Thanksgiving COVID-19 Wave Signs Are Emerging Now

First signs of a post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 cases surge are starting to emerge based on a data released by states across the country.

The released of the data in a troubling phase may start what may become the deadliest month of the pandemic so far, as reported by The Hill.

The uptick in cases come as the nation faces an already surging wave of infections that started in the Upper Midwest, which then spread to every corner of the map as seasons changed.

The United States has averaged about 200,000 new confirmed cases a day over the last week, according to a group of independent researchers running The COVID Tracking Project. Over 2,200 people everyday have died on an average during the period.

In addition, the number of patients being treated in hospitals have peaked to 102,000, which is the highest levels of the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci has already warned the public about the surge of cases amid the holidays, as reported by BBC.

The country still lacks on national testing plan that public experts say is important in bringing the pandemic under control. U.S. President Donald Trump's remarks about the COVID-19 pandemic have become few.

Cases starting to subside in other states

Meanwhile, there are some hopeful signs that the third wave is starting to subside in parts of Midwest.

The number of newly confirmed cases has plummeted for two straight weeks in 10 states, which included Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and New Mexico. However, new data shows other states are seeing a huge increase in their cases.

Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention at the University of Minnesota, said that at this point, they could be just starting to pick up the Thanksgiving surge.

Osterholm that he is certain that in the following week they are going to see it.

"We're slingshotting this surge of cases into the holiday season in a way that is truly dangerous," Osterholm was quoted on a report.

Surging Cases

Authorities in Alabama reported about 14,000 new cases a week through middle and late November.

In the first week of December, the case counts increase to more than 22,000. In Georgia, cases rose in early December by about 50 percent from its November figures. Florida cases also peaked to 65,000 last week, which is a significant increase over its averages last month.

During the summer wave, the virus was spreading fastest in Arizona, where at its peak 380 residents per 100,000 were becoming infected every week.

As of now, 35 states have per capita infection rates higher than what Arizona had in the summer.

To curb the further spread of the virus, some states have reimposed lockdown measures such as some counties in California, particularly Los Angeles County and Bay Area.

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon also issued his first statewide mask mandate.

Hope in COVID-19 Vaccine

Pfizeer-BioNTech's vaccine and Moderna's candidate are expecting an approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the coming days.

However, distribution challenges are still hindering Americans to get the full bulk of the vaccine.

Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said that the United States is still in muddle without the vaccine.

Adalja added that it is increasingly unlikely that they will gain control of the pandemic until they have a vaccine.