The US has more known cases of coronavirus than any other country
The United States now has the highest number of known coronavirus cases in the world with more than 82,000, according to the count of cases reported by CNN health officials.
Cases from the United States piled up on Thursday, beating China and Italy. The rate of cases per capita varies due to the vast population differences of the countries.
As of Thursday night, the United States had at least 82,100 cases, while China reported 81,782. More than 510,000 cases have been reported worldwide.
Country numbers are constantly changing and both totals and ranking orders of countries could change at any time. The grim milestone comes just as American officials said there was a new record for reported deaths in a single day.
At least 246 new deaths were reported Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths across the country to at least 1,195. With the increase in cases, hospitals across the country are struggling to keep up with the demand for care.
In New York, where more than half the cases have been reported in the United States, exhausted hospital workers are turning to increasingly desperate measures to fight the virus.
Coronavirus in the US
The Bellevue Hospital Center in New York created a makeshift morgue using tents and refrigerated trucks. At the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, 13 patients died of coronavirus within 24 hours.
A registered nurse described what she has experienced inside a Long Island hospital and the cost that caring for coronavirus patients is causing for healthcare workers.
“I haven’t slept because my mind doesn’t shut off. I cried in the bathroom during my break, while I was removing the PPE from my sweaty self, with the notches on my face. I cried the whole trip back home.” the nurse wrote in a social media post.
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The nurse, whom CNN is not naming, says patients are streaming in with “non-stop coughing, sweaty, fevers” and with “fear in their eyes.”
“Then I cry for the ones who passed away. I cry because we intubated 5 patients within 10 min and I’m terrified.
I cry for my co-workers because we know it will get worse and I already feel like that is impossible and we are already at our breaking point, I cry for the parents, children, siblings, spouses who cannot be with their loved ones who may be dying but can’t have visitors because there is no visiting allowed,” the nurse added.
Chicago and Detroit could be next new hot spots
Outbreaks in New York, Washington, and California have garnered the nation’s attention for weeks, but some health officials predict areas of Michigan and Illinois could be the next epicenters of the crisis.
Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said health officials are concerned that counties such as Wayne County, Michigan and Cook County, Illinois, are showing a “faster increase” In the cases.
Birx noted that 40% of the country has “extraordinary low rates” of coronaviruses. “About 19 states have fewer than 200 cases,” he said.
Louisiana, which has seen coronavirus cases rise this week, is already emerging as another hot spot. New Orleans faces a critical shortage of fans and protective gear, an official told CNN on Thursday.
“This will be the disaster that defines our generation,” said Collin Arnold, the city’s director of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Health officials said they are monitoring six nursing homes in the state, including the Lambeth House retirement community of 268 residents in New Orleans, where 11 deaths were reported Tuesday.
Coronavirus in the US
New York to allow two patients to share a single ventilator
In an effort to address the desperate need for medical equipment, New York State has approved a technology that allows two patients to share a ventilator.
As of Thursday, more than half of the coronavirus cases in the US USA were in New York State, with more than 37,000, according to a count of CNN cases reported by state health officials across the country.
Governor Andrew Cuomo referred to the method as “splitting” and said it involves adding a second set of tubes to a fan.
“It is not ideal,” Cuomo said Thursday, “but we believe it is feasible.”
New York hospitals need about 30,000 ventilators and have enough personal protective equipment for the next two weeks, the governor said.
On Wednesday, the state had 4,000 hospital fans and another 4,000 on the way to the federal government.
Coronavirus in the US
New York also bought 7,000 fans and “is still buying,” the governor said.
Fans are the “difference between life and death for thousands of New Yorkers,” said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed said his city could see an increase in cases similar to those seen in New York City.
She estimated that San Francisco could need up to 1,500 more fans and 5,000 more hospital beds.
“If people on the streets continue to meet each other, continue to interact with each other, increasing the spread of this virus, we will not have enough beds, enough ICU units, enough fans to support the people we know are going to need, “Breed said.
‘Dear God, stay home, save lives’
Across the country, 21 states have issued stay-at-home orders, with some not going into effect until the end of the week.
Georgia and Florida do not have statewide rules, but Atlanta enacted its own stay-at-home order, and Miami announced a nighttime curfew.
Coronavirus in the US
People without symptoms are fueling the spread of coronavirus
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday that bike trails, paths, and green spaces will be closed after crowds were spotted on the city’s lakefront.
“Congregating on our lakefront, to be blunt is going to create a risk that is unacceptable and could lead to death,” Lightfoot said. “Dear God, stay home, save lives.”
The decision comes after Interim Chicago Police Superintendent Charlie Beck said police will start issuing citations Thursday to residents who do not follow rules around social distancing and staying at home.
Breaking the orders is a misdemeanor punishable by a citation with a fine of up to $500, Beck said. If the violation continues, it could result in physical arrest.
New York state has restricted nonessential business and gatherings. Residents are asked to limit outdoor activities to non-contact activities.
Civil fines will be issued to non-compliant businesses, but not to individuals, Cuomo said.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city also will be enforcing restrictions against non-essential businesses that are staying open.
But Los Angeles police will not stop people from exercising and leaving their homes, Garcetti said.
Coronavirus in the US