The situation of the pandemic in the US worries, says expert 1:23
(CNN) -
As the United States recorded the highest five days for coronavirus cases, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, said this is the perfect time to develop a strategy that better detects asymptomatic cases.
The seven-day national average of new daily cases is now about 86,363, more than double what it was on Sept. 4, data from Johns Hopkins University shows.
The rising numbers confirm warnings from experts that another surge was underway and will only get worse.
"This is the time to develop a testing strategy to maximize our ability to identify the silent epidemic of asymptomatic covid-19 infections," Redfield tweeted on Wednesday.
According to the CDC estimate, 40% of people with covid-19 show no symptoms.
Redfield's tweet described a weekend meeting with Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and Utah Governor Gary Herbert to discuss testing and mitigation efforts in that state. .
On Tuesday, Utah was one of 21 states that saw its seven-day high average for new daily cases.
Harvard Global Health Institute's Dr. Thomas Tsai told CNN in an email that it was time to develop a national testing strategy to identify asymptomatic covid-19 infections that happened a few months ago.
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"But that ship has sailed," Tsai said.
"Now is the time to implement a testing strategy focused on the detection of asymptomatic people."
The United States struggles to keep the virus under control, as new cases are reported every day.
The gray bars represent the number of new cases reported each day.
The dashed red line shows the seven-day moving average.
The U.S. recorded 91,530 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday when millions of Americans cast their votes, adding to a staggering number of cases reported just last week.
And while doctors have emphasized that basic public health measures like masks and social distancing can make a difference, such measures remain a point of contention in some parts of the United States.
States change travel advisories amid surge
As of Tuesday, at least 36 states reported more new cases in the past week compared to the previous week, data from Johns Hopkins shows.
And six states - Idaho, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania - reported their highest number of cases in one day on Tuesday.
New Jersey updated its quarantine notice for those traveling to the state, according to a press release from Governor Phil Murphy's office.
Anyone traveling to New Jersey from 43 states and territories will need to be quarantined for 14 days.
LOOK: The advance of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe is worrying, what can we expect in the United States?
New York broke from its initial notice on Wednesday, issuing a new one that said anyone traveling to New York would require a negative COVID-19 test three days before their trip.
Then, once in the state, the traveler must remain in quarantine for three days before taking another test.
In Kentucky, where the governor long warned that infections were rising rapidly, he said Tuesday that "things seem to get worse every day."
"We see not only an increase in the virus, but more and more of our children by percentage who are contracting it," said Governor Andy Beshear.
As a result, Beshear issued a decree renewing the mandate to cover his face for an additional 30 days, according to a press release.
It extended previous decrees that allow pharmacists to dispense emergency refills for up to 30 days.
His words follow an alarming new report that says Covid-19 case counts affect children across the country at "unprecedented levels," and the last week of October saw the highest count of new juvenile infections. in a week so far.
The number of COVID-19 patients in US hospitals has been on the rise and hundreds of people lose their lives every day.
There are at least 9.4 million cases in the United States and more than 233,000 have died since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins.
And about 100,000 more Americans may die in the next two months, projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington show.
The gray bars represent the number of new deaths reported each day.
The dashed orange line shows the seven-day moving average.
Hospitalizations 'increase dramatically' in the Midwest
Across the country, 50,340 people were in hospitals with the virus on Tuesday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
That's an increase of about 76% from September 20, when COVID-19 hospitalizations were at a low level after the summer.
Hospitalizations are "dramatically increasing" in the Midwest, the Twitter tracking project said.
In Nebraska, health officials say an increase in infections has put pressure on hospitals across the state.
Medical directors for three major hospital systems said Monday that COVID-19 hospitalizations increased 91% in the Omaha metropolitan area between October 17 and October 31.
Now the hospital's capacity and staff are nearing their limits, hospital officials said.
"We have seen a doubling of COVID-positive patients in recent weeks," said Dr. Cary Ward, CHI Health Chief Medical Officer.
"There is no doubt that if this trend continues, not only our hospitals, but all hospitals in the state could be at full throttle."
In Minnesota, the recent increase prompted Governor Tim Walz to petition the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to send more staff to hospitals and long-term care facilities.
"The Governor outlined the need to extend current federal staff support and provide 10 additional medical professionals to help the state combat the growing cases of covid-19," the statement said.
Federal nurses have already been dispatched to Minnesota, Walz wrote.
"These medical professionals have been critical as we grapple with staff shortages in long-term care and as we anticipate further shortages of medical staff in long-term care and additional settings in the future," added Walz.
US reports record infections in one day 0:47
NIH Director: Masks Could Save 130,000 By March
Face masks, a powerful tool that doctors and public health officials have endorsed in the battle against the virus, can help save tens of thousands of lives in the coming months, a leading expert emphasized this week.
Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, has highlighted the predictions of the IHME model from the University of Washington, which projects that more than 130,000 lives could be saved in the US between now and March if 95% of Americans will wear masks.
"What is important here is not the precise numbers," Francis wrote in a blog post.
"It is realizing that, in any scenario, this pandemic is far from over, and together we have the power to shape what happens next."
It's an argument that's been made multiple times in recent months by officials across the country: Wearing face covers, social distancing, and regular hand washing can be almost as powerful as locks in helping to slow down. the spread of the virus.
"Think of it the same way you think of putting on a seat belt, a minor detail that can save lives," Collins wrote.
“I am careful to wear a mask outside my home every time I am away from home.
But ultimately, saving lives and livelihoods as we approach these winter months will require a collective effort from all of us.
CNN's Nadia Kounang, Claudia Dominguez, Jason Hanna, Amanda Watts, Jennifer Henderson, Jessica Flynn, Joe Sutton, and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.
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