(CNN) The US reached a grim milestone with the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths reported in one day, and officials are warning the next two weeks will be crucial in the fight to stop the spread.
With 1, 0404 new deaths reported Saturday, the US had the most fatalities recorded in one day.
That brought the nationwide death toll to at least 8, 728 people, with at least , 114 infected, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The big test will come in the next few days, said Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
“The next two weeks are extraordinarily important,” Birx said. “This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe, and that means everybody doing the six feet distancing, washing your hands.”
Social distancing measures already appear to be paying off in Washington state, Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases said, calling the measure “our most important tool.”
Lack of testing still a key issue
A struggle many states are facing in the effort to understand and combat the virus is inaccessible testing.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his state doesn’t even have enough tests to get a clear idea of the scale of the outbreak.
“Everything about the tests are very difficult to come by, and there’s no federal plan for this, so every state is on their own, Pritzker said. “As I’ve said, it’s the Wild West out here.”
California, one of the hotspots of the outbreak, has been working to increase the number of its residents that have been tested, which stands now at more than 160, , Gov. Gavin Newsom said.
“That testing number may sound high to some. It is low to many others and certainly to me,” Newsom said in a news conference on Saturday.
The state formed a new task force led by leaders of the public and private sector to handle coronavirus testing as well as a partnership between University of California Davis and University of California San Diego to create at least five to seven testing hubs to increase capacity.
Several states have reported jumps in cases, including Louisiana, where there were nearly 31, (cases – a) % increase – and more than 400 deaths Saturday, according to the state health department.
“Look at the magnitude of this. We are still very much in this, “Dr. Joseph Kanter, assistant state health officer for the department, said in a news conference.” In fact we haven’t even hit halfway. “
New Orleans’ coroner’s office and mortuaries have reached their limit, said Mayor LaToya Cantrell, and she’s asked the federal government for additional refrigeration.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings