And with the recent spike in the number of cases, health experts warn that things could soon get worse in the United States.
Only 20 states are steady when it comes to average daily new cases compared to last week, while 23 more states reported: Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Carolina. North, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Seven states are showing downward trends in the new cases – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia.
With fall and winter soon driving people indoors and bringing flu season with it, experts say Americans will need to stick to following recommended guidelines. Experts say wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding large crowds will be key, along with authorities increasing testing as infections surge again.
The Johns Hopkins tally shows that the United States, Brazil, India, and Mexico are responsible for more than 50% of deaths worldwide.
Some countries are fighting booms while others are easing restrictions
As trends differ across the United States, some local leaders are backing down towards normality while others are cracking down on efforts to combat the spread of the virus.
Chicago Mayor Laurie Lightfoot announced Monday that Chicago’s bars, restaurants, gyms, and personal services will be allowed to expand service on October 1, due to “sufficient progress in the fight against Covid-19”.
“Over the past six months, we have demanded a lot from our business community,” Lightfoot said in a press release on Monday. “But every time, our business has risen to the level required.” “This next step in our re-opening is good news for the business owners as well as the communities they serve and the thousands of residents who work for them.”
The governor of California, which has been hit hard by the epidemic, said the rate of coronavirus positivity, hospitalizations and new cases were trending down, and Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday – but warned that the numbers could return if residents did not remain vigilant.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that the state will issue directives early this week to reopen homeless shelters, “Covid-safe”, pointing to an increase in cases between homeless camps. The New York City Department of Health said cases were rising at an “alarming” rate in parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
Nearby, New Jersey is set to receive 2.6 million rapid coronavirus tests from the federal government to help combat the surge in cases.
Coronavirus and children
Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Monday that children account for about 10% of coronavirus cases, but people should still be alert to the spread of the virus in that age group.
“Children are getting infected. It is better to be careful about ruling out infection in children,” Fauci told CNN correspondent Brian Stelter, adding that “it is not clear the degree of transmission” of the virus.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus team, said that some studies indicate that they do not do so “as efficiently” as adults.
“But it is an evolving situation,” and “You have to be open about an issue like the role of children in the transmission of infection.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report on Monday that said Covid-19 among teens ages 12 to 17 was nearly twice as high as cases in children ages 5 to 11.
The report included data on 277,285 laboratory-confirmed cases among school-age children in the United States from March 1 to September 19. Of those cases, 37% were children between the ages of 5 and 11 and 63% were teenagers.
The researchers noted that the data may underestimate the true incidence of the disease among school-aged children, as testing was often prioritized for people with symptoms, and those without it may not be tested.
CNN’s Holly Yan, Gregory Lemus, Christina Sigulia, Sherry Mossberg, Shelby Lyn Erdman and Mirna Sharif contributed to this report.
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