US passes 150,000 deaths from COVID-19
The United States surged past 150,000 COVID-19 fatalities Wednesday as states battle a resurgence of the virus with differing attitudes about how to stop the spread.
The milestone, reported by Johns Hopkins University, was reached six days after the U.S. hit 4 million confirmed infections.
There is not much relief in sight. The three most populous states – California, Texas and Florida – were among several that set seven-day records for virus deaths this week. Others set records for new cases. Tennessee and Arkansas set records for both.
In Washington, Attorney General William Barr was to undergo testing Wednesday after coming into contact the previous day with U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican who has previously refused to wear a mask while speaking on the House floor. They were seen walking in close proximity without masks in video from The Hill that was posted on Twitter.
The first known U.S. death was Feb. 6. The toll could reach 200,000 in less than two months, based on the current average of 1,019 deaths per day this last week.
Experts say the increase in cases and deaths is largely because of states easing restrictions and reopening their economies too soon.
“We were not careful and it became like a domino effect,” said Dr. Anne Rimoin, epidemiologist and director of UCLA’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Initiative.
State and local laws differ widely on how to curb the spread of the virus: Some governors are advocating more aggressive social distancing and masks; others have fought mandatory restrictions and balked at shutting down their economies a second time in the face of a surge.
“Everybody rushed back to normal when what we really needed to be doing was doubling down,” Rimoin said. “We are not doing enough to suppress the spread of the virus.”
Increasingly, the virus is having a ripple effect on other areas of health. The United Nations said this week that coronavirus-linked hunger is leading to the deaths of 10,000 children a month because of fears of contamination and movement restrictions.
Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, warned local and state leaders of a concerning rise in cases in 11 cities, according to audio obtained by the Center for Public Integrity. She listed Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Tennessee; New Orleans, Pittsburgh and St. Louis.
“What started out very much as a southern and western epidemic is starting to move up the East Coast into Tennessee, Arkansas, up into Missouri, up across Colorado, and obviously we’re talking about increases now in Baltimore,” Birx said. “So this is really critical that everybody is following this and making sure they’re being aggressive about mitigation efforts.”
Arizona’s death toll is now more than five times worse than its worst week in the spring, while Florida is well over double. California is about 24% above its worst spring death toll.