According to data from Johns Hopkins University Daily coronavirus cases are four times higher than they were following Labor Day weekend of last year. The current death toll surpasses last years 2020 Memorial Day total.
Health officials noted the biggest difference between this year and last is the Delta variant of COVID-19. Data from Health and Human Services show hospitalization rates are up 157% compared to Labor Day weekend 2020.
“We are perilously close,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN. “You’re going to have to make some very tough choices.”
As Intensive Care Units across several states inch closer to full capacity doctors could be forced to make life-and-death decisions.
The United States has recorded roughly 650,000 COVID-19 deaths and last week exceeded 40 million cases.
Reuters data shows that more than 20,800 people have died in the United States from COVID-19 in the past two weeks, up about 67 per cent from the prior two-week period.
President Joe Biden plans to address the Nation Thursday and outline a ‘six-pronged’ plan to combat COVID-19. The plan is expected to include more vaccine mandates and tougher school policies.
