Johns Hopkins University statistics show that as of 20:00 EDT on October 20, there were more than 8.12 million confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the United States, amounting to 8,123,438 cases and 220,921 deaths. While the numbers were already not encouraging, a set of confidential data recently revealed a large number of undisclosed cases in Illinois prisons, schools and meat processing plants, suggesting that the U.S. outbreak may be worse than it looks. And with the epidemic rebounding in the Midwest and Plains, experts are warning that a third wave of the epidemic has arrived.
Classified documents expose the Illinois “underground epidemic.”
According to confidential statewide data obtained by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, prisons, workplaces, schools, and meat processing plants across Illinois are concealing some of the confirmed cases. The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting is an independent, nonprofit news center dedicated to educating the public to better understand the American Midwest.
The center says the unpublished internal data, compiled by the Illinois Department of Health, covers four different time periods from July to September. The state health department, citing relevant laws, has chosen not to release details about where many outbreaks have occurred, but other departments and subordinate local governments regularly announce infections, so there is a trail to follow.
Data obtained by the center shows that the largest source of infection in Illinois is prisons at all levels. The Cook County Jail, which was once considered the worst place in the U.S. for the outbreak, had reported 1,074 confirmed cases as of Sept. 30, the most in a single report. And at 36 different prisons at Crawford Robinson Correctional Facility, at least 3,500 confirmed cases had been reported as of Sept. 30.
The data also showed that the Great Lakes Naval Base had the second largest outbreak in Illinois, with a total of 409 confirmed cases, which increased another 126 percent in September, and those cases were never made public.
As for schools, just weeks into the new school year, more than 100 elementary, middle and high schools have confirmed cases, with the largest outbreak occurring at Sparta Lincoln School in Randolph, where 800 students have been diagnosed. In addition, there are many meat-processing plants that are far more serious than the public knows, and in the five meat-processing and packing plants that have been identified, the actual number of confirmed cases is at least double the number of public reports.
The epidemic is raging in the Midwest and Plains.
The current number of new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the U.S. has risen to the highest level since late July, according to National Public Radio Reports (NPR). And according to NBC, over the past 14 days, new cases have increased in 38 states, Washington and Guam.
Unlike the second wave of the epidemic during the summer, the areas that are currently experiencing faster growth in outbreak data are primarily in the Midwest and Plains. According to NPR’s analysis of official data, the current round of the epidemic raging in the Midwest is the main reason for the rise in overall infections, with the Midwest accounting for one-third of the nation’s new confirmed cases since the fall.
Illinois and Wisconsin, for example, have each seen nearly 20,000 new confirmed cases in the past seven days, which is comparable to a populous state like California. The number of hospitalizations in Wisconsin has more than doubled in the past two weeks, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum previously said, “We’re in the middle of a new crown storm.”
In South Dakota, on the other hand, parts of the state have seen major outbreaks of the disease. In the state’s Gerrard County, which reported no confirmed cases for more than two months from June to August, its new cases in a single day have soared to one of the highest levels in the nation in the past two weeks.
NBC reports that North and South Dakota now have the highest number of weekly infections per capita in the nation. “We’re struggling,” Infectious disease physician Todd Vento said on NBC, “people are doing a heroic job, but they’re getting to the point where they can’t continue.” Already, epidemiologists are warning of a possible “third peak” of the epidemic in the United States, and it is concentrated in the Midwest and the Plains. The New York Times also said that the third wave of the epidemic in the Midwest and Western United States is the most serious.
Along with the outbreak of the epidemic in the Midwest and the Plains, the epidemic in rural areas of the United States has also become the focus. It’s not just a matter of time, but also a matter of time and space, and a matter of time and space.
Texas hospitalizations hit near 2-month high
Also according to local media in Texas, state health officials reported on Oct. 19 that a total of 4,319 new coronary pneumonia patients were treated at the state’s hospitals, the highest number since Aug. 28, when 4,422 patients were admitted.
The Texas Department of Health Services reported that there are now about 82,930 active cases of new coronary pneumonia in the state, an increase of nearly one-third from the 64,431 cases reported on Sept. 20. However, there are reports that the true outbreak in Texas may be more severe, as many people have not yet been tested, in addition to many asymptomatic infections that have not been documented.
Due to concerns about the spread of the outbreak, students in the Houston Public School District, the largest school district in Texas, were previously asked to wear masks and maintain a social distance after opening their campuses. The school district reportedly has 190,000 students, 80,000 of whom have returned to school, and the community is concerned about their health. Houston Public School District Interim Superintendent Greanita Latham said activities on school grounds will also be limited to essential visitors during the school year, hoping to “ensure the safety of staff and students as much as possible.”
In fact, since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic in the United States in mid-March, the Houston public school district has been adopting a fully online approach to teaching. A recent report from the district shows that as of early October, about 197,000 students had taken online classes. The analysis suggests that the Houston Public School District is resuming campus instruction for all grades this time because, according to the Texas Education Agency, the district must restart campus instruction by Nov. 2. But the insistence on opening campuses on such a large scale has still brought the school district into question.
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