“The Tsunami is here” officials warn of increase in COVID numbers

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The COVID-19 pandemic began as a scary phenomenon that has left people baffled; doctors and officials alike. Just when somebody believes they have a handle on the outbreak, it twists out of their hand like a fish desperate to get back in the pond.

When it all began, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci pleaded with Americans to heed his warnings.

“Clearly we are not in total control right now,” Fauci told a U.S. Senate committee. “I am very concerned because it could get very bad.”

Fauci warned that the daily increase in new cases could surpass 100,000 unless everybody, citizens and officials alike, does their part to flatten the curve.

“We can’t just focus on those areas that are having the surge. It puts the entire country at risk,” he said.

There is not a vaccine yet, however Fauci hinted that they might be close.

“Hopefully there will be doses available by the beginning of next year,” he said.

To date, the pandemic has ravaged the nation in more ways than one. There have been over 126,000 American deaths and millions of have lost their jobs because states and major cities ordered residents to stay home and businesses closed.

When it first began, everybody hoped it would be over in a few weeks. It has been four months since the pandemic found its way onto American soil, and it is showing no signs of stopping. Worse yet, it seems like it is picking up speed.

The hotspots for increases span from Houston, Texas to Miami, Fla. The state of Oklahoma just set a record on July 14 for the most cases in a day; 993 new cases were reported for that single day. That means almost 1,000 people tested positive on one day. That is a terrifying thought.

Setting records is typically an admirable trait and some thing people tend to strive for; this is not one of those instances.

Oklahoma’s next-door neighbor, Texas has blown Oklahoma’s numbers to smithereens. According to The Texas Tribune, Texas’ COVID numbers makes up for 14% of the US cases. Texas reported over 10,000 new cases for July 13. That is ten times more than Oklahoma’s daily increase.

The terrifying part is Southern Oklahoma and Northern Texas are so intertwined, it will be difficult stopping the surge of cases that threaten to spill across the Red River.

Several months ago, Judge Richard Cortez from Hidalgo County Texas – one of the largest counties on the Texas-Mexico border – warned of a tsunami of cases if the pandemic was not taken seriously. He reported that at least 31 people have died from COVID-19 complications.

“The tsunami is here,” Cortez said.

Keep in mind, Texas is merely the downstairs neighbor of Oklahoma. Think about when a close neighbor cooks something that smells bad. It not only stinks up their apartment, it also permeates through any adjacent residence.

COVID-19 is the bad smelling food 1x1 being 1/2 cooked by Texas, and Oklahoma is beginning to smell the initial odors wafting through the vents.

Residents need to be vigilant, and make sure the tsunami Hidalgo warned about in Texas does not turn Oklahoma’s kiddie pool of cases into an ocean.