To date, there are over 2 million reported positive cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. and more than 100,000 people have died. While overall new cases and deaths have slowed, perhaps, temporarily, this decline doesn’t exist throughout the country. Some states that had high numbers of infection and deaths initially are seeing their new numbers decrease significantly, while new hot spots have developed in states that started out with lower numbers. The relaxing of social distancing measures in May in many states and it appears that this may have contributed to these new hot spots. 

COVID-19 Spread

New research suggests that the person who ignited the first chain of sustained transmission in the United States probably returned to the country from China or a nearby Asian country in mid-February. The SARS-CoV-2 virus took root in the country as officials missed the opportunity to block the virus. As it turned out, new cases grew quickly, and New York City became the location of the country’s largest outbreak. By April, there were more than 170,000 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area alone. The infection spread quickly throughout the country impacting some states harder than others.

Current Updates Since March 2020

While large states like California, Illinois, and Texas have large numbers of infections and deaths, some smaller states, like Michigan and Louisiana have high death counts and Iowa and Nebraska have high cases of infection. New cases for New York had dropped significantly with less than 700 a day in late June, compared to 10,000 a day in mid-April. Other states, like Hawaii, have seen their number of new infections decline as well, but some have seen a sharp jump. A dozen states have seen a record spike in new coronavirus cases since June 19, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Texas, Utah, Nevada, South Carolina, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. An example of the spike is Oklahoma posting a 478 day-over-day increase in new cases. According to the CDC, the number of total cases in the U.S now sits at 2,336,615 and the death toll is 121,117 as of June 22, 2020.

Urgent Care Services

COVID-19 testing is available at urgent care for patients that need to test immunity and active infections. You can get a swab test to check for evidence of a current infection, while the antibody test for past infection. Your local urgent care may have telemedicine to make the process of assessment before testing easier and safer for all involved. Please call before visiting the urgent care if you think you may have COVID-19.

There’s no predicting when the number of new infections in the U.S will decline sharply, but in the meantime, people should continue practicing all the preventative measures established. If states can control the spread of the disease, then the number of new cases and death will drop. Get tested at your urgent care center if you think you may have been exposed to the virus that causes COVID-19.