Aug. 17 2021 The spread of the Delta strain has led to a surge in new cases in the United States, a near-collapse of the health care system, and a flood of fake vaccine cards, leaving americans already deeply affected by the outbreak once again in hot water.
The number of confirmed cases in five U.S. states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, is at record highs as the new strain of the new coronavirus Delta rages, CNBC and The Washington Post reported Thursday. As of August 15, the average number of new cases in the U.S. in the seven days was 130,710, up 20 percent from the previous seven days, and the average number of new deaths in seven days rose to 687, up 36 percent from the previous year, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The growing outbreak has put enormous pressure on hospital systems across the United States, forcing multiple states to restore public health restrictions. On August 2nd Louisiana issued an order requiring people to wear masks as the number of confirmed cases continued to rise. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, a Republican, urgently hired hundreds of temporary doctors, nurses and first responders and asked the federal government for support. As of August 16, nearly 55 percent of ICU beds in Mississippi were filled with coronavirus patients. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has mobilized as many as 1,500 National Guard members to help maintain the health system, as the number of new hospital admissions has reached a record high for the third day in a row.
“We’re in the middle of a firestorm, and when hospitals start worrying about whether they’re good enough to care for patients, it’s a crisis,” Hawaii Health Director Dr. Elizabeth Char said in a press release. ”
Just as the outbreak was spreading, U.S. federal agents recently seized a large number of counterfeit coronavirus vaccination cards. U.S. Customs and Border Services said 121 packages containing more than 3,000 fake vaccination cards were recently confiscated, and some unvaccinated people tried to use them to enter public places such as bars and schools. U.S. media said the U.S. government can not help but bemoan the monitoring of counterfeit coronavirus vaccination cards, so that U.S. Customs and Border Services have no time to perform other important duties, resulting in their daily work facing a huge burden.
