A Quarter Of A Million Have Been Killed By Coronavirus In U.S.

ACROSS AMERICA — The United States has reached another a somber milestone, becoming the first country to report 250,000 coronavirus deaths. The nation surpassed the quarter-million mark Wednesday afternoon. Only two other countries, Brazil and India, have reported more than 100,000 deaths.

The milestone comes during a week that has already seen the highest daily national death toll in six months. And it is only going to get worse, health officials have said.

"The horrible death count that we saw yesterday in the United States reflects the number of people who were being infected three weeks ago — two to three weeks ago — because that's the lag," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine said Wednesday on CNN.

Hoping to stave off as many deaths and hospitalizations as possible, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday announced the closure of all school buildings and a halt to in-person learning, based on the city's virus positivity rate rising above 3 percent.

De Blasio stressed the move to all-remote learning likely will be temporary and said officials soon will unveil plans for how school buildings can reopen.

Earlier Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first at-home test capable of detecting the coronavirus. The announcement was made the same day that one of several pharmaceutical companies seeking to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus announced it would submit its candidate for emergency approval.

The test, developed by California-based company Lucira Health, could pave the way for more widespread testing outside of health care settings. The test requires a prescription from a health care provider, according to a New York Times report. Also, people under the age of 14 can’t perform the test on themselves.

The test, which is administered by nasal swab, can return results in about a half-hour and is projected by the company to cost $50 or less, according to the product’s website.

Meanwhile, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said his company has collected the data needed to ensure its coronavirus vaccine candidate is safe.

The company on Tuesday said its vaccine is 95 percent effective at preventing the coronavirus, and plans to file an application for emergency authorization “within days,” according to a news release from the companies.

Tuesday's announcement makes Pfizer the first company to file for an emergency use authorization for its vaccine candidate with the FDA.

Pfizer joins drugmaker Moderna, which on Monday said its vaccine candidate is almost 95 percent effective. The preliminary results from Moderna's vaccine study come as part of the Trump administration's "Operation Warp Speed" effort to find a vaccine as quickly as possible. Pfizer's vaccine effort was developed separately from Operation Warp Speed.

Also Tuesday, the office of Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley announced he tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. As president pro tempore, the 87-year-old Republican is third in line to the presidency following Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

He was not experiencing any symptoms, his office said.

In response to growing cases, more states are imposing new mandates and restrictions in an attempt to curb the surge in cases. In Ohio on Tuesday, Gov. Mike DeWine enacted an overnight curfew for businesses that will last at least three weeks.

In Chicago, new limits on gatherings, along with a non-binding stay-at-home advisory, took effect in the city on Monday.

Two states in particular — North Dakota and South Dakota — are consistently reporting record coronavirus case numbers per capita. Weekly numbers from The New York Times show North Dakota reporting 176.7 cases per every 100,000 people and South Dakota reporting 160.9 using the same metric. Iowa is the state reporting the next-highest number at 134.4.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who previously called mask mandates a "feel-good" measure, have backpedaled on previous opposition by issuing more statewide restrictions. However, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has shown no sign of budging from her hands-off approach to the pandemic.

In other states, new restrictions on social gatherings and other activities have been put into effect including in Washington, Michigan and New Jersey.

“I must again pull back the reins,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday as he restricted indoor gatherings to 10 people, down from 25. “It gives me no joy.”

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the coronavirus situation "has never been more dire" in announcing additional restrictions in that state.

"As the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors, the virus will spread and more people will get sick, and there will be more fatalities."

On Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, warned against the dangers of a state-by-state response to the spike in cases. Instead, he called for a more national, uniform approach.

“We need some fundamental public health measures that everyone should be adhering to, not a disjointed, ‘One state says one thing, the other state says another thing,’” Fauci said while speaking to The New York Times at a DealBook virtual conference.

Fauci's remarks suggest his thinking is in line with that of President-elect Joe Biden, who this week issued a somber warning to Americans as the Trump administration continues to withhold cooperation during the presidential transition.

“More people may die if we don’t coordinate,” Biden told reporters during a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware, as the nation recorded its 247,000th coronavirus-related death on Monday.

Biden and his aides have emphasized the importance of being briefed on White House efforts to control the pandemic and distribute prospective vaccines, according to The Associated Press. The Trump administration is working on its own distribution plan, while Biden’s chief of staff indicated his transition team will proceed with its own planning separately because of the obstruction.

The Latest Numbers

At least 1,441 new coronavirus deaths and 159,638 new cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to a Washington Post database. The United States has seen a 23 percent increase in cases over the last seven days.

As of Wednesday, 45 states and Puerto Rico remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days

Almost 11.5 million people in the United States had tested positive for the coronavirus as of Wednesday evening, and more than 250,000 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or Washington Post.

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