 800 daily in June. Deaths have since risen close to 1,000 daily so far in July.
The U.S. still leads the world in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths. As of early Friday evening in New York, the U.S. reported 3.75 million cases (up more than 58,700 cases from Thursday) and some 142,000 deaths (up 700), according to Worldometer data.
In June, new cases rose by an average of 28,000 a day, according Reuters. In July, it increased by an average of 57,625 per day. On Thursday, Texas reported more than 15,000 new cases while Florida saw 14,000 new cases and California almost 10,000.
In June, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), warned new cases might soon exceed 100,000 a day if Americans don't cooperate and take the take steps necessary to halt the spread of the disease.
There was an average of 28,000 daily new cases in June when Dr. Fauci made this prediction. This average daily number jumped to almost 58,000 cases in the first 17 days of July, or more than double the daily average for the entire month of June.
More and more states are in trouble, especially those led by Republicans. A White House coronavirus task force document dated July 14 reveals 18 states in the "red zone" for COVID-19 cases. This means they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 persons for the week of July 5 to 11. Eleven states are in the "red zone" for test positivity, meaning more than 10% of diagnostic test results came back positive.
In the red zone for cases are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
In the red zone for positivity are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.
