More alarm for the United States as the country has logged over 150,000 deaths from COVID-19. This number is the highest death toll recorded since early this year. Data from Johns Hopkins University said that 150,676 people have died from COVID-19 as of Wednesday. With these numbers, the US now accounts for over a fifth of the world’s total COVID-19 deaths. Experts have urged US officials to restart its pandemic response to control the pandemic.
How the US Reached High COVID-19 Numbers
CNN reports that the US took only a couple of months to record its high numbers. From the first COVID-19 death on February 29, only 54 days went by before 50,000 Americans died on April 23. The US reached 100,000 deaths on May 27. From then, only 63 days passed before the US added another 50,000 deaths, and breached 150,000.
The US needs to reset its response with policy actions at the federal, state and local level to get control of the Covid-19 pandemic, scholars at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security say in a new report https://t.co/LD7jJ9Yv5e
— CNN (@CNN) July 29, 2020
Resetting the US’ Pandemic Response Policies
Scholars at Johns Hopkins have urged the US government at all levels to reset their COVID-19 response policies. This way, they can control the pandemic better. According to these scholars, the US is not on track to stop the virus.
With the report, the scholars gave ten recommendations. The government should order people to wear masks always, and order them to stay home. Limiting social gatherings is also crucial. Other than these, the scholars urged the federal government to improve its testing.
Why the US Should Reset Its COVID-19 Policies
Other experts also warned that the US should change its policies or see hundreds of thousands of deaths. Through a statement, the Association of American Medical Colleges issued their warning. Among their recommendations is to target 2 million people for daily COVID-19 testing.
