On Saturday alone, four states – Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana and Wisconsin – saw record increases in new cases, and nationwide nearly 49,000 new infections were reported, the highest for a Saturday in seven weeks, according to a Reuters analysis. Kansas, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota and Wyoming also set new case records last week.
Daytime highs in many of these states are now in the 50s Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). Health experts have long warned that colder temperatures that bring people indoors could promote the spread of the virus.
Montana has reported a record number of new cases for three of the past four days and also has a record number of Covid-19 patients in its hospitals.
Wisconsin has set new case records in two of the last three days and also reported record hospitalizations on Saturday. On average, 22% of tests are positive, one of the highest rates in the country.
The Democratic governor of Wisconsin ordered masks on Aug. 1, but Republican lawmakers back a lawsuit challenging the requirement.
North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin have the highest new cases per capita in the country.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson is one of several prominent Republicans who have tested positive for coronavirus since President Donald Trump announced that he had contracted the virus.
Due to the increase in cases in the Midwest, nursing homes and assisted living facilities operated by Aspirus in northern Wisconsin and Michigan are banning visitors as they did earlier this year.
Bellin Health, which runs a hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, said last week that its emergency department has been over capacity at times and that doctors had to place patients in beds in hallways.
The United States reports 42,600 new cases and 700 deaths on average each day, compared to 35,000 cases and 800 deaths in mid-September. Deaths are a lagging indicator and tend to increase several weeks after cases increase.
Kentucky is the first southern state to report a record spike in cases in several weeks. Gov. Andy Beshear said last week was the highest number of cases the state has seen since the pandemic began.
State health experts have not identified the reason for the increase, but point to fatigue with Covid-19 precautions and students returning to schools and universities. Over the past two weeks, Kentucky has reported nearly 11,000 new cases and seen a 20% increase in hospitalizations for Covid-19 patients.
.
