COVID's Spread. Why?

 

Ask the question!

According to reports in the NY Times:

Michigan’s coronavirus outbreak is the worst in America, with more than 7,000 new cases daily.

But with residents weary of restrictions, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, above this month, has avoided calling for another lockdown and is instead appealing to personal responsibility. Her position reflects the shifting politics of the pandemic, which is increasingly being shaped by growing public impatience and the hope offered by vaccines. As Governor Whitmer struggles with pandemic politics, the rest of us can learn from her dilemma. Perhaps, she just needs to do the right thing, and follow the advice of those who know what they are doing when it comes to the pandemic.

 

What can journalists do? 

The most important question is Why? Follow that up with, what's next.?

We should be asking why? Why is the spread so bad in Michigan? 

Then we should be asking what should we do to mitigate the spread?

Look for benchmarks. Look for places where infection rates remain low and ask why.

The answers are needed to help deflect the next surge, because surely, it is coming.

Why

• New COVID-19 cases have risen to about 65,000 per day over the past week.
• Experts are concerned this new rise in cases could signal the beginning of a new COVID-19 spike due to relaxed restrictions, more infectious variants of the virus, and large social gatherings.
• Vaccinations are beginning to help ease the pandemic, but experts say the public still needs to adhere to safety protocols to avoid an even bigger surge in cases over the coming weeks.  Healthline.com

According to the CDC, A review of the week's key data from CDC's COVID Data Tracker, cases were reported as of April 7, 2021, including 74,860 new cases. Daily Trends in Number of New COVID-19 Hospital Admissions in the United States.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, told Healthline that new cases are still too high and he’s concerned about what may lie ahead.

“We have not yet achieved control of the spread of this virus,” he said. “The even more contagious variant strains are accelerating the spread of the infection along with the increasingly carefree behavior of many — not using their masks, going to bars, gathering in groups.”

“Younger adults now are becoming the ‘dreaded spreaders’ in our communities,” he explained. “They go to gatherings, such as in bars, share the virus in those venues, and then spread the virus further at home and in their neighborhoods.”

“We all need to maintain social distancing and wearing masks for a bit longer,” he added.

Schaffner said there are concerns about new “double variants” that are appearing, especially among children.

However, he added that there’s a way to defeat these latest variants.

“The more we look, the more variants we will find,” he said. “Fortunately, most of them, including the new ‘double variant,’ can be prevented by vaccination and social distancing. As we vaccinate more and more people, the virus will have fewer opportunities to mutate and create variants.”

Three Reasons?

According to Dr. Calvin Sun, an NYC-based emergency medicine physician, there are three main factors driving this recent uptick: the virus mutating, the rolling back of safety measures, and the recent increase in travel.  yahoo financial