America Smashes Coronavirus Record

Yet the official tally is perhaps 10% of the real caseload, health officials say
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 9, 2020 12:45 PM CDT
America Smashes Coronavirus Record
In this July 14, 2020, file photo, people wait in line for coronavirus testing at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Confirmed coronavirus cases in the US hit 5 million Sunday—by far the highest of any country—more than four months into a sustained outbreak, the AP reports. That's the number from Johns Hopkins University, but health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms. America also has the world's-highest death toll of more than 160,000 as millions of citizens continue their politicized resistance to masks. In the US, new cases are running at about 54,000 a day—an immensely high number even when taking into account the country's large population.

And while that's down from a peak of well over 70,000 last month, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. CNN reports that five states account for over 40% of the country's infections: California (which has the most), followed by Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia. When the virus first appeared in the US, Trump and his supporters quickly dismissed it as either a "hoax" or a scourge that would quickly disappear once warmer weather arrived. Trump has defended the US response, blaming China, where the virus was first detected, for America's problems and saying the US numbers are so high because there is so much testing. Trump supporters and Americans who have refused to wear masks against all medical advice back that line.

(More coronavirus stories.)

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