The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned this week that young people are driving the rise in cases.
THE MIDWEST IS SEEING A surge in coronavirus cases as the U.S. approaches 7 million infections.
The seven-day average of daily confirmed new cases has hovered around 40,000 in recent days, according to Johns Hopkins University. At the peak of the U.S. outbreak in July, the average was over 66,000 infections.
States in the South and West have improved their situations since mid-summer, and the Midwest is the only region seeing sustained growth in its infections, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
“This has yet to result in dramatic regional spikes in hospitalizations and deaths similar to those seen in the South and West in prior months,” the project wrote in a blog.
Still, there have been recent increases in hospitalizations in North and South Dakota. And although California’s new cases are much lower than their peaks in July and August, it reports more than 800,000 infections – the most of any state and more than many countries.
The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Congress this week that young people are driving the rise in cases.
CDC Director Robert Redfield said that 18-25-year-olds make up 26% of new coronavirus cases, which is more than any other age group.
Deaths and hospitalizations are down nationwide, which could reflect the fact that younger people generally fare better with the virus than older age groups. Still, Redfield warned that young people can spread the virus to those who are more vulnerable to getting sick and dying.
The U.S. death toll from the virus this week topped 200,000. It reports the most cases and deaths of any country, though if India’s infection rate continues at its current pace, the country’s case count will surpass the U.S. in the coming weeks.
Globally, the death toll is approaching 1 million, with over 32 million infections reported, according to Johns Hopkins University.
