Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Covid19 – US infections “balloon”, world case total surpasses 40 million

Published

Monday, October 19, 2020 16:25

Thaiger

PHOTO: Ipsos

“We were really hoping to crater the cases in preparation for a bad winter. We’ve done basically the opposite.”

New Covid-19 cases are again surging in many countries. Globally, the number of infected people exceeded 40 million as of last night with new infections starting to accelerate again. Today the total number of confirmed cases around the world is 40,323,461. The number of total deaths remains at 1,118,826 and recovered patients at 30,135,040 (as of 4pm Thai time).

Covid19 - US infections "balloon", world case total surpasses 40 million | News by Thaiger

Notably, the death rate from Covid-19 is not rising as treatment for complicated cases continues to rapidly improve. The US, India, Russia, Brazil, the rest of South America, and parts of Europe and the UK, are the current ‘hot spots’ (below).

Regionally, the surge of cases in Myanmar is causing headaches for Thai border officials in the north west of the country. The Governor of Tak decided to close the border checkpoints this morning. But the 2,000 kilometre long land border between Thailand and Myanmar has many unofficial “Natural” crossing points.

In the US, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says following public health measures is the way out of the crisis that has hobbled the economy, claimed thousands of lives and sickened millions.

“The predicted fall surge is here, and rising cases across the US appear to bear that out.”

The US is averaging more than 55,000 new cases a day, and 10 states reported their highest single-day cases counts last Friday. As of this morning, US time, there were more than 8.5 million cases and 219,674 coronavirus deaths, according to Worldometers.info

“The Covid-19 crisis would have to be ‘really, really bad’ to implement a national lockdown. Despite the climbing totals, a nationwide lockdown is not the way forward unless the pandemic gets “really, really bad.”

Tara Smith, a professor of epidemiology at Kent State University says the worst fears of rising cases, leading into winter, are being realised.

“We were really hoping to crater the cases in preparation for a bad winter. We’ve done basically the opposite.”

After hitting an all-time high in July, cases did drop significantly, but the US never reached a level where the public health system could truly get a handle on the outbreak or describe it as ‘contained’.

Now infections are on the rise again, driven by ballooning outbreaks across the country’s interior, especially in the Midwest, the Great Plains and the West.

Contributing to the rise is the return of students to schools and campuses across the country, puzzling resistance to social distancing and mask wearing recommendations, and more people spending time in restaurants and other indoor settings as the weather starts to cool down.

SOURCE: worldometers.info | nor.org

Covid19 - US infections "balloon", world case total surpasses 40 million | News by Thaiger

TABLE: worldometers.com

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14 Comments

Toby Andrews

Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 11:54 pm

Balloon is a good word for the it.
The virus is killing overweight persons.

Reply
- john brig
  
  Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 8:00 pm
  
  Trump is overweight but he didn’t die.
  Thank you for exposing yourself as a worthless fraud, Troll Toby.
  
  Reply
  - Toby Andrews
    
    Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 12:34 am
    
    Yes well I guess you are a lard ass which is why you do not want to read the truth.
    
    Reply
  - Suzanne
    
    Friday, October 30, 2020 at 11:25 am
    
    Trump received most expensive experimental new treatments – which he failed to make available to the mass of Americans. Anyway, he seems less morbidly obese than many in US.
    
    Reply
- James
  
  Monday, October 19, 2020 at 9:39 pm
  
  Toby
  
  My mother-in-law was slim yet she died from the virus, so just stop being stupid, please.
  
  Reply
  - Toby Andrews
    
    Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 12:37 am
    
    There are always exceptions – was our mother in bad health?
    The thing is the western world will not admit that being fat is bad. The want to believe being fat is normal.
    It is not.
    
    Reply
Don R

Sunday, October 18, 2020 at 11:49 am

The relevant variables would be deaths and infections. Cases are an artifact of increased testing. The news media is scientifically illiterate.

Reply
James

Monday, October 19, 2020 at 9:37 pm

I was in Phuket from January this year to August.

The supermarkets etc were crowded with people, there was no social distancing, people wore masks but were close to each other, yet they say they only have around 60 deaths due to the virus which I can not believe.

Europe and the USA for example then opened their pubs/bars and other public places as did Thailand and now we can see the number of cases has grown everywhere except for Thailand, which I can not believe.

The figures in Thailand are controlled by an unelected government so why is anyone believing the death statistics they publish?

Reply
- Don R
  
  Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 9:47 am
  
  Yeah, I also don’t believe it. I suspect there are many other factors at play. Differences in immune systems is probably a big one.
  
  A retired American who lives in the suburbs only has to leave the house once a month for a trip to Costco to fill up the freezer chest.
  
  A retired person in Asia likely lives in a flat, possibly without a kitchen, and must go out at least twice a day to interact with the unwashed masses. As a result, Asians develop and maintain stronger immune systems.
  
  Just my theory. There are probably other factors too…
  
  Reply
  - James
    
    Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 9:58 pm
    
    Don R
    
    Indians, Pakistani, etc are Asians and they do not have any special protection, Thais are protected by pretending there are hardly any virus deaths which is no protection at all, they die but no one knows why as there are hardly any virus tests available.
    
    Life expectancy, in general, is lower in Asia than in the West.
    
    If I do not look out onto my garden I can pretend the grass does not need cutting which means I can avoid cutting it but it does not mean the grass is now overgrown.
    
    Reply
Vic Alborn

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 5:13 am

Once again you (Thaiger) distort the reality with misleading headlines. The total number of infections is irrelevant. What matters is the death rate and the number of cases where long term consequences to one’s health is a factor. The death RATE in the USA is, according to Statista, 688.84 per million putting it in 9th place world wide; just ahead of the UK at 655 per million.

Reply
- The Thaiger & The Nation
  
  Tuesday, October 20, 2020 at 11:09 am
  
  The report was about total Covid-19 infections. The article didn’t allude to the death rate. Sorry we forgot to consult you first about what you believe to be be important or irrelevant.
  
  Reply
Toby Andrews

Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 1:03 am

Being fat seems to have become some sort of divine right.
I hear some are trying to claim that accusing someone of being fat is fattism, and they should be treated as special and should not be described as fat.
They want the same privileges as people that claim racism, or sexism, or being homosexuals.
Well as aids did to homosexuals, nature is not politically correct.
If a person has to walk down stairs sideways, this virus is more likely to kill them.
Now you can rant and rave and call me names, but being fat makes a person more likely to die from this virus.

Reply
Jack

Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 5:53 pm

Total annual deaths from any cause… are they up from the year prior? If not, then this virus is not a threat outside of normal circumstances. Thethaiger, do us all a favor and write a comprehensive article, looking at the big picture of annual deaths and do some balanced reporting. Cut this fear mongering bs unless of course the big picture is really saying this a danger to every man woman and child.

Reply