Health

New COVID-19 cases in US spike to record 153k


The number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations per day in the United States is continuing to hit record highs – as massive lines form at testing sites right across the country as states battle the third wave of the virus.     

New infections across the country hit a record high for the third consecutive day with 153,496 cases on Thursday. Daily cases have repeatedly surged to all-time highs of more than 120,000 per day over the past week. 

Hospitalizations have also reached a single-day high with more than 67,000 patients currently being treated across the country. 

Deaths, however, dropped slightly with 919 American dying on Thursday. It comes after the death toll spiked a day earlier to 1,893, which is the highest number of fatalities since May 8 during the initial peak of the outbreak. 

That surge was enough to push the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths back over the 1,000 mark after managing to stay below it for the past three months. 

Deaths are still down from the peak 2,000 fatalities recorded per day in the spring – a sign of better treatments and the increased share of cases among young people who are less likely to get sick and die.  

Hundreds of people in Los Angeles lined up on Friday at a COVID-19 testing site in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium as the number of cases and hospitalizations per day across the United States continued to hit record highs

Hundreds of people in Los Angeles lined up on Friday at a COVID-19 testing site in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium as the number of cases and hospitalizations per day across the United States continued to hit record highs

Cars waiting for COVID-19 tests weaved through a suburban Dallas parking lot on Friday as Texas became the first state to record more than 1 million coronavirus cases

Cars waiting for COVID-19 tests weaved through a suburban Dallas parking lot on Friday as Texas became the first state to record more than 1 million coronavirus cases

New infections across the country hit a record high for the third consecutive day with 153,496 cases on Thursday. Daily cases have repeatedly surged to all-time highs of more than 120,000 per day over the past week

New infections across the country hit a record high for the third consecutive day with 153,496 cases on Thursday. Daily cases have repeatedly surged to all-time highs of more than 120,000 per day over the past week

The country is facing what health experts say will be a dark winter because of the onset of cold weather and crowded holiday gatherings, as well as a disregard for mask-wearing and other precautions.  

The crisis is deepening at overwhelmed hospitals across the country with some reaching, or nearing, capacity. 

Eighteen states, most of which are in the Midwest, have reported record daily highs for COVID-19 patients in hospitals this week. 

More than a dozen states have doubled their COVID-19 case loads in the last 14 days compared with the previous two-week period.

In the Midwest, Iowa was the worst affected state, followed by Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois.  

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Dr Anthony Fauci recommended masks at family gatherings if the coronavirus status of people is unknown, saying it was wise to take extra precautions. 

‘If you do the things that are simple public health measures, that soaring will level and start to come down,’ Fauci told CBS This Morning. ‘You add that to the help of a vaccine, we can turn this around. It is not futile.’ 

Separately, Dr Fauci told a panel in Washington, DC that now is the time for Americans to ‘do what you’re told’.  

Deaths, however, dropped with 919 American dying on Thursday. It comes after the death toll spiked a day earlier to 1,893, which is the highest number of fatalities since May 8 during the initial peak of the outbreak. That surge was enough to push the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths back over the 1,000 mark after managing to stay below it for the past three months

Deaths, however, dropped with 919 American dying on Thursday. It comes after the death toll spiked a day earlier to 1,893, which is the highest number of fatalities since May 8 during the initial peak of the outbreak. That surge was enough to push the seven-day rolling average of daily deaths back over the 1,000 mark after managing to stay below it for the past three months

Hospitalizations have also reached a single-day high with more than 67,000 patients currently being treated across the country

Hospitalizations have also reached a single-day high with more than 67,000 patients currently being treated across the country

North Dakota

North Dakota continues to lead the nation in daily new COVID-19 cases per capita in the nation with the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths surging since late July. 

The state reported a record 1,800 new cases on Thursday and 34 deaths, while hospitalizations were at nearly 400.  

The situation has became so bad in North Dakota that GOP Gov. Doug Burgum this week said nurses who test positive but have no symptoms can still work. 

Nurses, however, opposed the move to allow health care workers who test positive to remain on the job, saying scientifically proven measures such as a mask mandate should be tried first. 

Burgum has declined to do that.

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, the outbreak is now at such dire levels that its health department had to create a new category to track infections – as the state’s daily cases surpassed what initial epicenter New York had at its peak. 

Hospital beds across Wisconsin are also nearing capacity.

