Community Spread

American Spread

The “community spread” is getting worse everywhere. Every county has infections. Coronavirus hospitalizations also reached a new high with more than 100,000 people admitted. Hospitalizations and deaths continue to skyrocket. America is now suffering a million cases a week. More than 15 million Americans have been infected with the virus. Confirmed covid deaths total more than 280,000.

This week we averaged over 211,000 new cases per day with over 2,500 deaths. Next week will be worse. Why won’t people wear masks and socially distance?

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that total deaths from Covid-19 could reach “close to 450,000” by February unless a large percentage of Americans take more precautions.

A new estimate from the CDC notes that covid deaths are much higher than official numbers suggest. Deaths in the United States were 19% higher from March to November of this year than normal. More than 345,000 people than normal have died in that period. This number includes deaths from other causes but suggests that the pandemic has exacerbated death rates aside from those caused by Covid-19.

South Carolina

The percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive in South Carolina has spiked. Almost 25% of people tested positive for COVID-19 this past week.  That is a big increase. Roughly 14% of all COVID-19 tests administered in South Carolina since March have come back positive.

“The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the C.D.C., in an address to the Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”

Dr. Redfield said the death toll could be held down if the public embraced practices like mask wearing. Biden will ask Americans to wear a mask for his first 100 days.

Fortunately, a far smaller proportion of people who get the virus these days are dying from it. National data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the share of cases resulting in death dropped from 6.7 percent in April to 1.9 percent in September.

Please be safe. Wear a mask. Stay home if you can.