The number of Americans who have died from coronavirus has nearly doubled in the first week of April alone compared to last month’s entire death toll.
The death toll from the pandemic now stands at 11,000 with more than 368,000 confirmed infections across the United States.
Figures show the number of fatalities has increased drastically by 7,000 in the first six days of April.
It is almost double the 4,000 deaths that were recorded for the entire month of March when the coronavirus started to spread rapidly across the country.
The first death on US soil was reported back in Washington state on February 29.
The harrowing figures come as health officials warned this week would be one of the hardest for Americans given the death toll is expected to continue to rise in such stark numbers.
Figures show the number of fatalities in the US has increased drastically by 7,000 in the first six days of April. It is almost double the 4,000 deaths that were recorded for the entire month of March when the coronavirus started to spread rapidly across the country
The death toll from the pandemic now stands at 11,000 with more than 368,000 confirmed infections across the United States
New data has predicted the peak of the pandemic is still yet to hit on April 16 where 3,000 deaths are expected to occur in 24 hours, according to forecasters at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine.
The research predicts the daily number of deaths and infections will decrease and level out as early as June given the lockdown and social distancing measures currently in place over much of the country.
Peak resource use for hospitals is predicted to occur on April 15 – the day before the peak death toll – where an estimated 25,000 ventilators, 140,000 beds and 29,000 ICU beds will be needed, the data shows.
Health officials have warned that the death toll from coronavirus is likely much higher than is being reported because there is no national, streamlined way of reporting fatalities amid the pandemic.
New York remains the epicenter of the US outbreak with 599 new fatalities reported on Monday, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 4,758 deaths. There are now 130,689 confirmed infections across the state.
Harrowing images have been emerging show the dead being loaded into refrigerated trucks being used as makeshift morgues across New York City.
NYC officials have now started digging temporary graves for its coronavirus victims on Hart Island – the same location used to bury Spanish Flu victims.
In addition to New York, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, Illinois, California, Florida, Washington and Connecticut are other current hot spots in the country due to rising death tolls and the number of infections.
Meanwhile, new data has emerged showing hidden coronavirus hot spots in small town America whose hospital systems are struggling to cope – similarly to what is being experienced in big cities like New York City.
New data maps created by the University of Chicago show that some of the most deadly outbreaks are being experienced in Georgia, Arkansas and Mississippi where aging communities are dying at greater rates and smaller hospitals are struggling to survive.
The county-level maps shows how coronavirus outbreaks in place like Albany, Georgia – which has a population of 77,000 – is killing residents at a higher rate per capita.
The New York–New Jersey–Massachusetts area has had a fatality rate of 1.4 percent but the death rate in Albany, Georgia is 7.65 percent, according to the data research.
The research notes that the death rate may seem higher because of a lack of testing for more minor cases of the virus. Some areas outside of major cities may also be unaware of the extent of their own outbreak because testing is being conducted on lower levels than it is in cities already registered as hot spots.
The maps were created with data drawn from March 29 when cases in the likes of Georgia were lower – meaning the hidden hot spots may now be struggling even more.
Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington DC are now also become emerging coronavirus hot spots due to the increasing death tolls.
Dr Deborah Birx, the White House COVID-19 task force coordinator, said Pennsylvania, Colorado and Washington DC were being closely watched as the pandemic rapidly spreads across the country.
This map from the University of Chicago highlights in red the country’s hotspots by cases per capita. Many are ‘hidden’ hotspots that are not being spoken about as much as their cases numbers remain low when compared to urban centers but their fatality rates are high
This University of Chicago mao show hotspots by number of confirmed virus cases alone
‘We’re watching them because they are starting to go on that upside of the curve,’ she said. ‘We’re hoping and believing that if people mitigate strongly, the work that they did over the last two weeks will blunt that curve and they won’t have the same upward slope and peak that New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and part of Rhode Island are having.’
Meanwhile, Dr Anthony Fauci – the country’s top infectious disease expert – warned the world will never return to what was considered ‘normal’ before the coronavirus pandemic.
He made the somber prediction at Monday’s White House press briefing after a reporter asked whether the US will be able to ‘get back to normal’ prior to the introduction of a universal vaccine for COVID-19.
‘If “back to normal” means acting like there never was a coronavirus problem, I don’t think that’s going to happen until we do have a situation where you can completely protect the population (with a vaccine),’ Dr Fauci said, before clarifying his previous use of the phrase.
‘When we say “getting back to normal” we mean something very different from what we’re going through right now, because right now we are in a very intense mitigation.’
‘We will go back gradually to the point (where) we can function as a society. You’re absolutely right. If you want to get to pre-coronavirus, that might not ever happen in the sense of the fact that the threat is there.’
Dr Fauci has previously predicted that the coronavirus will likely come back seasonally every year.
