COVID-19 Cases Increase to 9 Million In The United States

Coronavirus infections have been rapidly increasing for the last two weeks, resulting in a resurgence of new coronavirus cases. Numbers have been steadily climbing, and as of now the US has over 9 million COVID-19 cases.

COVID-19 infections are continuing to spike and “daily Covid-19 cases in the US reached a record high on Thursday when health officials reported 88,521 new cases, 9,540 more cases than Wednesday,” according to CNN. A surge in coronavirus cases hasn’t been this prominent since the beginning of the pandemic according to CNN.

Calculating the COVID-19 statistics from Thursday’s count and the prior week, the U.S. has maintained an unlucky streak, accumulating new cases at astronomical rates. According to USA Today, “with Thursday’s data, the United States also set a record for new cases in a week, at 536,131.” 

As coronavirus cases permeate throughout the entire US, recent outbreaks of COVID-19 have been circulating primarily in swing states. According to Johns Hopkins University, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota and Ohio were the nine states that reported their record high single-day new cases on Thursday. 

According to NBC News “The U.S. now leads the world in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, with nearly 230,000 deaths, according to the John Hopkins University Covid-19 dashboard.” The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine warns if states do not handle rising COVID-19 rates, things could worsen by winter. 

“The fall/winter surge should lead to a daily death toll that is approximately three times higher than now by mid-January. Hospital systems, particularly ICUs, are expected to be under extreme stress in December and January in 18 states,” IHME said.