The number of infections, deaths and hospitalizations have consistently been breaking daily records ever since the surge started in September. 

The state recorded a single-day high of nearly 7,500 cases on Thursday. Hospitalizations also hit record highs with more than 2,000 patients being treated for COVID-19. The state recorded 58 deaths, which is down slightly from the record 66 deaths reported on Tuesday.  

Iowa 

Of Iowa’s 99 counties, 93 have a positivity rate above 15%.

For the sixth consecutive day, more than 4,000 Iowans tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday and there were 30 more deaths. 

As the virus continued its rapid spread, the Iowa Department of Public Health reported the number of people being treated in hospitals for COVID-19 increased to 1,208 patients, which amounts to 21 percent of all hospital patients in Iowa, Gov. Kim Reynolds said.

The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks to 50 percent, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Iowa’s rate is second in the nation to South Dakota, which is at 54.5 percent.

South Dakota

South Dakota reported a record high of 2,000 cases on Thursday. There were 27 deaths, which is just shy of the peak 28 deaths recorded last week. 

Hospitalizations have been surging with more than 550 patients currently being treated across the state. 

The state’s seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate is currently at 56.4 percent. 

Idaho 

Idaho recorded a single-day high of more than 1,600 cases on Thursday. The death toll spiked to a record 19 fatalities and there were 360 hospitalizations. 

The positivity rate is currently more than 40 percent.  

The state’s unchecked spread of COVID-19 has become so overwhelming in some areas that medical care providers are struggling to even answer all the phone calls from would-be patients, a health care executive said.

Dr David Peterman, the CEO of Primary Health Medical Group, said the company’s 20 clinics normally get about 1,800 phone calls a day but with the pandemic raging in southwestern Idaho, the clinics are now getting 3,000 calls a day. 

Earlier this week, Idaho Gov. Brad Little again urged Idahoans to wear masks, wash hands and practice social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. But he has declined to issue a statewide mask mandate, instead leaving the decision to regional health districts. 

Mississippi

Cases in Mississippi have been surging since mid-October with more than 1,200 cases reported on Thursday. 

Hospitalizations have been on the rise with the health system warning there are just 12 percent of ICU beds left statewide. 

In the state’s capital city, Jackson, ICU beds are already at capacity.  

‘Zero ICU beds in Jackson. Very few elsewhere. Please protect yourself and your family,’ Mississippi State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs tweeted. 

Minnesota 

The Minnesota Department of Health on Thursday reported 7,228 new cases of the coronavirus, shattering the single-day record set just last week by more than 1,000 cases as the virus continues its unrelenting spread throughout the state.

Minnesota health officials reported 39 deaths on Thursday, second only to the 56 deaths reported the day before.

The state ranks ninth in the country for new cases per capita with 982.4 new cases per 100,000 people in Minnesota over the past two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.

The continued case growth has state officials and health care workers concerned about hospital capacity as hospitalizations due to complications from the virus typically follow an increase in cases. 

According to the health department’s online dashboard, 1,075 intensive care beds out of 1,387 statewide are in use by patients suffering from COVID-19 and those with other ailments, though there are 408 beds that can be made ready for use in 72 hours.

There are 1,299 people hospitalized statewide with COVID-19 related symptoms 

Illinois

Illinois health officials urged residents to stay home and strictly limit travel and social gatherings over the next three weeks, after the state reported record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

The state reported 12,702 new cases and 48 new deaths. Hospitalizations are also at a record high with 5,200 patients being treated. 

Illinois’ positivity rate is currently at 12.9 percent.  

Michigan

Michigan reported just over 7,300 new cases on Thursday and 49 new deaths. Hospitalizations across the state are at an all-time high with more than 3,200 patients being treated. 

The positivity rate is currently at more than 10 percent.  

Nebraska

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts threatened Thursday to reimpose the same social-distancing restrictions that forced some businesses to close this spring if the record number of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continues to rise, but he remained opposed to a statewide mask mandate. 

It came as Nebraska reported more than 2,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day in a row and the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 remains at record levels in the state. 

The state’s positivity rate is currently 14 percent.  

Utah

As coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in Utah continue to shatter records, one of the state’s largest hospital systems is adding nearly 200 traveling nurses to keep staffing levels up, including some from hard-hit New York City.

The state’s hospitals are well into their contingency care protocols, and some have effectively reached 100% ICU capacity, said Greg Bell, president of the Utah Hospital Association. Hospitalizations rose with a record 468 COVID-19 patients, and ICU beds reached 83% occupancy statewide, according to state data.

