Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Rochelle WalenskyRochelle Walensky New COVID-19 Cases Among Nursing Home Residents Fallen By 80 Percent In A Month Poll: Majority Says Teachers Should Be Vaccinated Before Reopening Schools New Yorkers Must Wear Double Mask Until June At Least, De Blasio Says MORE warned Friday that the recent declines in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths “may be stalling”, calling the trends a “very worrying shift.”
CDC data shows that the number of new cases has declined dramatically in recent weeks, from a peak of about 250,000 a day in mid-January to about 60,000 a day.
But now, after weeks of falling, the number of new cases has started to rise again in recent days and is generally still at a very high level, with around 66,000 new cases per day.
“The latest data suggests that these declines may be stalling and possibly leveling off at a still very high number,” Walensky said at a White House briefing. “We at CDC see this as a very worrying shift in the trajectory.”
Several states have relaxed restrictions on areas such as restaurant capacity, and in some cases mask mandates. Walensky urged states not to lift the restrictions, without mentioning one in particular.
“Things are thin,” she said. “This is not the time to relax restrictions.”
More contagious variants, especially one first identified in the UK, pose a risk of another spike.
“We can now see the first effects of these variants in the most recent data,” Walensky said.
She also noted new research on additional variants in New York and California that “also seem to spread more easily” and “make the situation more urgent.”
Overall, officials said that with vaccinations on the rise, now is not the time to give up restrictions and take precautions, such as wearing a mask and distancing themselves from others, as vaccines could be much more widely available by the spring, which can make them more permanent. suppress the pandemic.
“Together we have the ability to prevent another wave in our nation,” Walensky said.