November 19, 2020 – The United States passed the 250,000 coronavirus death milestone on Wednesday, as public health officials warned that the death toll will continue to rise in the coming weeks, NBC News reported .

The death toll has jumped 42% in the past four weeks, according to an NBC News analysis. The weekly average of deaths was about 821 a day in early October, rising to 1,167 a day last week. The U.S. continues to lead the world in coronavirus-related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. also leads the world with 11.5 million COVID-19 cases.

“Right now, we’re in an absolutely dangerous situation and we have to take it very seriously,” said Brett Giroir, MD, U.S. testing coordinator and member of the White House coronavirus task force. told MSNBC.

“It’s not the wolf coming,” he added. “This is the largest increase in cases we’ve seen in a U.S. pandemic, and there are no signs of flattening out.”

All 50 states according to the U.S. national Broadcaster News reports that Washington, D.C., the Virgin Islands and Guam have reported an increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 2 weeks. Doctors and nurses at hospitals across the country are calling on Americans to take precautions to help them avoid a “breakdown point.”

“We’re approaching, I think, despair,” Julie Watson, MD, chief medical officer at Integris Health in Oklahoma, told MSNBC. “I think we have to help us by having our citizens wear masks and keep their distance.”

According to the latest weekly report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, “There is now an aggressive, relentless, nationwide Widespread community reach, reaching most counties, with no evidence of improvement, but further deterioration.”

NBC News obtained a copy of an internal memo warning that the current Efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus are “insufficient”. Next week’s Thanksgiving holiday has the potential to “significantly expand transmission,” the task force members wrote.

The U.S. reported more than 1,700 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, the highest single-day record in the past six months, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That’s the equivalent of 1 American death every minute, according to CBS News.

On April 15, the deadliest day of 2020 so far, more than 2,600 people died from the coronavirus. Members of the White House coronavirus task force told Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday that the number could climb again to more than 2,000 a day by the end of the year, CBS News reported.

“There are dark days ahead,” Neeta Ogden, MD, an immunologist and internal medicine specialist in the wholesale cheap jerseys, told CBSN.

“There is still a long way to go before a vaccine reaches most of our doorsteps,” she said. “Until we actually have this immunity — vaccinating or immunizing 70% to 80% of people — it’s not going to really affect how we get out of this pandemic.”