After several months of devastating push from COVID-19, in the last few weeks the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths has started to decrease. However, it is not yet time to celebrate the end of the pandemic. Health experts have predicted that new, more transmissible variants could lead to another increase in cases. And during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Friday, dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), revealed that this is likely to happen already, and issued a strong warning. Read on to find out what she had to say – and to ensure your health and the health of others, do not miss it Sure signs that you already have Coronavirus.
She began acknowledging the decline in cases and hospital admissions over the past month or so, with deaths declining over the past week. However, she revealed that the trend is starting to turn. “The latest data suggests that these declines could slow down and possibly still drop a very high number,” she said, adding that the CDC sees this as a very worrying move in the orbit. ‘
“The most recent seven-day average, about 66,350, is higher than the average I shared with you on Wednesday,” she continued. ‘In fact, business has increased over the past three days compared to the previous week. And while deaths tend to vary more than cases and hospital admissions, the most recent average of seven days, about 2,000 a day, is slightly higher than the seven-day average earlier in the week. ”
Dr. Walensky said the CDC is monitoring this “information very carefully” to see where it will go in the next few days, “but pointed out that it is an” important “reminder to remember where we are in the pandemic. ”
“Things are soft. “This is not the time to relax restrictions,” she said. ‘Although we have experienced a large decrease in cases of surveys over the past six weeks, these declines follow the highest peak we have experienced in the pandemic. So I want to be clear: cases, hospital admissions and deaths remain very high. And the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously. ”
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In addition, the latest variants of are worrying. “CDC has raised the alarm about the continued spread of variants in the United States and predicts that variants such as the B117 variant, which is presumably about 40%, 50% more transmissible”, would become the predominant variant of COVID-19 . by mid-March. ‘We can now see the initial effects of these variants in the most recent data. Our estimates now indicate that B117 accounts for about 10% of cases in the United States, compared to one to 4% a few weeks ago, and that the prevalence in certain parts of the country is even higher. ”
With the addition of new variants identified in California and New York, everyone must do their part to end the pandemic. “We may be done with the virus, but the virus is clearly not done with us,” she warned. ‘We can not get comfortable or concede to a false sense of security that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Not now, not when mass vaccination is so close, and what we need to prevent is imminent. We must remain vigilant and commit to taking the steps we take to stop the spread of COVID-19 consistently. ”
‘Where the pandemic comes from depends on our collective behavior and decision to do our part, to protect ourselves, our families and our communities. Together we have the ability to avoid a new boom in our mainstream, ‘she continued. “I know people are tired. They want to get back to normal, but we are not there yet. Give us the time we need to get more vaccines in our communities and to get more people vaccinated. This is our way out. Here in the United States, more than 46 million people or 14% of the population have received at least one dose of the vaccine. And so many more of you are ready to roll up your sleeves as soon as the vaccine is available to you. And there is indeed more vaccine on the way. ”
So follow the CDC principles and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live – wear a face mask it fits well and is double layer, do not travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, do not go indoors with people you do not shelter with (especially in pubs), practice good hand hygiene, be vaccinated if available to you, and to to protect you and others’ lives, do not visit any of these things 35 places you are likely to catch COVID.