The catastrophic Covid-19 pandemic continues as Americans travel to the polling stations on Tuesday: spreading through the Us once again, creating alarming records, and anticipating tens of thousands more lives infected all over the nation in the coming months.
Researchers have predicted that this virus struggle would be the toughest one so far, and significant signs are pointing in that direction already. The nation's 7-day case average has increased significantly in just a month.
According to statistics from the Covid Tracking Project, hospital admissions have been surging, with the number of patients nationally increasing by more than 10,000 in merely two weeks. Moreover, according to emergency medicine physician Dr. Leana Wen, facilities in several parts of the world have reached their "breaking point."
As tens of millions of citizens have already gone to vote by e-mail or before Election Day, the spread of the disease has indeed affected the way people elect. A spokesperson for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a news outlet that patients suffering from Covid-19 or quarantined from being introduced to the disease could still go to vote.
CDC: People exposed to the virus can still vote
The CDC said that patients recovering from Covid-19 or isolating from exposure to the disease could still participate safely for those who hope to take their votes on Tuesday.
The CDC spokesman stated in an e-mail on Monday: "In-person voting can be carried out safely following CDC's recommendations for polling location and voters."
Voters who are infected or in isolation should notify their polling stations before they enter the polling site and that they should also wear a mask, be at least 6 meters away as well as wash their hands or even use a hand sanitizer before and after the voting.
Personal protective equipment, including instruction on how to use it correctly, must be given to poll employees who help voters with COVID-19 symptoms.
The CDC spokesperson had stated: "When possible, alternative voting options -- which minimize contact between voters and poll workers -- should be made available for people with Covid-19, those who have symptoms of Covid-19, and those who have been exposed."
COVID-19 in children also surges
And according to data published Monday by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, that monitor statistics provided by state health departments, Covid-19 infection rates all over the United States affect children at "unprecedented levels."
During the final week of October, there have been 61,000 new infections in children, "which is larger than any previous week in the pandemic," the AAP stated in a comment.
More than 853,000 children have been testing positive for the COVID-19 virus since the beginning of the pandemic until 29 October, the AAP reported. Of such infections, nearly 200,000 emerged during October.
As symptoms in children can sometimes be minor and appear like common colds or flu, this figure is possibly an undercount as a significant number of children have left untested.
