A predicted increase in COVID-19 cases as cold weather approaches in the Northern Hemisphere seems to be underway.
New global cases have climbed to 330,000 per day, with Europe and the U.S. experiencing a worrying uptick.
The U.S. recorded more than 64,000 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the highest daily tally since July.
The World Health Organization’s European director says 1,000 people a day are dying from COVID-19 on the continent and more than a million new COVID-19 cases have been identified in the last ten days.
Hans Kluge also said the impact of the coronavirus-caused disease this winter could be minimized in Europe if mask wearing increased from the current 60% to 95% of the population and if social distancing were strictly observed.
America’s top infectious disease expert told Americans to rethink their Thanksgiving plans for late November when many people traditionally travel through teeming transportation centers, such as bus depots, train stations, and airports to be with their families.
“If you have vulnerable people, the elderly or people that have underlying conditions, you better consider whether you want to do that now,” Fauci told ABC News. He suggested people perhaps delay plans and “just ... wait” until the pandemic is under control.
“We really have to be careful this time that each individual family evaluates the risk-benefit,” Fauci added.
On Saturday, France will begin a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew for the region of Paris and at least seven other cities, including Lyon, Grenoble, Aix-en-Provence, Montpellier, Lille, Rouen and Saint-Étienne. The curfew will remain in effect for at least four weeks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and governors of the country’s 16 states have agreed to impose a new round of nationwide restrictions after seeing record-high new COVID-19 cases. The restrictions include the early closure of bars and restaurants and limiting the number of people allowed to gather in public.
Northern Ireland has announced a nationwide four-week lockdown, with schools closed for two weeks and all pubs and restaurants closed for the full month, except for pickup and delivery of food.
London is about to be put under the second level of the government’s new three-tiered coronavirus alert system, which designates areas as medium, high and very high risk. The city of Liverpool has been placed under the highest tier, leading officials to close all restaurants and bars.
There are now nearly 39 million worldwide COVID-19 cases and more than a million people have died from the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
