It would appear as if the entire nation is now under the grip of the rapidly spreading coronavirus. Every state in the country now has confirmed cases with large metropolitan centers bearing the brunt of the exponential spread. Here are a few of the hardest-hit states and what they are doing to fight this devastating pandemic.

New York

As the epicenter of the nation's COVID-19 outbreak, the state of New York continues to greatly suffer. According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the state has just six days of ventilators left in the stockpile based on the current trajectory of the virus. During Thursday's press conference, Cuomo said that the state needs at least 350 more ventilators per day to meet the demand. Over the last 24 hours, the number of confirmed cases in New York soared to over 92,000. Cuomo also confirmed that the state also saw 432 deaths in the same time period. The governor also said that a temporary hospital in Staten Island is now under construction and is hopeful that it will open for business starting next week. The hospital will be dedicated to treating coronavirus patients. The facility is being pushed through in a hurry as Cuomo expects the state to reach its apex in as soon as seven days.

Washington and California

These two states on the West Coast are currently offering a glimmer of hope to the rest of the country. Washington was the first state to see a positive COVID-19 test as well as the first deaths in the nation. This prompted the local government and health officials to move quickly to initiate mitigation efforts. It did not take long for California to follow the lead of Washington and enact rules to keep its residents safe at home. Now that these two states are a few weeks into the shelter in place orders, officials can point to the slight flattening of the curve to demonstrate that these efforts are starting to work. While both states are still seeing more cases and deaths every day, the rate of the spread is beginning to slow down compared to other states that were slower to react to the virus.

Virginia

As positive cases in Virginia continue to climb, President Trump took action and approved a declaration of disaster for the state. Virginia now joins 28 other states along with the Northern Mariana Islands, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico on the list of areas with the official declaration in place. According to the latest data from John Hopkins University, Virginia now has 1,652 confirmed coronavirus cases paired with 35 deaths.

Louisiana

Louisiana continues to be a concerning hot spot, especially with cases in and around the New Orleans area. Many officials are pointing to the mass gatherings of the Mardi Gras celebrations as the reason for the explosion of new cases. On a Thursday radio interview, Governor John Bel Edwards warned that the day would bring a significant spike in confirmed cases as a result of increased testing. In one day alone, the state reported 2,726 new cases today with 37 deaths. Over 500 patients are currently on ventilators.

Massachusetts

In a Thursday news conference, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker said that the state is projecting that they will see between 47,000 to 172,00 cases by the time the pandemic has run its course. Baker also said that the current modeling demonstrates that the peak load will happen between April 10 and April 20.

Florida

Governor Rick DeSantis officially declared a shelter in place order for this state on Wednesday. The Sunshine State now has over 8,000 confirmed cases with 128 deaths. Despite the stay at home order, the state has listed churches as an essential service, meaning that residents can still choose to assemble to worship.

When looked at as a whole, the US has over 226,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus with well over 5,300 deaths. Because every state has its own challenges, it is important to keep abreast of the situation in your area so that you can take steps to properly protect yourself and your family.