U.S. Surgeon General Blames 'Pandemic Fatigue' For Recent COVID-19 Surge

The COVID-19 crisis in the U.S. is getting worse by nearly every metric. On Friday alone, there were more than 184,000 new confirmed cases and 1,400 deaths, the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center reported. Hospitals are reaching capacity. To date in the U.S., there have been more than 10 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 240,000 have died — more than any other nation.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams says "pandemic fatigue" is largely to blame. People are tired and aren't taking mitigation measures as seriously as before, he says.

"The virus hit different places of the country at different points," Adams, who is also a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, tells NPR's All Things Considered. "And so you've had people who've been doing these things since February, March, April, but they didn't really start to see the wave until later on. And they're just plain tired."

As the winter months and holidays approach, people can be tempted to escape the cold and spend time indoors with friends and family. Adams is encouraging people to have a virtual dinner or celebrate Thanksgiving only with other people who live in their household.