Currents News Staff
There are more than 10 million known COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and nearly every state is seeing a rise in week-to-week infections. That’s according to Johns Hopkins University.
“I’m really frightened with the spike we’re seeing in cases right now,” doctor and medical analyst Celine Gounder told Currents News.
However, drug-makers like Pfizer and Moderna are making medical strides.
“Vaccination is not going to be a fairy tale ending to the pandemic,” said Tom Frieden, the former director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We’re still going to be dealing with it at least through most or all of 2021, and quite possibly beyond that.”
Meanwhile, China says it is moving full steam ahead in the race for a vaccine. Reports say cases in the communist country are increasingly rare, due to strict lockdowns and mass testing.
This is a testing site in Japan, which is facing a third wave of infections. India’s capital region is also seeing it’s highest daily increase in cases. Doctors blame the rise on people not following social distancing rules.
That could be the case in Sweden too. The country plans to ban alcohol sales after 10 p.m. and close bars and restaurants at 10:30 p.m. Spain is putting restrictions on visitors from high-risk countries. Now requiring travelers to show proof of a negative test.
In Italy, a grim milestone has been reached. The country’s ministry of health says Italy has just passed one million cases. Back in the U.S., until a vaccine is available, health officials say we should take action to prevent the virus from spreading even faster.
“Wear a mask,” says President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Board Member Michael Osterholm. “Also make note that if you are sick, don’t go into the public. If you have symptoms that are similar to what might be COVID, be sure and get tested. Then isolate yourself and quarantine away.”