Researchers say the true number of Americans infected with coronavirus is more than double the official numbers because viral outbreaks have been reported among Capitol Police and staff the National Guard in Washington, DC.
According to a new model by the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, approximately 17 percent of the population in the United States has been infected with COVID-19.
That estimate is significantly higher than official government data which shows that only 7 percent of Americans have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
According to a new model by the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, about 17 percent of the population in the United States – amounting to more than 55 million people – has been infected with COVID-19
The IHME estimates that, by May 1, the cumulative death toll in the United States will reach nearly 569,000 people
But the IHME also predicts that the daily death toll will fall due to the spread of the coronavirus vaccine
IHME researchers say the daily infection rate will also fall sharply in the spring if routine projections of vaccine distribution are maintained.
On Sunday, nearly 25.1 million Americans were diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to the latest statistics from Johns Hopkins University.
Of those, more than 418,000 have died.
If the IHME estimates are inaccurate, the actual number of Americans infected with the coronavirus exceeds 55 million.
The IHME model assumes that the current test does not detect all COVID-19 cases present in the population.
The latest data also shows a drop in the number of cases reported per day. Last week, there were 211,600 new cases of COVID-19 per day – down from 243,500 from the previous week.
But the number of daily deaths in the past week has risen – from 3,160 per day two weeks ago to 3,240 per day last week.
Meanwhile, the union representing Capitol Police officers says at least 38 officers have been positive for COVID-19 since the January 6 MAGA riot. Capitol police officers can be seen above at the Capitol on January 8th
Soldiers can be seen high up outside the Capitol on Monday. Up to 200 National Guard members deployed to Washington DC have tested positive for COVID-19, raising fears that the defense imposed following the Capitol riot sparked a ‘superspreader’ incident
National Guard soldiers sleep on the grass on the east face of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday
Members of the National Guard rest in the Capitol Visitor Center. Nearly 26,000 troops were sent to the Capitol from all 50 states after the January 6 uprising
IHME researchers estimate that the total number of deaths in the U.S. will reach 569,000 on May 1 – or about 151,000 more cumulative deaths from January 19 to May 1.
The model predicts that daily mortality is likely to be relatively stable at around 3,250 per day on average until early February.
Estimates also find that the distribution of the coronavirus vaccine will save 42,800 lives. A quick release saved 52 52,400 lives that would have been lost without a vaccine.
Focusing rapid deployment on high-risk populations would save 59,800 lives, according to IHME researchers.
Meanwhile, more than three dozen Capitol police officers have been positive for coronavirus since the January 6 MAGA outbreak.
A police union representative told CNN on Sunday that 38 officers were infected with COVID-19, although it is unclear how many of them were on duty during the attack.
At least four Democratic lawyers said they tested positive for COVID-19 after the mob attack.
Democrats blame Republican for not wearing masks while sheltering in safe havens on Jan. 6, when violent supporters of Republican President Donald Trump blocked the building .
But only Democrats have reported that they are positive as a result of the crisis so far.
At the same time, up to 200 members of the National Guard deployed to the country’s capital have also been positive for COVID-19, raising fears that the protections imposed by the involved after Capitol riot ‘superspreader’ incident.
Three National Guard sources told Politico that more than 100 soldiers have been positive while hundreds more are quarantined in hotels after showing signs or being exposed to the virus.
Reuters then reported that between 150 and 200 tested positive, according to an anonymous U.S. official.
The attackers have blamed a failure by the National Guard to implement coronavirus testing and social distance protocols fairly across the board, with some soldiers failing to be tested when they arrive , some receive only temperature checks and some have been asked to cut or skim a short quarantine entirely in order to report for duty.
It is not yet known the full extent of the problem as the Guard has not determined the number of infections or which state soldiers have been affected by an outbreak.
But it comes after horrific images showed up to 5,000 Guards sleeping on the floor of a full parking garage on Thursday night.
Nearly 26,000 troops were sent to the Capitol from all 50 states after the January 6 uprising to support Capitol police in defending the American seat of democracy and the assassination of President Joe Biden. import from attack.
Thousands of soldiers have already begun returning to their home states with just 10,600 soldiers still on duty in the Capitol.
It is also unclear how many soldiers have already left DC or been tested before they left, amid concerns that – if infected – the virus could spread like wildfire. across the country as the soldiers return to their home states.
One member of the Guard told Politico that most of the infections came from the home stations of the units and were recorded among asymptomatic people.
They said leadership had tried to establish a complete plan to test all soldiers on arrival and before they return home.
But several members said units were provided with no clear instructions about exams before they arrived in DC, when they arrived or when they returned to their home states.
One member of the National Guard told Politico that they had not been tested for COVID-19 when they arrived at the Capitol and that they were immediately packed in ‘like sardines’.
‘Just after the holidays they put us together as sardines in buses and rooms for this,’ said the member of the Guard.
Two members of the Guard also stated that a number of units had not been tested.
They said they did not go through a temperature check but were asked questions if they had been exposed to the virus.
Others had to go out to try to find their own trials, a Washington DC member told the uprising.
In addition to a lack of testing, sources talked about inability to socialize and poor compliance with CDC quarantine rules.
One defender told the outside soldiers exposed to the virus through their colleagues that they were told not to bother quarantine or cut short because they needed duty.
The CDC recommends that people who are exposed to the quarantine virus even after a negative test because tests may not detect the virus in the first few days of the infection.
These instructions were disregarded, ‘said the member of the Guard.
Another defense member said it was ‘almost impossible’ for soldiers to use social distance while on duty in the halls of Congress, DC military and the parking garages.
Another described the scenes as a ‘sitcom’ with so little space that they had to ‘scavenge’ for space in halls.
‘You should have seen late states scouring for space,’ he said.
‘It would have made a great sitcom: people literally making offices out of halls and any empty space.’