Hospitalizations hit new high; CDC revises mask guidance
U.S. hospitalizations surpassed 60,000 for the first time Tuesday, continuing a steady rise that has seen hospitalizations more than double in less than two months, the COVID Tracking Project reported Wednesday.
The number of Americans hospitalized due to COVID-19 has risen almost 50% in the last two weeks. On Wednesday, the U.S. surpassed 240,000 deaths, by far the largest in the world. The U.S. has 4.3% of the global population but 18.8% of the reported coronavirus deaths.
Almost 62,000 Americans were hospitalized because of COVID-19 on Tuesday. The previous record for hospitalizations was 59,780 on April 12, after which the number began a gradual decline that reached 28,608 on Sept. 20. Since then, the number has been rising steadily.
“Hospitals are facing severe constraints in the weeks ahead,” said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, whose state is among the hardest hit. “We need everyone to help slow the spread.”
CDC: Face masks protect wearer
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued new guidance on face masks: They not only protect others, but they protected the wearer too. “Experimental and epidemiological data support community masking to reduce the spread. Individual benefit increases with increasing community mask use.” The CDC previously encouraged mask use as a way to help prevent spread from infected people.
WHO agrees to review
The World Health Organization has agreed to allow an independent panel to review its management of the pandemic response. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency welcomed any effort to improve its productivity. As COVID-19 spread, WHO often shied away from calling out countries, as big donors such as Japan, France and Britain made repeated mistakes, according to dozens of leaked recordings of internal WHO meetings and documents obtained by The Associated Press.
One of the central problems facing the WHO is that it has no enforcement powers or authority to independently investigate within countries.