The new record is good news – but it comes at a complicated time in the US pandemic.
In the past seven days, the U.S. has reported an average of more than 68,000 new Covid-19 cases daily, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. This is more than 20% higher than the average of seven days on 10 March.
“On the one hand, we have so much reason for optimism and hope, and more Americans are being vaccinated,” said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, said during a Covid-19 briefing in the White House on Friday. “On the other hand, cases and visits to emergencies are bigger. And … we are seeing this increase in younger adults, most of whom have not yet been vaccinated.”
Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 have seen an increasing number of visits to emergency departments, she said.
And the trends are “magnified” in one part of the country, she said: the Upper Midwest.
“CDC is working closely with public health officials in this region to understand what drives these issues and how we can intervene.”
A race for life and death ‘
“This B.1.1.7 variant … is more contagious and I think there is only fatigue from this pandemic out there, so many people do not wear masks, do not have social distance, so we basically took a step back in Michigan, ‘Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Vaccination Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN on Saturday.
“It’s really frustrating because we’re almost there,” he said. “We have to sit there for the next two months and not do it.”
Amid rising numbers, some Michigan hospitals are delaying non-emergency procedures on a case-by-case basis, “said a Michigan Health & Hospital Association spokesman.
“Hospitals want everyone to get the care they need and only rearrange procedures as a last resort,” John Karasinski said Saturday. “We want to emphasize that hospitals are safe for anyone in need of care and that any person with a medical emergency needs immediate care.”
It’s not just Michigan that is reporting disturbing trends.
In both Michigan and Minnesota, there are concerns about the transfer of youth sports – as well as club sports, as well as sports at schools, Walensky said on Friday.
In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine said Thursday that the number of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions is increasing.
“We are now moving in the wrong direction,” he said. “More than half of our counties, 53, have seen increases.”
“We can still turn it around if more people are still vaccinated,” the governor added. “It’s a race. We’re in a race. And it’s a race for life and death.”
Health Officer: Do these two things
That means tens of millions of Americans are still not vaccinated and are still vulnerable to the virus.
So as the country works to increase vaccination numbers and reach the levels needed to control the spread, experts say Americans need to stay vigilant and continue to take precautions.
“To end this pandemic, this is what we need to do,” said U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, said in the White House briefing on Friday. “We need to act and help protect each other. And that’s why I am asking today that everyone do two things: one, be vaccinated as soon as possible. And two, help the people you care about being vaccinated.”
In an interview published last week, dr. Anthony Fauci told Business Insider that although he has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, he still will not go to a restaurant or a movie theater.
“I do not think I will – even if I am vaccinated – go to an indoor, busy place where people do not wear masks,” Fauci said.
CNN’s Amanda Sealy, Sarah Boxer, Ben Tinker, Polo Sandoval and Pamela Brown contributed to this report.