Also per The Times, the country recorded just over 8,500 deaths between July 26 and Aug. 2. The CDC expects to see the weekly mortality total pass 10,000 and stay there as the month continues. The rising death toll is the result of a surge in new cases that has impacted the majority of the U.S. and began in earnest in June shortly after many states started reopening. While some states have either paused or reversed reopening as a result, others have resisted pressure to close certain businesses again.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb In an Aug. 2 appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Deborah L. Birx, MD, the White House coronavirus coordinator, agreed when host Dana Bash asked whether the U.S. had entered a “new phase” in the pandemic. Birx confirmed that our current battle with coronavirus is “different from March and April,” when it was mainly densely populated areas dealing with high numbers of daily new cases. “This epidemic right now is different and it’s more widespread and it’s both rural and urban,” she said. Birx urged people living in rural areas not to become complacent about the disease, saying, “You are not immune or protected from this virus.” She even recommended that people living with older relatives in rural areas wear masks at home if there is an outbreak in their area, especially if those relatives are considered to be at a higher risk for a more serious case of COVID. RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. While the CDC’s recent death projections may be a harbinger of a complete nationwide shutdown, another COVID expert believes that the U.S. can avoid that while still curbing cases. On July 31, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), laid out five things we can all do to help slow the spread. To find out what exactly you can do, check out Dr. Fauci Says These 5 Things Can Prevent Another Lockdown.
