The average number of new COVID-19 infections in the United States is now 100,000 per day

Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The average number of new COVID-19 infections in the United States is now 100,000 per day, reverting to a milestone last seen during the winter wave in another stark reminder of how quickly the delta variable is spreading Across the country.

Health officials fear the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths will continue to rise if more Americans do not use the COVID-19 vaccine. Nationally, 50% of the population is fully vaccinated and more than 70% of adults have received at least one dose.

“Our models show that if we[mensen niet vaccineren]the number of cases can reach several hundreds of thousands per day, comparable to the increase which we knew at the beginning of January ”. .

It took about nine months for the United States to surpass the average number of cases of 100,000 in November, before peaking at around 250,000 in early January. Business ended in June, averaging 11,000 a day, but six weeks later the number rose to 107,143.

Hospital admissions and deaths are also rising rapidly, though all are still below the peak seen earlier this year before vaccines became widely available. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 44,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, a 30% increase in one week and nearly four times the number of hospitalizations in June. More than 120,000 were hospitalized in January.

The seven-day average of deaths has also increased, according to Johns Hopkins University. It went from around 270 deaths a day two weeks ago to almost 500 deaths a day on Friday. The number of deaths peaked at 3,500 per day in January. Deaths are usually delayed by hospitalization, as the disease usually takes a few weeks to kill.

The situation is particularly dire in the South, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the United States and where smaller hospitals outnumber patients.

In the southeast, the number of COVID patients in hospitals has increased by more than 50% – with a daily average of 17,600 last week compared to 11,600 the week before, according to the CDC. Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky account for 41% of new hospitalizations in the country, according to the CDC, double their total population.

Alabama and Mississippi have the lowest vaccination rates in the country: less than 35% of the total population is vaccinated, according to the Mayo Clinic. Georgia, Tennessee, and Carolina are in the 15 lowest states.

Florida is responsible for more than 20% of new cases and hospitalizations in the country, or three times the share of the population. Many rural counties have vaccination rates below 40% and the state at 49%.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who encourages vaccinations, has said he will not impose mask warrants or other statewide measures. Candidate for re-election next year and looking at the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, he and President Joe Biden have spoken verbally in recent days. DeSantis accused the Democratic president of wanting to steal Florida’s “freedoms”, while Biden said DeSantis should “turn away” from local officials if he doesn’t want to fight the outbreak.

In some areas of the United States, hospitals are looking for beds for patients. Houston officials said some patients were out of town – one as far as North Dakota.

dr. Houston Chief Medical Officer David Pierce said some ambulances had to wait hours to unload patients at hospitals in the Houston area because there were no beds. Percy said he was concerned this could increase response times for 911 medical calls.

“The healthcare system is currently on the verge of collapse… for the next three weeks or so, I don’t see any relief with what’s going on in emergency rooms,” Percy said Thursday.

Republican Governor Mike Parson announced on Friday that 30 ambulances and more than 60 medical staff will be stationed statewide to help move COVID-19 patients to other areas if nearby hospitals are too full to receive them .