In what's become the refrain for summer 2020, the United States has shattered another record for new coronavirus cases recorded, with 67,417 new cases added to the Johns Hopkins University COVID-19 tracker. This is the biggest single-day jump in cases recorded during the pandemic.
Total US cases now number almost 3.5 million (3,465,031), including 136,940 deaths.
And now hospitalization and death rates are following the upward trend of cases in the Sunbelt, with Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Nevada, and Utah reporting record numbers of COVID-19 deaths Tuesday.
Currently in North Carolina, more than 1,100 people are hospitalized for the virus, a new record, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The state's inpatient beds are 73% occupied, and 78% of intensive care beds are full.
In Florida, the COVID-19 positivity rate for tests rose to 31% in Miami-Dade County yesterday, and 54 hospitals statewide have reached ICU capacity. The state also reported 132 deaths yesterday, the highest daily fatality total it has seen.
Redfield touts universal mask use
Yesterday, in an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Robert Redfield, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), called for universal face coverings in light of the rampant spread of the virus.
"We are not defenseless against COVID-19," Redfield said in a CDC press release. "Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus — particularly when used universally within a community setting. All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families, and their communities."
In an interview with JAMA posted on YouTube, Redfield said that universal face coverings in public would help the United States get the pandemic under control within 4 to 8 weeks.
Redfield also said in the interview that the current spike of cases in the South and West was not due to reopening too quickly, but rather, due to Northerners traveling south over Memorial Day weekend and during the first week of June.
On Twitter, Ashish Jha, MD, MPH, of the Harvard Global Health Institute, took umbrage with the claim, saying that Redfield had no proof or evidence of Northerners bringing the virus to southern states.
Director cites 3 studies supporting mask use
In the JAMA editorial, Redfield and colleagues cited three recent studies that suggest that universal mask policies reduce spread. The first study, published in JAMA, described an association between universal mask requirements and a reduction in COVID-19 infections among healthcare workers at Mass General Brigham, the largest healthcare system in Massachusetts.
In a study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the authors described no infections among 139 clients of a hair salon in Missouri or their contacts after exposure to two symptomatic, masked stylists who had tested positive for COVID-19. The salon required face coverings for all stylists and patrons.
The clients spent at least 15 minutes with the infected stylists, but none got sick during a 14-day follow-up period. Forty-nine (47.1%) of the 104 clients interviewed clients reported wearing cloth face coverings, while 46.1% wore surgical masks, 4.8% wore N95 respirators, and 1.9% did not know what kind of face covering they wore.
In another MMWR study, the authors reported that more Americans wore face coverings in May than in April, and thus the intervention could be widely accepted and applied in the United States.
"Among the participants who left their home in the past 7 days, 61.9% reported using a cloth face covering in April, and this percentage increased to 76.4% in May," the authors wrote.
HHS takes over COVID-19 data collection
As reported yesterday, the Trump administration will now require hospitals to send all COVID-19 patient data to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in Washington, DC, rather than the CDC.
The new database, called H.H.S. Protect, is not public, the New York Times reports, and some fear the move will further politicize the pandemic in the United States. White House officials say the database will streamline information about the virus and treatments and offer information about the virus in real time.
Thomas File, Jr., MD, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in a press release that the move was troubling.
"Placing medical data collection outside of the leadership of public health experts could severely weaken the quality and availability of data, add an additional burden to already overwhelmed hospitals and add a new challenge to the US pandemic response," File said. "At this critical time when many states are experiencing surges, reliable, comprehensive data are essential to inform the distribution of supplies and treatment."
Southern governors make big announcements
In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey announced a face covering mandate beginning tomorrow through the end of the month.
"We are going to need everyone’s help if we are going to slow the spread and turn these trends into a different direction," Ivey said on Twitter. "We are asking everyone to do a better job practicing social distancing, personal hygiene and, now, wearing face masks."
Ivey’s announcement came the same day Walmart, the largest retailer in the country, announced that masks will be required for all customers in their stores. "To help bring consistency across stores and clubs, we will require all shoppers to wear a face covering starting Monday, July 20. This will give us time to inform customers and members of the changes, post signage and train associates on the new protocols," the company said in a press release.
In other news, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt said earlier today that he has tested positive for the virus, the first governor to do so. He said his wife and six children have so far tested negative, and his symptoms are mild. Though Stitt attended the Trump rally held in Oklahoma City on Jun 20, he said he did not believe he contracted the virus at that event.
For the first time, Oklahoma reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, raising the state total to 22,813. The state has seen an uptick in cases in the last 2 weeks following Trump’s rally.
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July 16, 2020 at 04:32AM
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CDC director suggests masks for all as US tracks record 67000 COVID cases - CIDRAP
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