COVID-19 rebounds in some places

As many as 20 million Americans have contracted the coronavirus, according to U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials on Thursday. Though the official count of confirmed U.S. cases is about 2.4 million, “our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually are 10 more infections,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said on a call with reporters.

What does that mean for public health? The estimates show the COVID-19 pandemic remains a serious threat to the United States. Hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests are rising in many parts of the country, while 12 states showed recent increases in the number of daily deaths. States such as Washington, California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Virginia have mandated people wear face coverings in public. But the country’s preparedness to handle outbreaks of the virus has drastically improved since March, Redfield noted.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew about Congress’ review of the White House coronavirus response so far.