The United States has eclipsed 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases as the outbreak progresses.
As testing increases in the U.S., the country topped 10,200 cases as of Thursday, according to the New York Times. The country has seen approximately 150 deaths from the virus, and more than 100 people have recovered from it.
People most at risk include older adults and those with serious, chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and lung disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus’s effects on these at-risk groups contributed to one of the country’s most severe outbreaks, which took place in Washington, where multiple deaths were reported in a retirement home.
A man in his 50s who died in the state in late February was the first coronavirus-linked death in the U.S.
President Trump declared a national emergency last week to free more resources to fight the spread of the virus, and his administration is negotiating with Congress to work out aid packages for people hit hard by the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.
Deborah Birx, the response coordinator for the White House coronavirus task force, said on Wednesday that there will be a large spike in confirmed coronavirus cases in the next few days as testing becomes more readily available. She also warned against panicking about the dramatic increase, noting “the curve” will stabilize after an initial influx of cases resulting from the increased testing rates.
“I know some of you will use that to raise an alarm that we are worse than Italy because of our slope of our curve,” the doctor said, referring to the reporters in the White House briefing room. “To every American out there: It will be five to six days’ worth of tests being run in 24 to 48 hours, so our curves will not be stable until sometime next week.”
