Topline
While President Trump has continued to insist in the final leg of the election that the U.S. is “rounding the turn” on the coronavirus pandemic—sourcing record-breaking case numbers to increased testing—the White House Coronavirus Task Force member in charge of the country’s testing efforts says hospitalization trends prove otherwise.
Adm. Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services, wearing a face mask departs ... [+]
Key Facts
“It’s not just a function of testing,” said Admiral Brett Giroir, the Trump administration’s testing czar, of rising case numbers in a Wednesday morning interview on NBC’s “Today” show, explaining: “We know that, too, because hospitalizations are going up.”
More than seven months into the pandemic, the U.S. has been breaking its own sombre records—most recently, on Tuesday, reporting its highest rolling seven-day average of new daily cases, topping 70,000.
Furthermore, 29 states, spanning the entire country, have reported a record number of cases over the past week.
Nonetheless, Trump, battling slipping favor in the polls in the final week of the presidential election, has accused the media of fear-mongering about a public health crisis he characterizes as halfway out the door, telling supporters once again at a Tuesday rally the reason the U.S. has “so many cases” is “because we test more.”
The White House science office even listed “ending the Covid-19 pandemic” as one of the Trump administration’s top accomplishments on its website.
However, as Giroir said, hospitalization trends tell a different story, with a Tuesday analysis from CNBC showing 36 states have reported a concerning rise in the number of hospitalized patients over the past week and The New York Times calculating an estimated 46% rise in the number of people hospitalized from a month ago.
Big Number
44,212. That’s the number of people currently hospitalized in the U.S. with Covid-19, according to data from The Atlantic’s Covid tracking project. Of those, 8,909 are currently in the ICU and 2,287 are currently on a ventilator.
Crucial Quote
Giroir said the U.S. is at “another critical point” in its response to the pandemic, encouraging people to wear masks and social distance. The testing chief also insisted that a vaccine is “around the corner.”
Key Background
The coronavirus pandemic has become a critical issue in the run-up to Election Day. While the Trump administration has tried to downplay this most recent surge in cases, positioning the pandemic as under control, the campaign team for Democratic nominee Joe Biden has fixated on Trump’s management of the health crisis as ammo for a November win. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg pumped an estimated $15 million into a last-minute ad blitz in red states centering around the coronavirus pandemic.
Further Reading
“White House Lists ‘Ending’ Covid-19 Pandemic As Trump Accomplishment” (Forbes)
“Trump Said U.S. Was ‘Rounding The Final Turn’ On Aug. 31 – And On 39 Of The 57 Days Since” (Forbes)
“How the Surging Virus Has Crashed Into Campaigning in Every Imaginable Way” (The New York Times)
