The rising number of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks has health experts concerned, warning of a fourth surge as new variants begin to spread rapidly through the United States.
Per The Washington Post, the number of new infections in the U.S. saw an increase of 4 percent over the past week. While four percent may not seem too big of a rise, factoring in the fact that Michigan, Colorado and Connecticut all reporting spikes of more than 30 percent is quite alarming. This is all happening amid the lifting of restrictions in several states.
The rise in new infections is happening around the world. According to health experts, the uptick is linked to the rapid spread of new variants of the virus – several of which were shown to be more infectious than the dominant strain.
“I continue to be worried about the latest data and the apparent stall we’re seeing in the trajectory of the pandemic,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.
As of Wednesday (March 24) afternoon, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases have surpassed the 30 million mark – the highest among all countries. The virus has also claimed over 500,000 lives. Brazil comes in second by a large margin, with 12.1 million cases and 300,000 fatalities.
Some states have since announced that they are expanding the eligibility for vaccines to anyone 16 or older – including Alaska, Mississippi, West Virginia, Utah, certain Arizona counties, and Oklahoma (via the Chickasaw Nation’s vaccination program). States like Georgia and Texas have announced plans to expand eligibility before the end of March.
But until the majority of the people are fully vaccinated, health experts urge US residents to continue wear masks and stay within their social distancing bubbles.
Take care and stay safe, everyone.
