The U.S. has reported 99,321 new coronavirus cases on Friday, defeating its previous record set only a day prior as the outbreaks swell.
“We’re at a point where the epidemic is accelerating across the country. We’re right at the beginning of the steep part of the epidemic curve,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said during an interview on CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” on Friday evening.
“You’ll see cases start to accelerate in the coming weeks,” he said, stressing the height of the country’s recent surge will be experienced around Thanksgiving. Gottlieb noted that “December’s probably going to be the toughest month.”
The U.S. continues to witness an upward climb on what is considered the pandemic’s third peak, with cases increasing by 5% or more in 43 states as of Friday, based on a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The Hopkins data showed there are now more than 9 million reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S., which added an additional 1 million infections in only two weeks.
Over the last week, the U.S. posted an average of roughly 78,738 new infections every day, the highest seven-day average recorded yet, and an increase of nearly 25% compared with a week ago. The top five highs in daily confirmed cases have all been hit within the last eight days.
New coronavirus cases are emerging in key battleground states that could shape the outcome of Tuesday’s election as President Donald Trump and former vice president Joe Biden enter the final stretch.
In Michigan, Covid-19 cases are up more than 63% compared with a week ago, according to Hopkins. As of Friday, the state is reporting a record-high average of 3,038 new cases daily. Wisconsin is averaging roughly 4,230 cases per day, up about 22% compared with a week ago, according to Hopkins data.
"In a bad position"
The number of coronavirus cases in USA puts the country in a “bad position,” according to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Dr. Fauci explained the U.S. was not able to keep its Covid-19 cases down to low enough levels after the initial spike in New York and other states earlier in the year.
“When you look at the country and the heat map color, when you see red dots, which indicate that that part of the county, the city … is having an uptick in cases … all of that puts us in a precarious situation," Dr. Fauci said.
“We should have been way down in baseline and daily cases, and we’re not,” he said.
Hospitalizations are swelling as well. As of Tuesday last week, hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients were increasing by 5% or more in 37 states, according to a CNBC analysis of data gathered by the Covid Tracking Project. Fifteen states saw record highs in hospitalizations. This trend is attributed to the flu season when more people seek treatment, according to medical experts.
Dr. Fauci reiterated the importance of using face masks, pointing out that using them while socially distancing, avoiding crowds, and preparing for outdoor activities “makes a difference.”
