An emergency physician had stated on Saturday that after Thanksgiving, coronavirus infections in the US would rise, further reinforcing health care services and requiring additional restrictions. The country continued to record increasing numbers of new infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities.
"Things are going to get much, much worse," stated a CNN medical analyst and former Baltimore Health Commissioner, Dr. Leana Wen. When the confirmed cases increased in recent days have been measured in hospital admissions, she voiced worry about the effects on the already tense medical care system.
Head of disaster medicine at the George Washington University Hospital, Dr. James Phillips, informed a news outlet that he is "terrified" about what could unfold this Thanksgiving.
"We're going to see an unprecedented surge of cases following Thanksgiving this year, and if people don't learn from Thanksgiving, we're going to see it after Christmas as well," he stated.
States report soaring rates
Health authorities alerted on Friday that the nation had seen the highest rate of rise in the number of daily infections of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, with a 47.1 percent influx in the number of cases since the beginning of the month over a one-week timeframe.
"When cases are increasing at this pace, it is really important for us to act quickly," stated California's acting public health officer Dr. Erica Pan.
An additional 2,321 coronavirus infections throughout the state have been confirmed by Maryland. Gov. Larry Hogan wrote in a tweet on Saturday that it is "by far the largest daily increase we've ever seen."
According to the state Department of Health, Minnesota registered a total of 8,703 new infections on Saturday. This signifies far more instances ever confirmed in a single day by state officials.
Also, according to Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), on Saturday, the third day, Arizona registered 3,476 new infections, along with more than 3,000 this week alone. This sets the record established when the state saw 3,212 on July 31.
Leaders implement new restrictions
Data from Johns Hopkins University on Saturday evening revealed that the US had at least 10,888,372 infections and at least 245,574 fatalities. By 4.00 p.m. ET, the nation had already registered 116,716 infections, becoming the 12th consecutive day that more than 100,000 cases were reported in the US.
Meanwhile, to obtain greater control of the pandemic before winter comes, governors around the nation have implemented new preventive initiatives.
The formation of a winter Covid-19 task force was announced by Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. And on Friday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated that there would be an emergency session with the representatives of six northeastern states over the weekend.
Starting on Monday, the Navajo Nation will also introduce tighter restrictions for three weeks, such as a stay-at-home recommendation that limits travel away from the Navajo Nation. Directives also mandate that government offices be closed, forcing schools to develop virtual learning instead.
"We are inching closer and closer to a major public health crisis in which we could potentially see our hospitals filling up with patients," Jonathan Nez, Navajo Nation President, stated in a comment. "Our health care system on the Navajo Nation cannot sustain a long-term surge in COVID-19 cases," he added.
