With the declining number of new cases, the government says that the United States is already past its coronavirus peak. However, a White House advisor warned that Americans should brace themselves for more COVID-19 deaths up ahead despite decreasing infection rates.
The warning came from White House coronavirus coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx on Tuesday, according to CNBC. Dr. Birx explained that deaths lag behind compared to other aspects so casualties caused by the pandemic will still continue for some time.
“We really need to continue to unite and really, really support our health-care providers who are still on the frontline,” Dr. Birx said.
The U.S. has the most number of coronavirus cases in the world with over 800,000 people in the country confirmed to be infected. The pathogen already killed more than 47,000 Americans as of April 22 based on data from Worldometers.
The World Health Organization said that it takes between two to eight weeks from the time symptoms first appeared before a gravely ill patient will succumb to the disease. Meanwhile, it takes around two weeks for mild cases to recover and between three to six weeks for patients with severe symptoms to make a complete recovery.
Dr. Brix noted that the flattening of the coronavirus growth curve in some parts such as in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Connecticut, Detroit, New Orleans, and Rhode Island. “That was a great concern for us over the past several weeks,” she said. “They appear to be flattening.”
The White House advisor also noted that some areas such as Washington, D.C. have not yet experienced a decline in coronavirus infections. Residents in these areas still need to continue social distancing measures.
Even as businesses prepare to reopen, Dr. Brix reminded everyone to continue to observe precautionary measures such as frequent hand washing and not touching their faces. “Individual Americans need to continue all of their hygiene,” she said.
Dr. Deborah Birx also praised California’s response to the pandemic. “California acted very early and really got communication out to the public about what they need to do to protect themselves and protect their families and protect their communities,” she said, Foxla.com reported. “I think getting information out early was really key.”
She also pointed out how the state’s coronavirus response can be improved. “I have one way, sort of small complaint, is California could improve its public health website because it’s important for people to have constant information and constant updates about the virus,” Dr. Birx added.