Texans queue for tests in their cars – more than 10% of tests came back positive over the past week
WASHINGTON, June 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) —At least 20 million people in the US may already have been infected with Covid-19, according to the latest estimate by health officials.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says the true number of cases is likely to be 10 times higher than the reported figure.
The US has recorded 2.4m confirmed infections and 122,370 deaths. The University of Washington predicts 180,000 US deaths by October – or 146,000 if 95% of Americans wear masks.
“Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections,” CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield told reporters.
This was because testing was restricted to people with symptoms and asymptomatic carriers were not tested, he said. “We probably recognized about 10% of the outbreak by the methods that we use to diagnosis between the March, April and May,” he said.
Dr Redfield said that between 5% and 8% of the population had been exposed to the virus and urged Americans to keep social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands.
“As we go into the fall, in the winter, these are going to be really, really important defence mechanisms,” he said.
Texas state, which has been at the forefront of moves to end lockdown measures, has seen thousands of new cases, prompting Republican Governor Greg Abbott to call a temporary halt to its reopening.
“This temporary pause will help our state corral the spread until we can safely enter the next phase of opening our state for business,” he said.
Texas confirmed a record 5,996 new cases on Thursday with 47 new deaths, the highest daily toll for a month.
Other states, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming, have all recorded record daily increases in the number of confirmed cases this week.
More than 36,000 new US cases were confirmed on Wednesday – not far off the record number of 36,426 cases recorded on April 24.
While some of the increase is down to increased testing, the rate of positive tests in some areas is also increasing. — NNN-AGENCIES
