More than 38,000 Americans have died of Covid-19 in the first two weeks of the new year.
Another 92,000 are projected to die from the virus over roughly the next three weeks, according to an ensemble forecast published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The numbers are scary and reflect what public health experts have repeatedly warned: While the end is in sight — with the help of ongoing Covid-19 vaccinations — the nation is still facing challenging times ahead.
Currently, more than 130,300 people are hospitalized with the virus, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
In Pennsylvania, officials said the number of hospitalizations are nearing double the peak experienced during spring. Louisiana’s governor said earlier this week the state was seeing a “huge spike” in infections and hospitalizations. And in Arizona, officials reported Tuesday record-high Covid-19 hospitalization and ICU numbers.
Hundreds of thousands of infections are added to the country’s tally every single day, with the US adding more than 3 million new reported infections since the start of the month.
In Los Angeles County, about one in three residents has been infected with the virus since the pandemic’s start, according to data published by county officials. Outbreaks have increased across workplaces as well as schools and daycare settings, they said.
Echoing other leaders’ warnings, the LA officials added they have “not yet fully seen the effect of transmission in the period from around Christmas to New Years.”
And with all eyes now turned to the nation’s capital ahead of Inauguration Day, cases in Washington DC have never been higher. Right now, it’s averaging more than 320 new cases every day — about a 38% jump from the previous week. DC has reported a total of more than 32,600 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic’s start, about 10% of which have been added in 2021.
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2021-01-14 05:09:58
