The United States is recording an average of 73,094 new coronavirus cases per day, and health experts worry that the surge in cases will get worse as the weather gets colder.
However, President Donald Trump asserts that the surge in cases is the result of more testing and the country is ārounding the final turnā in terms of the outbreak.
However, the White House coronavirus testing czar Admiral Brett Giroir told NBC Newsā āTodayā on Wednesday that the surge is not just the result of more testing.
āWe do believe, and the data show that cases are going up. Itās not just a function of testing,ā Giroir said.
He continued, āYes, weāre getting more cases identified, but the cases are actually going up. And we know that, too, because hospitalizations are going up.ā
He noted that while new hospitalizations for the virus are on the rise, āWeāre still tens of thousands of hospitalizations below where we were in July.ā
However, he stressed, āWe can control the virus. We know how to do that.ā
He added:
āWe can reverse that. I just want everybody to know, nobodyās waving the white flag. The American people can make a difference, youāve done a great job. Americans have defeated this before in July and August. We have to do the same thing now. Because, as you said, weāre entering the winter period, thereās more chances to spread particularly in-doors in small gatherings.ā
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He went on to encourage Americans to practice social distancing, good hand washing, avoid crowded gatherings, and wear masks.
On top of those measures, Giroir called for even more testing, āPlease increase testing. Weāre only using about a third of our nationās testing capacity right now. We do need to test more people, especially in these outbreak areas.ā
In recent days the president accused the media of devoting too much attention to the virus.
During a rally in Michigan on Tuesday, he said, āItās āCOVID, COVID, COVID,ā you canāt watch anything else. On November 4th, you wonāt be hearing so much about it.ā