Coronavirus cases are exploding in America—and beyond—fueled by a new variant, Omicron. "I think we are going to see a viral blizzard literally ascend upon the world," says virus expert Michael Osterholm on the latest episode of his podcast. "The situation is as dire as it's ever been." He added: "Over the last two weeks, cases have increased in 44 states, including the District of Columbia, with 32 reporting increases of at least 40%. Meanwhile, a total of 42 states have reported a rise in hospitalizations with 22 documenting growth of 20% or more." So where is COVID thriving most, and who will be on fire soonest? Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

"Wisconsin now has the highest case rate in the US with 100 cases per hundred thousand," said Osterholm. "Hospitalizations in the state are also growing very quickly."

"Michigan has had the highest number of hospitalizations per capita in the country, 47 per hundred thousand population," said Dr. Osterholm. "Again, even in Michigan, which got ravaged by Alpha last spring, hospitalizations are at their highest level since the start of the pandemic and similar situations are playing out in other Midwestern states."

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"Minnesota has surpassed 10,000 confirmed COVID-19 deaths, officials announced Wednesday, a grim reminder of the cost of the pandemic in 2021 even after vaccines became available," reports the Star Tribune. "There is a heaviness, for sure, hitting this sort of a marker and the fact that we have had so many deaths this year even after we have more tools available to protect against it," state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm said. "Every death is a terrible loss. The more tools we have and the more preventable these things truly are, the more heartbreaking it is that we still are losing people."

"Hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients in the state of Illinois have continued to rise quickly in recent weeks, jumping up by nearly 40% since the beginning of December.

According to the latest data from the Illinois Department of Public Health, there are currently 3,513 patients hospitalized due to COVID in the state of Illinois, the highest number of patients since mid-January," reports NBC Chicago.

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"It's been one year since the COVID-19 vaccine was shipped to hospitals across the country. It gave hope to so many that the pandemic would end, but this winter, healthcare workers are facing yet another surge," reported WTHR. "The number of Hoosiers being treated for COVID-19 continues to climb. Hospitalizations have increased 150 percent in just over five weeks." "The numbers I am seeing for ICU bed availability across Indiana are scary," Dr. Graham Carlos, executive medical director at Eskenazi Health, told the outlet. 

"COVID-19 hospitalizations in Iowa have reached a new 2021 high for the third week in a row, and the number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators exceeded 100, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health's weekly COVID data update," reports the Des Moines Register. "As of Wednesday's update, Iowa hospitals were treating 823 patients with COVID-19, including 173 in intensive care and 103 on ventilators. Earlier in the week, the number of patients had reached 843. Unvaccinated people continue to be the primary group of COVID-19 patients. More than three-quarters of COVID-19 patients in Iowa are not fully vaccinated, including more than 80% of those in intensive care."

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"Ohio's top doctor updated the public Thursday about the state's effort to fight COVID-19," reports Fox 8. "We're preparing for an omicron tidal wave," said Dr. Steven Gordon. "Omicron is here, and all signs point to it being more contagious," said Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD. "Late Thursday, the governor's office announced Gov. Mike DeWine and First Lady Fran were exposed to a person Monday evening who later tested positive for COVID-19."

"New York is requiring masks in all indoor places across the state. Massachusetts is sending free home COVID-19 test kits to its poorest areas. Maine has activated its National Guard to help hospitals," reports Sentinel Source. "In the Northeast, officials are trying every tactic to control a winter surge that has emergency rooms overflowing and infection rates soaring. Admissions of patients with COVID-19 climbed 14.4 percent across the nation in the week ended Dec. 9, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The rate was more than double — 33.5 percent — in New England."

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Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don't travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don't go indoors with people you're not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don't visit any of these 35 Places You're Most Likely to Catch COVID.

The post Virus Expert Warns These 10 States Will Have Next Surge appeared first on Eat This Not That.

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By: Alek Korab
Title: Virus Expert Warns These 10 States Will Have Next Surge
Sourced From: www.eatthis.com/news-osterholm-states-next-surge/
Published Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2021 12:15:44 +0000

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