The state recorded 3,919 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which brought the seven-day average of new daily cases to 2,738. In the past week, Utah’s positivity average has increased from 19.5% to 23.2%, according to state data. 

States re-imposing lockdown measures  

CALIFORNIA: Based on tiered system that affects counties differently. In hard-hit areas like Los Angeles County, people urged to stay at home. Bars, restaurants and gyms all closed. LA parks and golf courses are still open. 

CONNECTICUT: Restaurants must stop table service at 9.30pm and private gatherings have been cut to 10 people. 

IDAHO: Outdoor gatherings limited to 25% of maximum capacity and indoor ones to 50 people. Customers must remain seated in bars and restaurants. 

ILLINOIS: No indoor service in bars or restaurants, which must also close at 11pm. Gatherings are limited to 25 people. 

NEW MEXICO: Retail business must close by 10pm. Food and drink establishments can offer no more than 25% capacity for indoor dining. 

NEW YORK: Bars, restaurants and gyms must close at 10pm. Indoor private gatherings limited to 10 people. 

NEW JERSEY: Restaurants, bars, clubs and lounges to stop indoor dining by 10pm. All barside seating prohibited. All interstate games and tournaments for indoor K-12 sports banned. 

MINNESOTA: Restaurants and bars must shut by 10pm.

The surge in cases and hospitalizations has prompted some states – including New York, Maryland, Minnesota, Iowa, Utah and Illinois – to ramp up restrictions again this week that range from curfews on bars and restaurants to limiting private indoor gatherings to less than 10 people. 

School systems in Detroit, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and suburban Minneapolis are also now giving up on in-person classes. 

The governors of Oregon, Washington, California have formed a West Coast travel advisory requiring residents returning from out-of-state or visitors from the rest of the country to quarantine for 14 days. 

Amid the staggering numbers, some state leaders maintained a hands-off approach, pushing ‘personal responsibility’ rather than government-imposed restrictions such as mandatory mask-wearing. 

Reflecting what has largely been a divide between red and blue states, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma has refused to impose a mask mandate, citing concerns about enforcement and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Instead, he held a news conference this week with doctors who implored residents to wear masks.

In Idaho, Republican Gov. Brad Little also resisted calls for a statewide mask requirement even as health clinics grappled with dozens of staff absences and thousands of calls from people seeking help.

In other states, officials tightened restrictions this week – though not as much as the lockdowns that were put in place when the virus first hit in the spring.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on residents to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings, limit all social gatherings to 10 people, and stay home except for essentials, like work or getting groceries, starting on Monday.

Minnesota joined states including New York in ordering bars and restaurants to close by 10 p.m. Wisconsin’s governor this week advised people to stay home. Utah’s governor put in place a statewide mask mandate, while Indiana’s governor extended his state’s mask rule for another month. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday he will sign an executive order to give towns and cities the option to limit hours at nonessential businesses after 8 p.m. The mayor of Newark, New Jersey, imposed a 9 p.m. curfew for residents of three hard-hit ZIP codes.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills joined governors of six other states in the Northeast in suspending interstate youth hockey games.  

Philadelphia dropped plans to start bringing students back to school on November 30. Michigan’s largest school district, Detroit, said it will suspend in-person classes next week for its roughly 50,000 students, joining other districts that have shifted to online-only classes.

In New York City, the looming threat of a shutdown of the 1.1-million-student school system had families and teachers watching case numbers closely. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said that in-person schooling will be halted if the rate of tests coming back positive for the virus in the city reaches 3 percent.  

ILLINOIS: In this drone image, residents in cars wait in line at a drive-up COVID-19 test site on Friday in Aurora, Illinois

ILLINOIS: In this drone image, residents in cars wait in line at a drive-up COVID-19 test site on Friday in Aurora, Illinois

ILLINOIS: Hundreds of cars lined up in Aurora, Illinois for tests as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that a statewide stay-at-home order may be necessary as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the state

ILLINOIS: Hundreds of cars lined up in Aurora, Illinois for tests as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said that a statewide stay-at-home order may be necessary as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the state

FLORIDA:  People queue in their cars to get to the COVID-19 coronavirus testing service at the testing location at Miami Beach Convention Center

FLORIDA:  People queue in their cars to get to the COVID-19 coronavirus testing service at the testing location at Miami Beach Convention Center

FLORIDA: People queue to get the COVID-19 coronavirus walk-up testing service at the Mobile Testing Facility at Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday

FLORIDA: People queue to get the COVID-19 coronavirus walk-up testing service at the Mobile Testing Facility at Miami Beach Convention Center on Friday

It comes after Dr Michael Osterholm, Joe Biden’s new COVID advisor, said the US should go into a total national lockdown for six weeks to avoid ‘virus hell’ and suggested that the federal government pay workers while country is shutdown. 

