Of the estimated 331,002,651 Americans living in the United States, roughly 10,818,600 have been infected with COVID-19, the highly infectious respiratory illness that has killed more Americans than the U.S. conflicts in Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, and World War I combined. Simple math shows that 1 in 30 Americans has now been infected with the virus since March.
Yesterday marked the highest ever U.S. daily toll of newly diagnosed cases, with 181,194 reported. With numbers increasing every day, one in every 378 people in the U.S. has tested positive for COVID-19 over the past week.
“More than one out of every 5,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 as the virus continues to spread at an unprecedented rate throughout the country,” Newsweek reported yesterday. “Of those hospitalized, 13,132 were said to be in intensive care units, while 3,769 were on ventilators.”
“Multiple modeling forecasts cited by the CDC predict likely increases in hospitalizations as the virus continues to spread, with an increase of between 3,200 and 19,000 additional daily hospitalizations expected by December 7,” the publication continues.
Winter is expected to worsen the pandemic as the cold weather moves people indoors and people gather for holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s despite advisements not to by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.