Ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China, the United States continues to be the worst affected country due to pandemic. With mounting cases and deaths, the pandemic has emerged as a perfect storm with no end in near sight. As panic looms large, the White House Coronavirus Task Force has issued a dire warning to states and has informed that patient care could be compromised.
US Facing Heat of Coronavirus Cases in Winter
The warning from the White House comes at a time when the US recorded 3,157 deaths on Wednesday. Apart from the drastic surge in the death rate, the country recorded 2,037,37 new positive cases on December 02.
Data from Johns Hopkins University suggests that the country's daily average of death in the last week is 1,531, much higher than the nation's summer peak average of 1,130 deaths per day.
"We are in a very dangerous place due to the current, extremely high COVID baseline and limited hospital capacity; a further post-Thanksgiving surge will compromise COVID patient care, as well as medical care overall," read the White House report sent to states, The Hill reports.
The White House also urged all the states to adopt effective strategies to flatten the COVID-19 curve.
"All states and all counties must flatten the curve now to sustain the health system for both COVID and non-COVID emergencies. If state and local policies do not reflect the seriousness of the current situation, all public health officials must alert the state population directly," added the White House report.
Most Difficult Time in Public Health History
In the meantime, Dr Robert Redfield, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that the upcoming three months could be the most difficult time in the public health history of the United States. Redfield warned that the months of December, January and February could be really rough times for the nation.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti urged citizens to cancel everything to curb the drastic spread of coronavirus. Garcetti revealed that the public health condition of Los Angeles is dire as it was in March during the early days of the pandemic.
According to the latest statistics, the total death toll in the United States has crossed 279,000, and the number of coronavirus positive cases has crossed 14 million.
The Vaccine Hope
In the meantime, steady measures are being followed to vaccinate 100 million Americans by February 2021. Moncef Slaoui, chief adviser to Operation Warp Speed, on Wednesday revealed that the primary aim is to produce 20 million shots by December, which could make 20 million US citizens immune against the pandemic. Even though vaccines are getting ready, initial shots will be given to people above the age of 12, as clinical trials on children are yet to begin.
