US Coronavirus Cases Near 5 Million; Surge Blamed On 'Selfish' Americans

Exasperated American doctors have long warned the simple expedient of wearing face masks in public can reduce transmission of the COVID-19 virus by as much as 50%.

The failure of an estimated one in four Americans to follow this warning is the driving force behind the current crisis in the U.S., which now has 4.9 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 160,000 deaths. New daily cases stand at more than 60,000 after peaking at 70,000 cases per day July 16 and 17.

American public health experts are astounded many Americans still resist wearing masks and practicing safe social distancing, particularly in light of the accuracy of forecasting models.

“The thing that’s maddening is country after country and state after state have shown us how we can contain the virus,” said Dr. Jonathan Quick of the Duke Global Health Institute. “It’s not like we don’t know what works. We do.”

Oddly, three in four Americans say they support wearing face masks in public, based on national polls. Assuming these people practice what they preach means the one on four who refuse to do so are the engine driving the current resurgence that took off after Memorial Day.

Seventy-five percent of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, favor requiring people to wear face coverings outside their homes compared to 13% that oppose this mandate. This poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released July 23.

"People need to know that wearing masks can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as 50%, and those who refuse are putting their lives, their families, their friends, and their communities at risk," said Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

When Murray issued this warning back on June 26, the U.S. was averaging 40,000 infections per day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. had only 2.4 million confirmed cases and 124,000 deaths.

The importance of wearing face masks in public isn't lost on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), the only state governor who also is a medcial doctor. Northam is a pediatric neurologist by profession after serving as a U.S. Army medical officer.

“Wearing a mask -— as irritating as it can be, and I promise you I hate it more than anyone watching today —- is critical,” he said.

Northam pointed to rising infections among young people and said the problem exacerbating the disease's spread is that “too many people are selfish.”

“We all know that alcohol changes your judgment,” he said. “You just don’t care as much about social distancing after you’ve had a couple of drinks."

COVID-19 cases have surged so high in cities like Norfolk and Virginia Beach that Northam limited alcohol sales and gatherings of more than 50 people in these places last week.