In the US, more than 700,000 dead from COVID-19
The United States passed the dark threshold of 700,000 COVID-19 deaths Friday evening as more than 2,000 Americans die per day from the virus. Soon it will be winter, indoor venues will draw crowds, people will go inside to socialize. And 800,000 deaths — or even 1 million — is possible. The U.S. reached 600,000 deaths in June, when daily deaths had dropped to under 400 and many were optimistic the end was near for the ruthless world crisis, at least at home. Vaccines were widely available to all American adults and teens. But three-plus months and 100,000 deaths later, millions have lost interest in the fight.
Will the pandemic ever end? Masks and social distancing were the world’s first remedy, but every time the curve of infections – then deaths – headed down, a “surge” pushed it back up. Ogbonnaya Omenka, an associate professor and public health specialist at Butler University in Indianapolis, said it’s difficult to anticipate what comes next because of the “myriad uncertainties” surrounding the virus and American reaction to it. “But if we don’t get things under control, that is tantamount to allowing all the numbers to keep rising,” Omenka warned.
