At least 174,455 new cases were reported between August 19 and August 25, up from 169,217 the week before (+3%) and the highest since March 3. Those figures were collected from state health departments and, where necessary, estimated based on hospital admissions.
Actual case numbers are higher because many hospitals and states are no longer reporting detailed COVID data. Laboratory testing is also low as most people and doctors are using at-home tests which are not included in official statistics.
1,075 new COVID deaths were reported during the week, the second week in a row with more than 1,000 new deaths. It’s also the seventh week in a row with more than 500 new deaths and the 232nd week with more than 400 new deaths.
So far this year, nearly 4.8 million COVID cases have been reported across the U.S., causing at least 340,153 hospitalizations (limited data) and 37,301 deaths, according to BNO’s COVID data tracker.
We couldn't even normalize mask use while sick.
I just struggle to imagine we'd be in anywhere close to the position we currently are if the rest of the world had followed the example of AES states, particularly China, and had actual serious lockdowns when the WHO declared the pandemic, followed by local lockdowns for local outbreaks, along with mobilizing the military to go door to door handing out food so people wouldnt have to risk going to grocery stores. But the West couldnt abide that, because the line might keep going down for a little while longer. I think the US turning it's working class into a petri dish for COVID mutations was just about the worst possible thing that could've happened, while the entire bourgeoisie kept adhering to COVID precautions. But maybe you're right and we wouldn't have been able to fully stop it regardless. It just bodes very ill for whatever the next pandemic will be.