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More than 84,000 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in the United States on Friday.
- The United States has set a new single-day record for Covid-19 cases in one day.
- 916 deaths were reported in the US, a day after the country recorded more than 1,200 new deaths for the first time since August.
- The number of Covid-19 patients in US hospitals also rose to a two-month high.
More than 84,000 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 across the United States on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, a record rise in infections in a day during the pandemic as the virus reappears across the country.
The increase to 84,218 cases, breaking the record of 77,299 set on July 16, comes as researchers at the University of Washington predicted that the death toll in the United States from Covid-19 could reach a total of 500,000 in February.
Sixteen U.S. states also hit one-day highs for new infections of the virus that causes Covid-19 on Friday, including five deemed key in the November 3 presidential election: Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. .
Health experts have not identified the reason for the increase, but have cited factors such as colder temperatures that drive people indoors, fatigue with Covid-19 precautions, and students returning to schools and universities.
The latest estimate from the widely cited University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation also reflects fears that cold winter weather will drive Americans indoors, where the virus is most likely to spread.
“We are heading for a substantial fall / winter increase,” said IHME Director Chris Murray, who co-led the research.
The number of possible deaths could drop by 130,000 if 95% of Americans covered their faces, the IHME said, echoing a recommendation from Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
VACCINES ON THE HORIZON
“The good news on the horizon is that vaccines look promising,” Fauci told CNN in an interview. “And hopefully by the time we get to late November, early December, we will have shown that we have at least one or two, and maybe more, but at least two, vaccines that are safe and effective.”
Health Secretary Alex Azar attributed the increase in cases across the country to people’s behavior, saying that family gatherings have become a “major vector for the spread of disease.”
When asked about a claim by President Donald Trump during Thursday night’s presidential debate that the United States is “turning around” the pandemic, Azar told CNN that Trump was trying to give Americans hope that they were waiting for a vaccine.
916 deaths were reported in the United States on Thursday, a day after the country recorded more than 1,200 new deaths for the first time since August.
Eighteen states have reported their highest daily number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients since the pandemic began, and on Friday, the number of Covid-19 patients in U.S. hospitals rose to a high of two months.
There are now more than 41,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients nationwide, up 34% from Oct. 1, according to a Reuters analysis.
North Dakota, with 887 new cases both Thursday and Friday, remains the worst-hit state, based on new cases per capita, followed by South Dakota, Montana and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally.
In Tennessee, Nashville hospitals said they have seen a 40% increase in patients admitted for Covid-19.
Dr. Jeff Pothof, an emergency physician at the University of Wisconsin Health in Madison, expressed concern about the lack of compliance with public health measures in the state, where some groups have challenged Democratic Governor Tony’s Covid-19 restrictions. Evers in court.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a non-essential business curfew beginning at 10:00 p.m. on Friday. He warned residents to avoid social gatherings of more than six people and to end all gatherings by 10 p.m.
About 2,500 people were hospitalized in Illinois, the state’s top public health official, Dr. Ngozi Ezike, told a news conference.
The Northeast remains the only region in the county without a significant increase in cases, but infections tend to increase. Boston public schools switched to online-only learning this week.
