The number of covid19 cases in the US is declining but things could quickly change for the worse if the people are not careful, a US top official said. The daily number of coronavirus cases is declining in the US for weeks, as over the past week the average cases were 47,300 as compared to the peak of 67,317 cases on 22nd of July, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The covid19 cases in the US were surging during the period from June to late July after restrictions, which were there to limit the spread, were lifted by the states. However, in response to the surge in cases, more than half of the US imposed new measures to slow the spread and halted their reopening plans as experts said that the virus was out of control. As of now, 177,000 people have died due to the virus and 5.74 million have been tested positive.
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Although the rate of new covid19 cases in the US has dropped in recent days still the daily death rate is at an elevated level, as according to the experts the death rates spike weeks after a surge in new cases. The average covid19 death rate for the last seven days in the US has been more than 1,000 for a consecutive period of 24 days as of Wednesday but before that, it was below 1,000 for seven weeks. Moreover, the average positivity rate during the last seven days in the country dropped to 6.3% from 8.5% in July, according to the covid tracking project.
State leaders believe that the leveling of new cases is because the people are now adhering to safety guidelines. Health Secretary Dr. John Wiesman said that face coverings have made a difference in Washington state where there is a reduction in the rate of new cases. However, in 12 states including Hawaii, the average daily cases have increased by at least 10% as compared to the previous week. In response to the surge in cases Hawaii’s state capital imposed tougher restrictions for both outdoors and indoors.
The Physician from Trump’s administration overseeing the testing of coronavirus in the US Adm. Brett Giroir believes that the trends are now going in the right direction but cautioned that now is not the time to ease measures. He said that this could turn very quickly if people of the US are not careful.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that the schools should be reopened if the positivity rates in a community are less than 5%. However, in at least 26 states in the country, the positivity rate is more than 5%. The leaders of the country made an appeal to the younger people to practice safety guidelines and to skip social gatherings. According to the experts, the Young people have driven the recent surge in covid19 cases in the US. Now as they head back to their universities and colleges there are already hundreds of new cases being reported by their respective institutions.