Coronavirus Is Surging In the U.S. Midwest. Here ’s What’s Going on Across the Region

The epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus epidemic is a moving target. In the spring, it was New York City. Then Florida, Texas and California became hotspots. And now, with fall approaching, the outbreak has a new locus: the Midwest. Daily coronavirus cases and deaths are trending downward nationally after a spike this summer. There were about 34,000 new cases of coronavirus and about 600 deaths on Aug. 31—decreases of about 12% and 30%, respectively, compared to two weeks ago. But the Midwest is an exception to the trend. It is the country’s only region where daily case counts are rising in nearly every state—and in some in the area, like the Dakotas and Iowa, they’re increasing dramatically. “It was only a matter of time,” says Dr. Leana Wen, a public health professor at George Washington University who previously served as Baltimore’s health commissioner. “Essentially, we’re playing Whac-A-Mole. One part of the country is a hotspot. We’re able to suppress that. But that wave then moves to a different part of the country.” It took months for the virus to move from densely populated, urban travel hubs to more sparsely populated rural communities. Now, a combination of tourism, reopened businesses and returns to school seem to be allowing the virus to take root in the Midwest. “We had a couple of localized outbreaks, but this is our first real evidence of strong community spread,” says Victor Huber, ...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news