COVID-19 Cases Skyrocket Nearly 50% in One Week in NY and NJ; The US could reach 20 million cases by Christmas

What you should know

• New York’s daily positivity rate surpassed 3 percent Tuesday for the first time in months; even its continuous positivity rate, which remains the third lowest in the U.S., is at its highest since June 2
• In New Jersey, the latest numbers have been “devastating,” says Governor Murphy; New state restrictions go into effect Thursday, while the largest city, Newark, imposed a new mandatory curfew on Tuesday
• The stark events come amid a wave of America that continues unabated; At the current rate, the nation could see 20 million cases by Christmas, nearly double its highest total in the world now, says NBC.

—

NEW YORK – New coronavirus cases reported in New York and New Jersey have nearly doubled in the last week alone, reflecting a national trend that shows no signs of abating and appears to only get worse at the height of the holiday season.

Governor Andrew Cuomo recommended to New Yorkers Tuesday night that they limit Thanksgiving dinners, if any, to members of their immediate households, echoing last week’s comments from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont , when he recommended that the people of his state do the same. A joint request continues to resonate throughout the metropolitan area from all officials: do not travel unless absolutely necessary.

Increasingly, small family gatherings also contribute to COVID increases.

“Viral spread is not limited to large group settings. I want to emphasize that small indoor gatherings also pose a very serious risk,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “Small gatherings are a major source of spread. As the numbers continue to rise, we must all double down and take this increase very seriously.”

The upward trend is already painfully obvious.

New York has reported an average of 3,200 new COVID-19 cases per day over the past week; the daily positivity rate surpassed 3 percent for the first time in months on Tuesday, while the seven-day continuous positivity rate (2.2 percent) is at its highest since June 2. In New York City, it reached 2.31 percent on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. He has said that he would move completely remote schools for a while if it reaches 3 percent. Large-scale closures could be available if you continue to climb above that.

The figures are nowhere near what they were in April, at the peak of the crisis, officials emphasize. At the time, New York was reporting 10,000 cases a day, had 18,000 people in the hospital, and was losing approximately 800 people a day. Hospitalizations have more than doubled in New York since the first week of October, reaching a recent high of 1,548 on Tuesday, but they remain manageable.

While treatment is generally much more effective than in April and ventilator use remains much lower for hospitalized patients, hospitalizations are expected to continue to rise among vulnerable populations in the coming weeks. That delay increases in cases. And deaths are delayed in admissions.

The slope has been steepest in neighboring New Jersey, which reported nearly 4,000 (3,877) new COVID cases on Tuesday, roughly eight times the daily figures I was seeing in late September. That was only six weeks ago. The state’s highest single-day case report was 4,391. Tuesday was not far away. To put it in perspective, about one in every 500 New Jerseyans has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past seven days, the data shows.

Gov. Phil Murphy called the latest figures “devastating” in a tweet Tuesday. On Thursday, it launched a series of new statewide restrictions targeting late-night indoor dining in bars and restaurants and indoor youth sports. He has said there is no evidence that indoor dining contributes to the increase, but nighttime activities in bars and restaurants have presented higher risks of exposure. Youth indoor sports, specifically hockey, have also led to a number of new COVID cases.

While Murphy has said that COVID concerns span virtually the entire state, some counties are hit harder than others. Essex County alone reported 675 new cases Tuesday; It is home to New Jersey’s largest city, Newark, where the mayor imposed additional executive-order restrictions Tuesday to combat the spikes.

These include:

• Mandatory 9 pm weekday curfew (10 pm on weekends) for non-emergency or non-essential work for zip codes 07104 (Seventh to Second Avenues and Broadway to Clifton Avenue) 07105 (full zip code); and 07107 (Third Avenue North to Berkley Avenue and North Third Street to 11th Street)
• All sports of any kind practiced in the city cease immediately for two weeks; all players, coaches, and other staff must test negative for COVID-19 to resume play
• Any sports team or team member who does not follow face covering protocol may be subject to canceled games, team removal or termination.
• Indoor and outdoor meetings and events are limited to 10 people
• Long-term health facility visits are not allowed for two weeks; residents of senior housing buildings are allowed one non-essential visitor per unit per day and visitors are subject to temperature controls (must be below 100.4 degrees)
• Attendance at religious services is restricted to 25 percent of capacity; Anyone speaking or singing during services must wear a mask; no one will be able to enter an institution with temperatures above 100.4 degrees
• Holiday gatherings or events of 10 or more people are not allowed in restaurants; reservations for more than 10 people are prohibited.

Mayor Ras Baraka signed into law the new protocols on Tuesday when Newark’s three-day positivity rate (19 percent) soared to more than double the state average (7.74 percent), according to data provided in the press release. The city said it would reassess the situation after Dec. 1 to determine next steps.

“The Newark recipe is not the state’s recipe,” Baraka said. “Stronger measures are required at critical points in the city to contain the virus and limit the spread. I know we are all tired, but the virus is not, so we must be vigilant and do whatever it takes to get this under control and save lives.

Hospitals across the state (and the country) have been stocking up on supplies of PPE for months since the first wave of the virus began to subside, and are now preparing to access those stocks. Hospitalizations in the Hackensack Meridien healthcare system have increased six-fold in just two months.

No state has been affected by the latest surge in the United States. The country has far exceeded 10 million cases, by far the highest total of any nation in the world, and has reported more than 240,000 deaths, according to NBC News. It only took 10 days to go from nine million to 10 million cases, and the next milestone is likely not far off. Eight states have seen their COVID case reports increase by 100 percent in the past 14 days. New data from NBC News shows that the US could see 20 million COVID-19 cases by Christmas, double its highest total in the world now, at this rate.

The number of new cases for the three-week period ending Monday nearly doubled to 1.9 million from the previous 21-day count of 1.07 million, the data showed. By November 30, if this trend continues, the US could have 13.6 million cases and by December 21, that number at the current rate could rise to 19.9 million.

Pandemic fatigue and growing anger at having to wear masks and practice physical distancing, along with colder weather that drives people indoors where the virus spreads more easily, have created a “perfect storm” for new infections. , epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said Tuesday.

– .