Breaking News
U.S. Records Lowest Number of COVID-19 Deaths in Two Weeks
The U.S. has recently recorded the lowest number of coronavirus-related fatalities in two weeks. This comes days after the number of deaths spiked to 4,591 in one day.
Johns Hopkins University reported that the U.S. lost 1,433 people to coronavirus on April 20th. This makes the overall death toll at 42,364. Around 93 percent of all U.S. deaths from COVID-19 happened in the past three weeks.
“But after several sharp spikes last week, the number seems to be slowing,” Fox News reported. They added that the data is “reflecting an average of 600 less deaths than previous days.”
This information comes as some states begin to plot out plans to reopen businesses by the end of the week.
U.S. records lowest number of coronavirus deaths in 2 weeks https://t.co/kYNRRx6t4m
— Disrn (@DisrnNews) April 21, 2020
“Given the favorable data, enhanced testing, and approval of our healthcare professionals, we will allow gyms, fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, cosmetologists, hair designers, nail care artists, estheticians, their respective schools and massage therapists to reopen their doors this Friday,” said Gov. Brian Kemp.
Fears For Rushing
However, experts have warned about reopening the country too early. Doing so may cause another spike in the number of cases.
Fox News reported that according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “since the start of April, up to 140,000 COVID-19 tests per day have been conducted in the U.S., but several experts caution that number is far too low, and it's targeted at the wrong patient populations.”
“The United States isn’t performing anywhere near enough tests. Worse still, we are testing the wrong people. To safely reopen closed businesses and revive American social life, we need to perform many more tests—and focus them on the people most likely to spread COVID-19, not sick patients,” wrote oncologist Ezekiel Emanuel and Nobel Laureate economist Paul Romer in DefenseOne.
People have also called for extensive coronavirus antibody testing in order to determine who can return to work. This has begun to roll out in some areas of the country.
“We haven’t known the true extent of COVID-19 infections in our community because we have only tested people with symptoms, and the availability of tests has been limited,” said lead investigator Neeraj Sood, professor of public policy at the USC Price School for Public Policy. “The estimates also suggest that we might have to recalibrate disease prediction models and rethink public health strategies.”
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