The COVID-19 Pandemic in the US
A Clinical Update
Saad B. Omer, MBBS, PhD1,2; Preeti Malani, MD, MSJ3,4; Carlos del Rio, MD5,6
Author Affiliations Article Information
JAMA. Published online April 6, 2020. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.5788
Since the first US case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection as identified in Washington State on January 20, 2020, more than 235?000 cases have been identified across the US in just over 2 months. Given the challenges in expanding testing capacity and the restrictive case definition of persons under investigation, the true number of cases is likely much higher.
By March 17, the outbreak had expanded from several isolated clusters in Washington, New York, and California to all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As of April 2, there have been more than 5000 COVID-19–associated deaths in the US. With a global total now of more than 1 million cases, the US is now the country with the largest number of reported cases, comprising about one-fifth of all reported infections.
With community transmission firmly established, the US epidemic enters the exponential growth phase in which the number of new cases is proportional to the existing number of cases. This phase continues until either enough susceptible individuals become immune as a result of infection, stringent public health measures are followed, or both.
