The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
U. S. surpasses 10million mark in recorded cases,
Seven- day average of new cases exceeds 100,000 per day.
The United States reported its 10millionth coronavirus case on Sunday, with the latest million added in just 10 days, as most of the country struggled to contain outbreaks in the third and most widespread wave of infection since the pandemic began.
Case reports have soared in the lastweek, shattering records. The seven- day average of new cases now exceeds 100,000 per day, far more than any other country. The United States accounts for about one- fififth of all reported coronavirus cases in the world, a total that is nearing 50million.
In Europe, which accounts for as much or more of the global number, many countries have imposed national or regional restrictions far more encompassing than those in force in the U. S.
The American surge comes at the approach of a holiday season when many people will be weighing whether to travel and attend indoor gatherings with friends and relatives — situations where the risk of virus transmission is high, public health experts say.
Tom Frieden, who was director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration, recommended targeted closures and faster response to infections in response to the “national tsunami” of infections.
“The sooner we shut, the softer and shorte rwe can shut,” he said Friday on Twitter. “We can minimize disruption to holiday shopping, jobs and education, and also find and reduce the major drivers of spread. To have happier holidays at the end of the year, we must stay much safer for next 6 weeks.”
ACDC report affirmed the effectiveness of measures Frieden and other public health experts have advocated, including contact tracing, case investigations and stay- at- home rules.
The study, released Friday, found that in following the implementation of multiple public health precautions in Delaware in the months leading to late June, disease incidence fell by 82%, hospitalization by 88% and mortality by 100%.
“The combinationof state- man-dated community mitigation efforts and routine public health interventions can reduce the occurrence of new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths,” the report stated.