Almost half a million people in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 over the last seven days.
Since Oct. 20, 489,769 people have tested positive for the virus, and over 5,500 people died from complications arising from the disease as lawmakers around the country roll out fresh restrictions that ban the gathering of large groups, among other measures, according to a Reuters analysis.
In Illinois, where health officials recorded more than 30,000 cases this week, Democratic Gov. J.D. Pritzker added new restrictions on six of 11 regions in his state, including Chicago, where bars will be forced to close in an effort to contain the spread of the highly contagious disease.
With almost 70,000 testing positive for the virus every day around the country last week, the surge in positive cases is the highest recorded since the pandemic began in March.
In El Paso, Texas, where the number of infections of the disease has exploded in October, infectious disease specialist Dr. Ogechika Alozie told Reuters that the influx of patients represented all ages, not just the elderly.
“We are seeing all sorts of patients,” Alozie said. “The narrative historically has been the above-65, those with multiple co-morbidities. But we’re seeing 20-year-olds. We’re seeing 30-year-olds, 40-year-olds. There’s that exhaustion, but again, we buckle up, and we take care of the patients.”
About 226,000 have died from complications arising from the coronavirus this year, and almost 9 million people caught the disease in the U.S. alone, according to the latest figures from the Johns Hopkins coronavirus tracker.
Sen. Rand Paul accused the “leftwing media” of reporting surges in new coronavirus cases while neglecting to cover coronavirus mortality rates globally, which he said are significantly lower. Spain’s mortality rate, for instance, is “down 82%.”
“The Leftwing media reports the new cases but refuses to let anyone hear the good news — mortality rates are plummeting!” Paul tweeted.
Spain, the U.S., and elsewhere have reported spikes in new cases, but the rate of new deaths has not sped up at the same rate. Spain has reported, on average, 18,000 cases each day over the past week, while the U.S. has reported about 73,000. Spain has reported 35,000 deaths due to COVID-19.
A study conducted by the Imperial College London and the Ipsos Mori polling institute suggests that immunity against COVID-19 declines more quickly than scientists had hoped. Researchers surveyed more than 365,000 adults in England who used at-home finger-prick antibody tests and found “a significant decline in the proportion of the population with detectable antibodies over three rounds of national surveillance.”
“It is not possible to say with certainty that the loss of antibody positivity in the LFIA would correlate with an increased risk of an individual being reinfected,” the study said.
The study has not been peer-reviewed yet, and scientists have not confirmed that COVID-19 antibodies are effective enough to prevent reinfection. The study did suggest that, like other viral disease responses, the severity of the disease correlated with a patient’s immune response. The study also found that younger adults aged 18-24, who are least susceptible to serious illness, lost antibodies at more than half the rate of the oldest participants.
Former President Barack Obama criticized President Trump’s coronavirus response on Tuesday during a stump speech for presidential candidate Joe Biden in Florida.
“Here’s the truth: A pandemic would have been challenging for any president. But this idea that somehow this White House has done anything but completely screw this thing up is nonsense,” Obama said.
He added that Trump is “jealous of COVID’s media coverage” as states in the Midwest report massive surges in new cases and hospitalizations.
Russia imposed a nationwide mask mandate Tuesday in an aggressive move aimed at stemming a second wave of the pandemic, according to the federal health agency Rospotrebnadzor. People will be required to wear masks in taxis, public transportation, elevators, parking garages, and public places where more than 50 people are able to gather.
Washington, Oregon, and Nevada will join California to review any coronavirus vaccine independently before distributing it to the public, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
“This virus transcends our borders, and we are grateful to partner with our neighboring states through our Scientific Safety Review Workgroup for a healthy and safe path forward for all our communities,” Newsom said.
