US Crosses 1 Million Mark in COVID-19 Cases

As new symptoms arise and the US infection number crosses 1 million, experts say they still have things to learn about the Coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded its list of possible symptoms of the virus to include: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.

The new symptoms reflect the varying ways the virus continues to attack patients.

“So far, researchers have been able to note enough mutations among COVID-19 lineages to track the movement of a particular type, from country to country, for example,” said the Pasadena Public Health Director Ying Ying Goh. “Because of these mutations, researchers can track where the virus came from by looking at how the genetic sequence matches. However, this does not tell us if there are mutations significant enough to cause new clinical symptoms or cause reinfection in someone who was already ill with COVID-19. In fact, we do not know if someone with COVID-19 can become re-infected again, or if they will likely be immune.”

According to the World Health Organization, people infected in early hotspots such as South Korea and China, appear to have suffered a relapse of the disease.

“I think that the larger the population infected, and the more data collection researchers do, the more we will know about COVID-19,” Goh said. “That is why there is now more information about the symptoms associated with the virus.”

When asked how long it takes for doctors and scientists to understand a virus, Goh said it was a ‘tall order.’

“We have known about influenza virus for a very long time,” she said. “But what we can learn about a virus depends on the technology we have. For example, from a quick search, it appears that the first viral genome was sequenced in the late 1970s. We started the Human Genome Project in 1990 and finished in 2003. Viruses mutate. Flu mutates enough for us to require a new vaccine every year, so there is always more to learn about viruses.”

On Monday, the US passed a horrific milestone when officials announced that there have been 1 million cases of the virus in the United States, and more than 58,000 people have died.

Los Angeles County Health Officials announced that 1,000 people have died locally.

The increasing number of cases have forced officials to update their prediction model from 67,000 to 74,000 deaths by Aug. 4.

County officials fear those numbers could skyrocket if the state reopens too soon.

This past weekend, residents packed local beaches in Orange County, stoking fears that numbers could spike if people do not continue to practice Safer at Home orders and practice social distancing.