Fears of second U.S. coronavirus wave rise on worrisome spike in cases, hospitalizations

[webfact]

Fears of second U.S. coronavirus wave rise on worrisome spike in cases, hospitalizations

By Lisa Shumaker, Carl O'Donnell and Michael Erman

 

FILE PHOTO: Medical staff attend to a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista, California, U.S., May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - About half a dozen states including Texas and Arizona are grappling with a rising number of coronavirus patients filling hospital beds, fanning concerns that the reopening of the U.S. economy may spark a second wave of infections.

 

The rally in global stocks came crashing down on Thursday over worries of a pandemic resurgence. The last time the S&P 500 and Dow fell as much in one day was in March, when U.S. coronavirus cases began surging.

 

A recent spike in cases in about a dozen states partially reflects increased testing. But many of those states are also seeing rising hospitalizations and some are beginning to run short on intensive care unit (ICU) beds.

 

Texas has seen record hospitalizations for three days in a row, and in North Carolina only 13% of the state's ICU beds are available due to severe COVID-19 cases. Houston's mayor said the city was ready to turn its NFL stadium into a make-shift hospital if necessary.

 

Arizona has seen a record number of hospitalizations at 1,291. The state health director told hospitals this week to activate emergency plans and increase ICU capacity. About three-quarters of the state's ICU beds are filled, according to the state website

https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/covid-19/dashboards/index.php.

 

“You’re really crossing a threshold in Arizona," said Jared Baeten, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington. "The alarming thing would be if the numbers start to rise in places that have clearly already peaked and are on their downtrend," he said, referring to New York and other Northeastern states where new cases and deaths have plummeted.

 

Health experts worry there could be a further rise in infections from nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality that packed people together starting two weeks ago.

 

STATES WITH RISING CASES

Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posted rises in new cases of 40% or higher for the week ended June 7, compared with the prior seven days, according to a Reuters analysis. New cases rose in Florida, Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina by more than 30% in the past week.

 

(Open https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR in an external browser for a Reuters interactive)

 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, told Canada's CBC news that more cases are inevitable as restrictions are lifted.

 

"We also as a whole have been going down with cases," Fauci said. "But I think what you mentioned about some states now having an increase in the number of cases makes one pause and be a little bit concerned."

 

Even if hospitals are not overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, more hospitalizations mean more deaths in the coming weeks and months, said Spencer Fox, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

"We are starting to see very worrying signs about the course the pandemic is taking in cities and states in the U.S. and around the world," he said. "When you start seeing those signs, you need to act fairly quickly."

 

Total U.S. coronavirus deaths are now over 113,000, by far the most in the world. That figure could exceed 200,000 at some point in September, Ashish Jha, the head of Harvard's Global Health Institute, told CNN.

 

Jha said the United States was the only major country to reopen without getting its case growth to a controlled level - defined as a rate of people testing positive for the coronavirus remaining at 5% or lower for at least 14 days. Nationally, that figure has been between 4% and 7% in recent weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.

 

Health officials have stressed that wearing masks in public and keeping physically apart can greatly reduce transmissions, but many states have not required masks.

 

"I want the reopening to be successful," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top executive for the county that encompasses Houston, told reporters. "But I'm growing increasingly concerned that we may be approaching the precipice of a disaster."

 

(Reporting by Michael Erman and Carl O'Donnell in New York and Lisa Shumaker in Chicago; Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Brad Brooks in Austin, Texas; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; editing by Peter Henderson and Bill Berkrot)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-12

 

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[Mama Noodle]

24 minutes ago, webfact said:

Health experts worry there could be a further rise in infections from nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality that packed people together starting two weeks ago.

 

Ya think? 

[bkk6060]

I have a former colleague in the hospital in California.

He is coughing up blood and cannot breathe.

People are running around like it is all over.

So stupid and very sad more death.

[johnpetersen]

1 hour ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Ya think? 

They're right to be worried. Just as it makes sense to be worried about the fact that people attending Trump's rallies apparently won't be required to engage in social distancing or wear a mask?

[Bkk Brian]

There is no second wave, they just didn't get rid of the first one before they started to open up

[Tug]

3 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Ya think? 

How about those trump rallies ya think all screaming in close quarters at least the protests are for a just cause imo

[Silurian]

1 hour ago, johnpetersen said:

They're right to be worried. Just as it makes sense to be worried about the fact that people attending Trump's rallies apparently won't be required to engage in social distancing or wear a mask?

 

Those supporters also need to sign a waver before attending as well. No worries, COVID-19 is just a Democrat Hoax anyway.

 

Trump campaign says it can't be held liable if rally attendees contract coronavirus

 

Quote

Attendees of President Donald Trump's upcoming rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, must agree not to sue the campaign if they contract coronavirus.

Rallygoers are asked to RSVP to gain admission to the event and by registering, they must agree to a disclaimer that states they acknowledge the "inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any public place where people are present."

"By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury," the disclaimer reads.

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Silurian

[samran]

3 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Ya think? 

You fellas weren't so worried when it was protesting about your constitutional right to get a haircut and visiting hooters with uzi in tow.

[Dap]

3 hours ago, samran said:

You fellas weren't so worried when it was protesting about your constitutional right to get a haircut and visiting hooters with uzi in tow.

That's the part they will conveniently forget 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Dap

[samran]

11 minutes ago, Dap said:

That's the part they will conveniently forget 

The right to an uzi is more important the right to breathing while being arrested. Maybe its time to update the Miranda rights?

[johnpetersen]

33 minutes ago, Dap said:

That's the part they will conveniently forget 

And that Trump cheered them on.

[steelepulse]

Keep the elderly, morbidly obese and immuno suppressed people out of harms way.  Same as what should have been done worldwide and this covid would be a non starter.  However, this will mean the majority of the US population needs to remain at home.  The population is so unhealthy in the US.

