As the nation continues to battle with the coronavirus pandemic, cases are now reaching an all-time high.
The dramatic spike in cases across the majority of the United States has led to hospitals reaching capacity, exhausted health care workers and restarted lockdowns. Over the past two weeks, coronavirus cases have increased by approximately 45%, bringing in a new record daily average to a number of 86,352 cases, according to data that was compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Not only are infections and hospitalization rates skyrocketing, but deaths are also on the rise. Death rates have risen by 15%, bringing up the average daily death total to 846.
There were nearly 99,000 new cases in the United States on Oct. 30, according to Johns Hopkins University.
More than 232,000 people died from COVID-19 in the United States alone and there have been over nine million confirmed coronavirus cases. New infections still increase in almost every state, posing a serious threat to the country and world, according to The Guardian.
Due to a drastic increase in numbers, New York is beginning to take extra precautions again in fear that the state alone could reach an all-time high in infection and death rates.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced that indoor and outdoor gatherings in residential homes will be limited to 10 people maximum.
Cuomo tweeted on Nov. 11 that there had been reported to be 4,820 new COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths in New York.
Areas in New York state that are now considered to be in the “yellow” zone include neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Queens, Rockland and Westchester.
In some parts of Staten Island and Tioga County, officials have reported more cases and upgraded their status to “yellow” zones, which now puts more of an emphasis on stopping the spread of the virus in these specific areas.
Cuomo also announced that gyms and bars must close their doors to customers by 10 p.m. Additionally, businesses that sell alcoholic beverages can offer curbside delivery for food orders only, despite closing their doors early, to abide by the mandated rules and regulations.
“If you look at where the cases are coming from, if you do the contact tracing, you’ll see they’re coming from three main areas: establishments where alcohol is served, gyms and indoor gatherings at private homes. The reason we have been successful in reducing the spread in New York is we have been a step ahead of COVID,” Cuomo said in a press statement, according to CNN.
“You know where it’s going; stop it before it gets there. And you know where it’s going by following the science,” he said.
