The falling trend in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. is threatened by new, more contagious variants of the coronavirus, reported The Hill.
After the post-Thanksgiving period when a pick was reached in cases, hospitalisations and deaths, there is hopeful sign, as new cases of COVID-19 dropped below 100,000 on Sunday, for the first time since November.
The situation is getting better and the number of cases drops, but health officials are urging the government and public not to ease up on the precaution measures, as they are even more important for fighting the new, more contagious coronavirus.
The numbers of cases, hospitalisations and deaths are still higher than previous peaks in the spring or the summer last year, even though the situation is getting better.
The number of 96,000 cases registered on Sunday by the Tracking Project is much lower than the peak of 300,000 in January, but is still higher than the peak of 75,000 per day, registered over the summer. Although the number of cases falls, it is far above the level experts would consider a goal.
On a daily basis, a number of nearly 3,000 people are dying from COVID-19, and about 80,000 are hospitalised.
With the situation getting better, and a positive trend emerging, some governors started loosening the restrictions and precaution measures.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that indoor dining can return to 25 percent capacity in New York City, and Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) lifted the mask and distancing restrictions on bars and restaurants in Iowa.
With the new variants of the coronavirus on the rise, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Rochelle Walensky urged states not to lift precautions on Monday.
“We still have this emerging threat of variants, and I would just simply discourage any of those activities. We really need to keep all of the mitigation measures at play here if we’re really going to get control of this pandemic,” said Walensky.
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