The United States Approaches 10 Million Coronavirus Cases

Biden sends a message of faith to the victims of covid-19 1:44

(CNN) -

With more than 9.9 million cases reported as of Sunday night, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States is rapidly advancing toward 10 million cases, another grim milestone during the pandemic.

The country registered 100,762 new cases and 453 new deaths as of 9:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, representing, for the fifth time, a new record of new cases per day in the country since the pandemic began.

The fall resurgence has brought regular records in cases, people hospitalized and daily deaths, and experts are encouraging action to mitigate the spread as they warn that the numbers may continue to rise for weeks to come.

• ANALYSIS |

  Trump in denial about his electoral defeat as Biden prepares to fight COVID

"We're going to see a real explosion in these case numbers," former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Friday.

The virus can be treated by targeting state-by-state mitigation, he said, but the United States is not currently doing so, and the lack of intervention could add up in the future, spelling trouble for December and January, he said.

“It is not just the cases, it is the hospitalizations as well.

That's really the amount to consider: 53,000 people hospitalized, 10,500 people in intensive care units.

That's a lot and it's growing very quickly.

advertising

Sixteen states reported a record covid-19 hospitalizations on Friday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, and 22 states have reported at least a record day of coronavirus hospitalizations during November, so far.

On Sunday morning, the global number of cases surpassed 50 million, with the United States, India, Brazil and Russia, in that order, the most affected, with more than half of the cases, Johns Hopkins reports.

While the total number of cases in the U.S. is approaching 10 million, Texas alone is slowly moving toward 1 million cases, with more than 5,000 reported Sunday.

In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown said Sunday that the state exceeded the "alarming threshold" of 50,000 cases.

Fauci: Stick with science, not politics

The pandemic will soon become President-elect Joe Biden's main concern.

It plans to announce a 12-person coronavirus task force on Monday, two sources with knowledge of the announcement told CNN.

Biden's task force will be led by three co-chairs, including former Chief Health Officer Dr. Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith of Yale University. .

Gottlieb told CBS that Biden will take the helm at the "apex" of the pandemic.

Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician at Brown University, said she is optimistic about Biden's transition plans to lead the nation's response, but said the virus "will have already spread to American communities." when you take office.

"We are heading for the worst of this pandemic," Ranney told CNN's Fredricka Whitfield.

She added that she is concerned about the social gatherings expected during late November and early December.

"We are about to see all these little epidemics across the country, crossed and mixed, and it will be a lot like pouring gasoline on a fire," he said.

At a virtual event with the American Medical Association on Saturday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, advised clinicians in leadership roles to stick to science, evidence, and data when it comes to to make recommendations about the coronavirus.

Stay completely apolitical.

Don't get involved in any of the political aspects and focus on your work as a scientist and a doctor, ”Fauci said.

Doing that will be fine.

Health experts have been working to combat skepticism around coronavirus vaccines and recommendations after disagreeing with political leaders.

Gottlieb said Sunday that President Donald Trump's administration needs a more aggressive strategy to combat the coronavirus by January.

And he suggested, during a CBS interview, that Biden should work with the National Governors Association to formulate national policy and "coordinate between the different states so that it begins to look like a more cohesive plan."

"We have been arguing politically about what I think is a false dichotomy, and that it really is a choice between confinements and no confinements and that is not the case," Gottlieb told "Face the Nation."

“We are not going to have perfect control over this virus, it is a contagious virus.

It's going to spread, but we don't need it to spread at levels and at speed to start putting pressure on the health system, which is what we are seeing, ”he told the program.

Biden's transition team put the pandemic first on its website and promised free and reliable testing, more protective gear, clear guidance, reestablished relationships with the World Health Organization, and a $ 25 billion plan to manufacture. and distribute a vaccine.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will lead a task force to address racial and ethnic disparities revealed during the pandemic.

The team also promises a mask-wearing mandate, but says it will achieve this by working with governors and mayors and "asking the American people to do what they do best: step forward in times of crisis."

'Age, experience and better drugs' impact mortality rate

Although the death toll has risen, the rate of cases resulting in deaths has apparently decreased, and Fauci said it is due to "age, experience and better medications."

As with all illnesses, healthcare professionals learn more about the virus as it progresses, including when to put people on ventilators, Fauci said Saturday.

"We just get better at treating people," he said.

«You (know) what works.

He knows what doesn't work, including fundamental, non-drug approaches. '

The use of treatments that can help people, such as dexamethasone and remdesivir, has also developed further, he said.

The impact on the death rate is also influenced by college students who go back to school and become more infected, he said.

Between those who are infected now compared to those who were infected in the spring there is "almost a decade of difference."

"In the end, they will end up infecting the people in the community, but they are the ones causing the infection," Fauci said.

Covid symptoms last 'far beyond' expectations

As researchers learn more about the virus, they realize that the impacts can be prolonged, Fauci said.

Some patients have reported symptoms that last even after testing negative for a coronavirus infection.

"We know with absolute certainty that there is a post-covid-19 syndrome, which is sometimes referred to as long-distance covid transmitters or chronic covid transmitters," Fauci said during the event.

"We are seeing varying percentages, and 25-35% or more have persistent symptoms, far beyond what would be expected after any viral syndrome, such as influenza and others," he said.

Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle aches, sleep disturbances, and what is known as "brain fog."

"So there is no doubt that it is happening, that (it can) last from weeks to months," he said, adding that it could be even longer, but that is not known because the new virus was discovered less than a year ago.

CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin, Alta Spells, Naomi Thomas, Christina Maxouris, Dakin Andone, Leanna Faulk, Maggie Fox, and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.