COVID Is Resurging, and This Time It's Everywhere

The Wall Street Journal reports that with a third surge of COVID-19 erupting in the United States, many public-health authorities warn the virus is so spread that pervasive new measures are needed to contain it. Johns Hopkins University said new infections topped 177,224 last Friday, while the COVID Tracking Project estimated that people hospitalized with COVID-19 reached 69,455 on Saturday. Surge factors cited by epidemiologists include colder weather driving people indoors; the return of students to college campuses; recommended but not mandated public-health measures like mask-wearing; mixed messages about the dangers of the virus; and pandemic fatigue. Now people are spreading the virus not only at large gatherings, but when they let their diligence slip by not wearing masks, going about their daily routines, or in smaller social settings they considered safe. Although most new cases are centered in the Midwest, even states and cities that had reduced the virus to low levels are struggling with spiking infections. Some state officials have imposed tougher measures, including stricter mask regulations and tighter limits for gatherings. Officials in Wisconsin and Chicago issued stay-at-home advisories, while Vermont's governor banned all public and private social gatherings outside of members of the same household. "I think at this point we actually know enough — we've learned a lot — that we're not going to have to be quite so draconian in our measures," said Celine Gounder at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and Bellevue Hospital.