USA 10,000 infected in a week, as Delta variant spreads
According to the L.A. reports coronavirus hits alarming levels, with 10,000 infected in a week, as Delta variant spreads is now recording more than 10,000 coronavirus cases a week a pace not seen since March an alarming sign of the dangers the Delta variant poses to people who have not been vaccinated and heightening pressure on health officials to reverse the trend.
A Los Angeles Times data analysis found L.A. County was recording 101 weekly coronavirus cases for every 100,000 residents, up from 12 for the seven-day period that ended June 15. That means the county has surpassed the threshold to have “high” community transmission of the disease, the worst tier as defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A region must hit 100 or more weekly cases per 100,000 residents to enter the worst tier.
It’s still far fewer than during the deadly winter surge, when L.A. County was recording more than 1,000 weekly cases for every 100,000 residents, but it underscores growing concerns that unvaccinated people are at heightened risk.
Increased circulation of the virus means that vaccinated people will be more likely to encounter an unvaccinated, contagious person in the community, and that means there’s a higher risk of a “breakthrough” infection. Breakthrough infections are already quite rare, but even if they do happen, it’s not likely that vaccinated people who are infected will need hospitalization.
Nonetheless, even a COVID-19 illness that doesn’t require hospitalization can still be disruptive to daily life, requiring notification of close contacts, canceling work activities and social life, and can be a “bummer,” Chin-Hong said.
“By increasing the virus in the community, you increase the chances that people who are vaccinated will get infected, and therefore spread it to unvaccinated people,” Chin-Hong said.
At least four people died while attending a weekend country music festival in southern Michigan, including three men who likely succumbed to carbon monoxide exposure inside a travel trailer, authorities said Saturday.
Two more men were in critical condition at a hospital from the same exposure, the Lenawee County sheriff’s office said. The five men were in their early 20s.
A concerned friend called 911 around 1:30 p.m. when he had not heard from them during the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway, 80 miles west of Detroit. They were staying at a campground outside the festival grounds in Woodstock Township.
“This tragic incident is being investigated as a suspected carbon monoxide exposure from a generator located very near the travel trailer,” the sheriff’s office said on Twitter.
Separately, state police reported the death of a 30-year-old woman, Melissa Havens of Croswell.
The cause and manner was unknown, state police said, although investigators were looking for a suspect.
“Detectives want the public to know there is no danger or threats to people attending” the music festival, state police said.
