“Even as states and some state officials rush to reopen it’s on us to make smart and safe decisions,” said Dr. Seema Yasmin, a former disease detective at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Look at the numbers. You’ll see that on Thursday, more than 20,000 Americans were infected,” Yasmin said. On Friday, “that number went up, and there were more than 24,000 Americans newly diagnosed with Covid-19.”
Several states see surges in people with coronavirus
States such as North Carolina and Arkansas are seeing major spikes, Yasmin said.
Houston mayor: ‘We’re not equipped’ to handle surge
Texas beaches also saw crowds over the weekend after bars were allowed to reopen Friday with restrictions.
“We’re not equipped to handle that type of surge,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said. “We can take about 200 cases a day, for example, with contact tracing and we’re building up that program.”
“The virus is still here,” he said. “There are still people who think it’s a joke, and it’s not a joke. Things have opened up. We’re in stage two in the state of Texas so bars, restaurants, barbershops, you name it, are now open. So (we’re) nervous but we’re going to do everything we can to manage the virus.”
A 43rd NYPD member dies
The New York Police Department announced the death of a 43rd member from complications due to coronavirus.
Doris Kirkland died Friday after 30 years as a school safety agent, the city’s police department said.
More than 5,700 members of the NYPD have tested positive for the virus.
Study yields encouraging results
There’s a bit of good news when it comes to a possible therapy for Covid-19 patients.
A study appeared to show patients who received transfusions of antibody-filled convalescent plasma seemed to fare better. Convalescent plasma is derived from the blood of recovered coronavirus patients.
“We are encouraged that our initial assessment offers evidence in support of convalescent plasma as an effective intervention,” said Dr. Nicole Bouvier, an associate professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a co-author on the study.
But more studies are needed to confirm the findings, the researchers said.
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Jason Hanna, Dakin Andone, Amir Vera, Arman Azad, Barbara Starr and Laura Ly contributed to this report.