Dr Anthony Fauci, however, has insisted a lockdown doesn’t need to happen. 

‘We would like to stay away from that because there’s no appetite for locking down the American public. I believe we can do it without a lockdown,’ Fauci told ABC’s GMA on Thursday. ‘You don’t necessarily have to shut everything down. The best opposite strategy to locking down is to intensify the public health measures short of locking down. 

‘If you can do that well, you don’t have to take that step… which has so many implications both psychologically and economically. Help is on the way. Vaccines are going to have a major positive impact.’ 

A vaccine appears imminent following Pfizer’s announcement earlier this week that its trial showed its treatment was 90 percent effective. The US drugmaker said it expects to apply for FDA approval next week, which could mean vaccinations could start in December.  

More than half of Americans say it’s likely they won’t comply with another month-long lockdown despite 61 percent believing that the virus is getting worse, according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday.  

This new wave is more widespread than the surges that happened in the spring and summer, which occurred in the Northeast and Sunbelt states, respectively. 

While fatalities could still potentially rise given it takes time for people to get sick and die, doctors believe the death toll might not be as bad as the initial waves because doctors now better know how to treat severe cases, meaning higher percentages of the COVID-19 patients who go into intensive care units are coming out alive. 

Patients also have the benefit of new treatments, namely remdesivir, the steroid dexamethasone and an antibody drug that won emergency-use approval from the Food and Drug Administration this week. 

A forecast from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics estimates that the death toll could reach nearly 400,000 by February and a peak of 2,200 daily deaths by January. Researchers forecast that 63,000 lives could be saved if the majority of Americans wear masks and social distance. 

IHME researchers say that the likelihood that an infection will prove fatal has dropped by nearly a third since April due to improved treatment.

This map IHME map shows the daily COVID-19 death rate per 1 million people. The highest death rates at the moment per capita are in the Dakotas and Montana

This map IHME map shows the daily COVID-19 death rate per 1 million people. The highest death rates at the moment per capita are in the Dakotas and Montana

IHME said its modeling has predicted there could be a peak of daily deaths in mid-January at 2,200 based on the current trajectory. That lowers to just over 1,000 if the majority of Americans wear masks from now

IHME said its modeling has predicted there could be a peak of daily deaths in mid-January at 2,200 based on the current trajectory. That lowers to just over 1,000 if the majority of Americans wear masks from now

IHME said its modeling has predicted 439,000 cumulative US deaths by March 1 based on the currently public health measures and trajectory

IHME said its modeling has predicted 439,000 cumulative US deaths by March 1 based on the currently public health measures and trajectory

In the US, COVID-19 now kills about 0.6 percent of people infected with the virus, compared with around 0.9 percent early in the pandemic, their study found. 

IHME Director Dr Christopher Murray said the statistics reflect that doctors have figured out better ways to care for coronavirus patients, including the use of blood thinners and oxygen support. Effective treatments, such as the generic steroid dexamethasone, have also been identified.

Experts have struggled to accurately measure a crucial metric in the pandemic: the fatality rate, or percentage of people infected with the pathogen who are likely to die. 

The difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that many people who become infected do not experience symptoms and are never identified. 

IHME said it had been using an infection-fatality rate derived from surveys after accounting for age. 

Older people are at much higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than younger people.

‘We know the risk is profoundly age-related. For every one year of age, the risk of death increases by 9 percent,’ Murray said. 

The institute, an influential source of COVID-19 forecasts, said it has also determined that the fatality rate for COVID-19 is worse in communities with high levels of obesity.  

The group said it has now switched to an infection-fatality rate that varies over time – declining since the first pandemic wave in March and April by around 0.19 percent per day until the beginning of September. 

It also varies across locations as a function of obesity prevalence and continues to vary based on population distribution by age. 

IHME said its analysis of age-standardized fatality rates from more than 300 surveys suggests a 30 percent decline since March/April. 



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