By Christina Maxouris, CNN
The US is averaging more than 45,000 new Covid-19 positive tests each day — up 8% from the previous week and more than double what the country was seeing in June, as lockdown restrictions were easing.
It’s a case count experts warn is far too high ahead of what’s forecast to be a challenging — and deadly — winter season. The latest US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ensemble forecast says US Covid-19 deaths could reach 233,000 by the end of this month.
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And projections from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation show more than 2,900 Americans could be dying daily by January.
Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he was “disturbed and concerned” by the country’s average case count.
“That’s no place to be when you’re trying to get your arms around an epidemic,” he said.
And as the weather gets colder, things will get tougher.
Gatherings will likely begin to move indoors, where the virus is more prone to spread. And as colleges battle outbreaks on campus, students soon returning to visit their families for the holidays could unknowingly bring the virus with them.
On top of that, it’ll be coupled with flu season to create what experts say could turn into a “twin-demic.” What could help, health officials have said, are flu shots and strong safety measures like masks and social distancing.
The high average case count comes alongside more worrying trends: only Alabama and Hawaii are reporting a decline of new cases over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And nationwide, hospitalizations have begun to rise, with more than 34,000 hospitalized patients, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
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