Biden's COVID adviser predicts that 'many who spent Thanksgiving with loved ones will be in ICU by Christmas' as post-holiday hospitalizations hit record 91,635 and Fauci warns of 'a surge upon the surge'
The number of COVID-19 patients currently being treated in hospitals across the United States nearly doubled in the last month, breaching 91,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend.
As of Saturday 91,635 Americans were hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The rate of hospitalizations - now at the highest level since the pandemic began - comes after weeks of rising infection rates nationwide, with 16 states reporting record numbers of daily new cases on Thursday and Friday.
Doctors and health officials fear the US is in for a dark few weeks with cases and deaths expected to climb rapidly because of holiday gatherings and travel.
Dr Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, offered a grave warning about forthcoming spikes on Saturday - after millions of Americans traveled for Thanksgiving against the advice of public health officials.
'We fully expect that in about a week or two after Thanksgiving we will see an increase in cases first, then about a week or two later you'll start to see an increase in hospitalizations, and then another week or two after that you'll start to see deaths,' Gounder told CBS News, noting that symptoms of the virus can develop up to 14 days after exposure.
'Unfortunately, that means that many people who celebrated with family, with friends over Thanksgiving will find themselves in the hospital, in ICUs over Christmas and New Years,' she added.
Dr Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, warned on Saturday that many Americans who celebrated Thanksgiving with family and friends could end up in the hospital or ICU by Christmas
The number of COVID-19 patients currently being treated in hospitals across the US nearly doubled in the last month, reaching 91,635 on Saturday, according to the COVID Tracking Project
Nationwide 155,596 new cases and 1,189 deaths were reported Saturday, bringing the totals to over 13.2 million and 266,074, respectively. Daily figures over the past few days have been skewed by inconsistencies in reporting around Thanksgiving
Nationwide 155,596 new cases and 1,189 deaths were reported on Saturday, bringing the totals to over 13.2 million and 266,074, respectively. Daily figures over the past few days have been skewed by inconsistencies in reporting around Thanksgiving.
Health experts and politicians pleaded with Americans to avoid gathering for traditional communal Thanksgiving feasts this year, warning that socializing between households would accelerate the rate of community transmission and put even more stress on an already overwhelmed healthcare system.
While some heeded those warnings and spent Thanksgiving with family via video calls, others chose to travel anyway.
On the day before Thanksgiving, typically one of the busiest travel days of the year in the United States, more than 1.07 million people passed through US airports - the most of any single day since the start of the pandemic, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Nearly six million Americans traveled by air in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, the TSA said, a number that is however less than half that of the same period last year.
While it will take weeks for the holiday fallout to become clear, the numbers in many states are already concerning.
Thirty states posted record daily new cases in the days before Thanksgiving and 16 saw records on Thursday and Friday. Those 16 are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.
The seven-day rolling average for US deaths is currently just over 1,400 and the average for daily infections is just shy of 160,400.
On the day before Thanksgiving more than 1.07 million people passed through US airports - the most of any single day since the start of the pandemic, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Pictured: Passengers line up at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport on the eve of Thanksgiving
With cases, hospitalizations and deaths already skyrocketing across the US, health officials are warning the worst is yet to come given the true impact of Thanksgiving travel and gatherings won't be seen for a few weeks like with other holidays
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned on Sunday that the US could experience 'a surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in' as a result of people ignoring guidance about Thanksgiving gatherings.
But Fauci emphasized that 'it's not too late to do something about this', urging people to be careful as they travel back home and adhere to quarantine guidelines.
He said he expects vaccines to be rolled out by the end of December, which could help curb the spread of the virus as well.
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned on Sunday that the US could experience 'a surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in' as a result of people ignoring guidance about Thanksgiving gatherings
'If we can hang together as a country and do these kinds of things to blunt these surges until we get a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated, we can get through this,' Fauci told Meet The Press.
'There really is light at the end of the tunnel.'
Gounder, an infectious diseases specialist and epidemiologist at NYU's Grossman School of Medicine, was less optimistic about the next few weeks when she spoke to CBS News about an expected influx in hospitalizations.
'Healthcare workers have now been fighting this for months, they too would like a break for the holidays to see their own family within their household bubbles,' she said.
'Normally we have skeleton crews functioning in the hospital to allow for that to happen. Unfortunately, I think some people are going to find themselves having to work the holidays to meet the surge.'
America's hospitalization rate has risen steadily over the past three weeks, which saw 17 straight days of record daily increases from November 10.
Total current hospitalizations breached 91,000 just two days after a CDC forecast predicted that the US could see another 57,000 COVID-19 deaths in the next two weeks, with a total of 294,000 to 321,000 by December 19.
In that week alone, there is forecast to be up 21,000 deaths reported. The agency creates its forecast using predictions from 36 modeling groups across the country.
America's hospitalization rate has risen steadily over the past three weeks, which saw 17 straight days of record daily increases from November 10. Pictured: A medical staff member tends to a COVID-19 patient at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, on Thanksgiving
In an effort to mitigate the winter COVID-19 wave, more than 20 states have issued new restrictions, including mask mandates and limiting capacity of bars, restaurants and houses of worship.
The US Supreme Court ruled against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's restrictions on religious gatherings on Wednesday, voting 5-4 late in favor of requests by a Roman Catholic Diocese and two Orthodox Jewish congregations for an injunction to block the capacity restrictions from being enforced.
Cuomo dismissed the ruling as 'irrelevant', saying it related to houses of worship in specific areas that were no longer considered at high risk.
However, the ruling could have broader implications for houses of worship appealing capacity restrictions elsewhere.
Earlier last week, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the latest COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings in the nation's capital also applied to indoor religious services, reducing capacity from 100 people to 50 people, with a maximum 50 percent.
It was not immediately clear if the curbs would be challenged following the Supreme Court ruling.
The CDC's latest forecast is predicting a total of 294,000 to 321,000 COVID-19 deaths by December 19. In that week alone, there is forecast to be up 21,000 deaths reported. The agency creates its forecast using predictions from 36 modeling groups across the country
