March 26, 2020

The United States surpassed both China and Italy in number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the world some time last night. Johns Hopkins University’s most recent data shows that the United States has 82,400 confirmed cases. China has 81,782 confirmed cases, and Italy has 80,589.

According to an infographic from Worldmeters.info the numbers were smaller last night, but the U.S. numbers of confirmed cases were still higher than China and Italy’s numbers.

More troubling than the reported numbers, however, is the simple fact that the United States still has a coronavirus test kit shortage. In most states, only those at high risk are able to be tested at this time. We simply do not have enough tests to administer to all those experiencing symptoms. This means that the actual number of infected people in the United States is markedly higher than our confirmed cases.

This also means that most of our confirmed cases are likely high risk populations and our death rates will surely continue to rise.

This information became public after President Donald Trump stated during a press conference that he wanted to revise social distancing measures and get people back to work by Easter despite the guidance of healthcare professionals warning against such measures.