US coronavirus: More than 200,000 people have been infected. And carriers who don’t feel sick are fueling the spread

A quarter of people in US who are sick have no symptoms

In the US, an estimated 25% of coronavirus carriers have no symptoms, said the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’re not there yet, but I think we’re close to coming to some determination,” Fauci said.

The organization is “continuing to study the evidence” about whether the general public should use masks during the coronavirus pandemic, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The WHO recommends the masks for sick people and caregivers, he said.

“This is still a very new virus, and we are learning all the time. As the pandemic evolves, so does the evidence, and so does our advice,” he said.

But this week, new information about asymptomatic spread could change public guidelines, Adams said.

A major argument against the widespread use of masks is that health care workers don’t have enough.

“We have a massive global shortage,” Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said. “Right now, the people most at risk from this virus are frontline health workers who are exposed to the virus every second of every day. The thought of them not having masks is horrific.”

Evidence shows social distancing helps

About 90% of the US population now lives in areas that have stay-at-home orders, according to a CNN count based on various state, county and city orders.

Florida, with 21 million residents and a large senior citizen population, joined the list Wednesday. Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order directing seniors and people with underlying medical conditions to stay home. All Floridians must limit their movements, he wrote. The order takes effect early Friday.

Governors in Georgia and Mississippi also issued orders Wednesday.

While about 10 states have not issued stay-at-home orders, Vice President Mike Pence said he doesn’t think a national order is necessary.

“I’ve been very inspired by the way over the last 15 days, people in states that have very little outbreak of coronavirus are still putting into practice the guidelines for America,” he said.

Health officials say social distancing efforts seem to be paying off, including in Washington state’s King County — the country’s first coronavirus epicenter.

“We are looking at reductions in person-to-person contact that have progressively improved and have led us to a point where we are making a very positive impact,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, the public health officer for Seattle and King County.

In hard-hit New York, a CNN analysis shows the day-to-day average of case increases in the past week was 17% — a major decrease from 58% for the previous seven-day period.

An a large-scale study found that early interventions, such as social distancing and severe restrictions on people’s movement, have already saved tens of thousands of lives across Europe.

Scientists at imperial College London studied interventions in 11 European countries and concluded that they “have together had a substantial impact on transmission.”

The researchers estimate as of March 31, “interventions across all 11 countries will have averted 59,000 deaths.”

The height of the coronavirus pandemic is yet to come

If Americans don’t follow social distancing guidelines, worst-case modeling projects up to 2.2 million people could die, said Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.

More than two dozen states have issued stay-at-home orders, and the federal government extended social distancing guidelines to last through April 30.

Birx said there’s no easy way to fix the coronavirus pandemic. It’s up to the public to help stop the spread.

“There is no magic bullet,” she said. “There is no magic vaccine or therapy. It’s just behaviors. Each of our behaviors translating into something that changes the course of this viral pandemic over the next 30 days.”