On Sunday the US reported 109,671 new cases and 731 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned that America could expect a “surge upon surge” of Covid-19 cases in the next few weeks.
Speaking to NBC, Dr Fauci said: “What we expect, unfortunately, as we go for the next couple of weeks into December, is that we might see a surge superimposed on the surge we are already in.”
He added that it was “not too late” for those Americans who are yet to travel home to help curb the virus by wearing face coverings and socially distancing.
A surge of new travel-related infections is expected to overwhelm US hospitals that are already being stretched to their maximum limits.
Patients being hospitalised reached a record high of 93,238 on Sunday according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Dr Megan Ranney, emergency medicine physician, told CNN: “There’s no way that the hospitals can be fully prepared for what we’re currently facing.
“This is like a natural disaster occurring in all 50 states at the same time.
“There are not adequate beds. There are not adequate staff.
“And because of the lack of national preparation, there are still not adequate supplies.”
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“Our health care system is literally at the breaking point right now, thanks to Covid-19.”
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Americans not to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.
However, Sunday was expected to be the busiest air travel day in the US during the whole pandemic.
In the week leading up to Thanksgiving, about 6 million travellers passed through security at US airports according to official data.
The Transport Security Administration revealed that about 800,000 to more than one million travellers passed through US airport checkpoints on any day during the past week.
It will be weeks before the country sees the real impacts of the Thanksgiving travel.
Dr Fauci told CNN: “There is almost certainly going to be an uptick because of what has happened with the travel.”
Dr Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, told CNN: “When you look at people who are hospitalized today, they were infected two weeks ago, maybe more.
“And then it takes usually another week for folks to succumb to the illness.”
Dr Reiner added that any new infections from Thanksgiving will therefore “show up in three weeks and are going to show up in deaths over Christmas and New Year’s and are going to spread in every state”.