Covid cases are about to explode in US, ex-FDA commissioner warns
‘We’re building up a lot of trouble for the future, and I think that this is going to explode in several weeks’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Coronavirus cases in the US are set to "explode" in the next few weeks, with the country likely to record its highest daily infection rates since the pandemic began, experts have warned.
As Covid-19 cases surged past 125,000 daily cases, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb said the real number of daily infections was closer to 500,000.
“Remember 120,000 cases aren’t 120,000 cases. We’re probably, at best, diagnosing 1 in 5 cases right now, maybe a little bit less than that, so this is at least half a million cases a day, probably more in terms of actual numbers of infection,” Mr Gottlieb said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell”.
He said the nation isn't implementing the targeted interventions to reduce transmission in the hardest-hit states needed to improve the situation.
“We’re building up a lot of trouble for the future, and I think that this is going to explode in several weeks,” he said.
He added: “You have to be really worried what January is going to look like, what December is going to look like right now given the way this is rising."
Mr Gottlieb was FDA commissioner under the Trump administration from 2017 to April 2019. His comments come as the number of daily cases began regularly passing 100,000 for the first time this week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The seven-day average of new daily cases is hovering around 100,000 with new cases growing in the majority of states, with record levels of hospitalisations being reported in Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
“It’s just a fact that, even if we get the death rates down and we manage people in the hospital better, and ... we’re discharging people more easily, more quickly, we’re infecting a lot more people, so eventually the health-care system is going to get pressed,” Mr Gottlieb said.
The US currently recorded a total of 9.5 million Covid cases since the start of the pandemic, with deaths surpassing 236,000.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments