(CNN) — With the number of infections increasing in dozens of states, U.S set a new daily record in new cases of coronavirus. And federal health officials warned that the number of people who have been infected is underestimated.
At least 37,077 coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, beating the April 24 high, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The sudden increase in confirmed cases in the past few days is not a surprise, a health expert said.
“All epidemiologists were saying, screaming as loud as we could, that three weeks after Memorial Day we would have a peak in cases and five weeks after Memorial Day we would begin to see a peak in deaths, hospitalizations and deaths, ”epidemiologist Larry Brilliant told CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday.
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“If you let everyone out without face masks and social distancing in the midst of a pandemic, this is what was predicted.”
And while more than 2.4 million cases have been diagnosed across the country since the pandemic began, the number of people infected is likely 10 times higher.
Antibody tests show that more than 20 million people have been infected with coronaviruses, most without knowing it, said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ).
Antibody tests examine a person’s blood for signs that the immune system has responded to an infection. Federal officials have been conducting such tests across the country to determine how many people had passed undiagnosed infections.
“A good rough estimate now is 10 to 1,” said Redfield.
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Between 5% and 8% of Americans have been infected with coronavirus, but the numbers vary by region. New York, once the epicenter of the pandemic, will have a higher percentage of people with past infections than some states in the west, Redfield said.
That means that 90% or more have not been infected and are susceptible to the virus, highlighting the need to act aggressively to combat rising infection rates.
Some of the cases went unnoticed in part because the tests were initially limited to people who were very ill, Redfield said. As more people get tested, it is clear that a large percentage had only mild or no symptoms.
The list of the most vulnerable is updated
Federal health officials have updated the list of those most at risk of serious complications from coronavirus.
The CDC added mild obesity to a list that includes the elderly, people with lung or kidney disease, and people with diabetes. People with moderate to severe asthma may also be at higher risk, as can pregnant women, the CDC said. People with cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are all at increased risk, said Dr. Jay Butler of the CDC.
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Other conditions like sickle cell disease and poorly controlled HIV infection also increase the risk. People who have received a bone marrow transplant or an organ transplant or who are taking immunosuppressive medications are also at increased risk, the CDC said.
The CDC also removed the age-specific threshold, saying that not only those over 65 are at increased risk for serious illness.
CNN’s Jay Croft, Maggie Fox, Jen Christensen, Jennifer Henderson and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.
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