Study says number of Covid-19 cases is far greater than thought

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said earlier this month that testing had likely missed 90% or so of cases.

The country remains far from a level that would give the population herd immunity.

Testing overwhelms labs

Labs across the country are now facing what seems like an almost “infinite” demand, one expert says.

“We really do need to improve our turnaround times, primarily in areas and counties of outbreaks,” said Adm. Brett Giroir, a White House coronavirus task force member.

Diagnostic labs are feeling the effects of the spike in cases, with a leading commercial lab saying test results can now take up to two weeks for some patients.

Jennifer Rakeman, assistant commissioner and laboratory director for the New York City Public Health Laboratory, said Tuesday the lack of a national testing strategy is contributing to the delay.

“We need a national testing strategy, so that the limited testing resources we have can be used effectively, so that testing turnaround times can be decreased, so that contact tracing can happen in real time, and so that Covid-19 patients and their contacts can isolate and transmission of the virus can be stopped,” she said during an Alliance for Health Policy Summit.

Vehicles line at a coronavirus testing center in Miami Gardens on Sunday.

“It’s all about distancing. And that’s what actually drove down the numbers last spring,” he said. “We really did create a lot of distancing and until we do that, we’re going to have an impossible time driving this virus down to a level which then we can test and trace on a routine basis like other countries and open up our economy again safely.”

Tightening measures

In Texas, Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez issued a shelter-at-home order following a sharp uptick in cases. The order, which includes a curfew, travel limitations and facial covering requirements, comes as the county’s hospitals have hit capacity, Cortez said.

“To care for the patients that are already with the virus, we need more personnel … meaning doctors, nurses, technicians, respiratory technicians,” the judge told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.

Tuesday on CNN’s “New Day,” Dr. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of medicine, suggested some of the reasons why southern states such as Texas and Florida are seeing increased deaths. “We had 34 deaths in the last 24 hours in not a very large county, so South Texas is just getting hit incredibly hard,” Hotez said. “The hospitals are overwhelmed.”

The US Navy said in a statement Friday it was deploying some 70 medical personnel to support civilian hospitals in Texas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who previously pushed for one of the most aggressive reopenings, has more recently emphasized the importance of masks. He issued a mandate on face coverings earlier this month but has said there will not be another lockdown.

White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said Monday taking the right precautions could be nearly as powerful as another lockdown.

At least 27 states have now halted or rolled back reopening measures in response to soaring cases.

On Tuesday, Arizona reported 134 deaths from Covid-19 over the previous 24 hours, state data show. The highest number of deaths in a day was reported Saturday with 147.

The state, which has been experiencing a surge in cases, improved many of its metrics over the last week. Hospitalizations, ventilator use, and emergency room visits from those with the disease have all decreased from last week’s record levels, the data show.

In Phoenix early Tuesday, people waited in long lines in their cars for tests.

Meanwhile, the number of daily hospitalizations in Los Angeles County hit a new high for the fourth time in a week on Monday, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the county’s public health director.

In Florida, the availability of intensive care unit beds statewide is 15.98%, according to the Agency for Healthcare Administration. On Monday, it was 18.1%.

There are 54 hospitals in 27 counties that have no ICU beds left.

Governor says children are ‘going to get over it’

In the city of Miami, summer camps will close this week after at least three children contracted Covid-19, Mayor Francis Suarez announced during a news conference Tuesday. The closure will be effective this week.

President Donald Trump has said he’s pressuring governors to reopen classrooms.

But on Tuesday, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said the country needs to lower the transmission rate to reopen schools.

Speaking on “CBS This Morning,” Adams said, “The biggest determinant of whether or not we can go back to school actually has little to nothing to do with the actual schools — it’s your background transmission rate.”

Adams said lowering the transmission rate will also help teachers — and adults living with school-age children — stay safe.

“We know the risk is low to the actual students. But we know they can transmit to others. … We need to take measures to make sure we protect those who are vulnerable either because they are older or they have chronic medical conditions.”

In Missouri, Gov. Mike Parson said Monday the state has to move forward with sending children back, saying the students are the “least likely to have a problem” if they contract the coronavirus.

“And if they do get Covid-19, which they will — and they will when they go to school — they’re not going to the hospitals. They’re not going to have to sit in doctor’s offices. They’re going to go home and they’re going to get over it,” he said on a radio interview.

Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by end of the year, official says

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca could be available “any time from September onward” if all goes well in clinical trials, Mene Pangalos, an executive vice president at AstraZeneca, told the House Oversight subcommittee on Tuesday.

Pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working to develop Covid-19 vaccines spoke about their researchers’ progress in Congress. Many said they are still on track to have a possible vaccine by the end of the year.

“We would hope in the fall or towards the end of the year we’d have data to submit to the FDA for them to make a determination on whether to approve,” Dr. Stephen Hoge, president of Moderna, said during Tuesday’s hearing.

The companies Johnson & Johnson and Merck appeared to have longer timelines. Representatives for those companies said in the hearing that their goals remain to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine next year if all goes well in trials.

Correction: This story has been updated to give the most recent record for daily deaths reported in Arizona.