[Krataiboy]

8 hours ago, Mama Noodle said:

 

Ya think? 

I think this is called being wise after the event.

[JCauto]

4 hours ago, Silurian said:

 

Those supporters also need to sign a waver before attending as well. No worries, COVID-19 is just a Democrat Hoax anyway.

 

Trump campaign says it can't be held liable if rally attendees contract coronavirus

 

 

I think he's finally found the campaign slogan he's been looking for. It perfectly encapsulates his management and overall ethos and takes what he's established in his first term and sets the direction for the second.

"I don't take responsibility at all."

[candide]

12 minutes ago, JCauto said:

I think he's finally found the campaign slogan he's been looking for. It perfectly encapsulates his management and overall ethos and takes what he's established in his first term and sets the direction for the second.

"I don't take responsibility at all."

It usually goes with "I blame someone else".

I wonder who will be blamed after his rallies trigger CV outbursts?

[phantomfiddler]

This really is the ultimate vicious spiral ! The more the virus spreads, the more masks. The more masks, the more looting. The more looting, the more the virus spreads ! Sometimes you just gotta sit back and laugh ????

Edited June 12, 2020 by phantomfiddler
addition of "is"

[Bender Rodriguez]

2 hours ago, steelepulse said:

Keep the elderly, morbidly obese and immuno suppressed people out of harms way.  Same as what should have been done worldwide and this covid would be a non starter.  However, this will mean the majority of the US population needs to remain at home.  The population is so unhealthy in the US.

sadly, most people don't seem to understand that basic thing

 

old, sick, chronic diseases : STAY HOME

 

75 percent is insulin resistant and vitamin D deficient:  deadly combination

[Dap]

3 hours ago, samran said:

Maybe its time to update the Miranda rights?

So spot-on! No maybe's about it mate! 

[Dap]

2 hours ago, candide said:

I wonder who will be blamed after his rallies trigger CV outbursts?

Pretty sure he's gonna' blame the non-violent police brutality protesters and of course the looters who btw were all wearing masks (some certainly for different reasons), but nevertheless were still wearing masks 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Dap

[johnpetersen]

32 minutes ago, Dap said:

Pretty sure he's gonna' blame the non-violent police brutality protesters and of course the looters who btw were all wearing masks (some certainly for different reasons), but nevertheless were still wearing masks 

Who he certainly won't be blaming are the millions of his supporters who refuse to wear masks. Like those armed supporters of his who invaded Michigan's state capitol. In the wake of that incursion Trump urged the Michigan government to negotiate with them.

[johnpetersen]

1 hour ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

sadly, most people don't seem to understand that basic thing

 

old, sick, chronic diseases : STAY HOME

 

75 percent is insulin resistant and vitamin D deficient:  deadly combination

Your claim about the role Vitamin D plays in susceptibility to Covid is premature, to say the least:

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/does-vitamin-d-protect-against-covid-19/

And where exactly does that "75 percent" figure come from?

[flexomike]

10 hours ago, johnpetersen said:

They're right to be worried. Just as it makes sense to be worried about the fact that people attending Trump's rallies apparently won't be required to engage in social distancing or wear a mask?

just like all of the protesters, rioters and looters

[unblocktheplanet]

Second wave?!? Americans didn't even wait until the first wave was over!

[tomazbodner]

10 hours ago, Silurian said:

 

Those supporters also need to sign a waver before attending as well. No worries, COVID-19 is just a Democrat Hoax anyway.

 

Trump campaign says it can't be held liable if rally attendees contract coronavirus

 

 

All of that from a president who discourages wearing masks. Will there enough supporters be left alive to vote him back in office at the time of elections?

[tomazbodner]

14 hours ago, webfact said:

FILE PHOTO: Medical staff attend to a patient suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), at Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista, California, U.S., May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Looking at this photo of nurses wearing PPE and comparing it with how the Wuhan medical staff was equipped... in full hazmat suits and respirators... I would not be surprised if US medical staff is having far higher infection rates than their Chinese colleagues...

[Sheryl]

10 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

There is no second wave, they just didn't get rid of the first one before they started to open up

 

In some of these states, like NC and Arizona, the full force of the irst wave is just now hitting, They did not have a previous peak that declined. It:s just hitting them now.

 

It is a large country, not surprising that the virus has taken longer to get a foothold in some states than in others.

 

But the curve in Az is truly worrisome and if they do nto take immediate measures (yes, lockdown) at least for the cities, they will regret it.

 

Lot of elderly retirees living there. Mortlaity could be awful.

[Jingthing]

The USA response to this pandemic has been a miserable failure.

 

 

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, johnpetersen said:

Your claim about the role Vitamin D plays in susceptibility to Covid is premature, to say the least:

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/06/does-vitamin-d-protect-against-covid-19/

And where exactly does that "75 percent" figure come from?

There is no evidence that it prevents infection.

But there is evidence that not being deficient improves your chances of not dying from it.

So why not?

 

[Oww]

13 hours ago, johnpetersen said:

They're right to be worried. Just as it makes sense to be worried about the fact that people attending Trump's rallies apparently won't be required to engage in social distancing or wear a mask?

A great move forward for evolution!

[johnpetersen]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

There is no evidence that it prevents infection.

But there is evidence that not being deficient improves your chances of not dying from it.

So why not?

 

The claim was that those who succumbed to Covid19 were mostly diabetics and those low in Vitamin D. I simply pointed out that the case for vitamin D is still unproven. And the poster also claimed that 75 percent of deaths were due to insulin resistance and lack of vitamin D. Couldn't find any proof of that either.

As for taking Vitamin D, sure, why not, if you don't get enough from the sun.