‘Worst-case scenario’ is coming, expert warns

For months, health experts have said that to prevent spread of the virus, people should keep their distance from others, wash their hands and wear their masks. As they learned more about this coronavirus and the disease it causes — Covid-19 — officials have amended their recommendations.

“Because the highest risk for transmission has been documented among household contacts of Covid-19 patients, keeping the household safe requires physical distancing, using the other public health strategies summarized here, and, in particular, consistent and correct use of face masks (outside the household and in some circumstances within the household) to prevent introduction and transmission of (the virus),” the CDC said.

The CDC also said that while face coverings should be worn to cut down on possible transmission of the virus, they also can provide some protection to the person wearing one.

Officials have cautioned that coronavirus cases will rise during the winter as more people stay inside, and as people gather for holidays.

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths are at an all-time high, but vaccines will help once they are authorized.

States are now preparing to roll out the vaccines to frontline health care workers and people at long-term care facilities. Ohio was one of the states that on Friday released its plan.

“During Phase 1, vaccine supply will be limited, and Ohio will focus on vaccinating those who wish to be vaccinated in the critical Phase 1A groups,” according to a news release from the office of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

Ohio expects to receive 660,000 doses in before the end of December.

In New Jersey, where hospitals are preparing to receive 76,000 doses of the vaccine in the first shipment, Gov. Phil Murphy called vaccine distribution a “game changer.” But he warned New Jerseyans not to expect restrictions to be lifted soon.

“Covid isn’t going to simply vanish just because there are vaccine doses in a freezer waiting for distribution,” Murphy told reporters.

Fauci: ‘Full brunt’ of Thanksgiving not yet felt

Hospitals nationwide have yet to see the effects that Thanksgiving gatherings and travel could bring, with another surge projected in the coming weeks.

On NBC’s “Today” on Friday, Dr. Anthony Fauci said the “full brunt” of Thanksgiving coronavirus cases won’t be clear for another week or two.

“We’ll see more of the surge as we get two to three weeks past (and) it butts right up on the Christmas holiday, as people start to travel and shop and congregate,” Fauci said.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he accepted President-elect Joe Biden’s offer to serve as his chief medical adviser “right on the spot.”

Fauci said he supports as a “good idea” Biden’s plan to suggest all Americans wear a mask for the first 100 days of his presidency.

Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of the Biden-Harris transition Covid-19 advisory board, said the incoming administration doesn’t plan a national shutdown.

“Shutdowns, or lockdowns, are really not on the table, at least not from the Biden-Harris team. We really view this as restrictions that you dial up or dial down based on the local epidemiology,” Gounder said.

Health care systems under stress

Leading health officials say rising cases will be followed by more hospitalizations that could cripple health care systems across the country. Hospitals and experts all over the US are sounding the alarm.

Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer of CommonSpirit Health, which runs hospitals in 21 states, told CNN that all its hospitals are getting more patients.

“We are now up to roughly 2,100 positive cases in our hospitals. That’s an increase of almost 70% since November 11,” O’Quinn said. “We’re seeing about 70 to 100 new cases every day.”

In Pennsylvania, just under 5,000 people are hospitalized with Covid-19, and two parts of the state are inching closer to staffing shortages, Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said Thursday.

“It is so important to remember that all of us have to be mindful, that we all have a role to play in what is happening in the hospitals right now,” Levine said. “You might not need hospital care right now; you might not have a loved one in the hospital right now. But what is happening in our hospitals has a direct impact on you.”

In the past two months, the positivity rate in Miami-Dade County, Florida, has spiked 91%, the county’s Chief Medical Officer Peter Paige said Friday. Hospitalizations spiked 139%.

Maryland health officials reported 3,792 new Covid-19 cases Friday, breaking the state’s previous record for daily cases, said the Department of Health.

This is the first time Maryland has passed 3,000 cases in a day, CNN’s tally shows.

Growing acceptance of masks, vaccine

Most US adults — 72% — say it bothers them when people in public do not wear masks, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center. Far fewer adults — 28% — say it bothers them at least somewhat when stores require customers to wear masks for service.

Results showed 87% say they have worn a mask or face covering “all or most of the time” in stores and businesses over the past month. That includes 91% of Democrats and 81% of Republicans.

Pew also reported that 60% of respondents now say that if a Covid-19 vaccine were available today, they would take it.

Among those not willing to get the vaccine, about half of them — or 18% of US adults — say it’s possible they could decide to get vaccinated once more information becomes available, but 21% of US adults are “pretty certain” more information will not change their mind.

The survey was conducted between November 18 and 29 and included 12,648 respondents.

The Department of Health and Human Services launched its national ad campaign promoting awareness about forthcoming vaccines with a modest $150,000 ad buy on YouTube.

New strict measures

But six governments in the Bay Area aren’t waiting.

“It takes several weeks for new restrictions to slow rising hospitalizations and waiting until only 15% of a region’s ICU beds are available is just too late,” said San Francisco Health Officer Dr. Tomás Aragon. “Many heavily impacted parts of our region already have less than 15% of ICU beds available, and the time to act is now.”

California added 22,018 new Covid-19 cases Friday, topping the state’s all-time high for daily positives that was set earlier this week. The total number of confirmed cases is 1.2 million.