One day in America: more than 121,000 cases of the virus

Racine, Wiz. – They were confined to their car in a fever and haunted, slow single-file line waiting for coronavirus tests.

Some of the windows rolled down and back to the headwaters to get inside the 72-degree wind gust from inside Lake Michigan, eyes closed. In a family of five with three children in the back seat of the minivan, trying to find out that the test site was not full, had to turn around for hours already.

The coronavirus is spiraling out of control across the country, with more than 121,000 cases reported on Thursday, more than any other day of the epidemic. States In 43 states, new infections are on the rise. For many Americans, the epidemic march seems inappropriate.

“We knew it was a matter of time,” said Matt Christens, sitting in the minivan’s passenger seat with his wife.

Across America in a single day, coronavirus churns through homes, workplaces, hospitals, schools, and laboratories. Thursday morning through night, the worst day of the epidemic in terms of new cases, snapshots gave a glimpse of the constant spread of the virus and the disastrous result: in Cleveland, Labo workers began the second grinding day of the process of coronavirus tests. In Minot, ND, wandering to find a place for a crush of coronavirus patients coming through the door of a hospital. Unionville, Conn. In, grief-stricken relatives finalized plans for the funeral of the 98-year-old Matriarch of a family who died of the virus.

And officials in Missouri interrupted with the announcement of the day’s controversy: a man who tested positive for the coronavirus last week on Tuesday disqualified and disobeyed an order as an election judge in suburban St. Louis, a suburb of St. Louis. A man who could not be identified by St. Charles County officials has died.

Morning please

On Thursday morning, governors began what is now a familiar routine, urging Americans in front of news cameras to do their part to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

In Iowa, where there has been an 18 percent increase in cases over the past two weeks, Governor Kim Reynolds urged residents to take what they described as a crucial time in the state’s fight.

“For at least the next three weeks, I am asking Iowans to make every effort to help stop the spread of Covid-1 the,” he said. Reynolds said the capacity could be increased if cases continued to rise. .

Dity. David Williams, Chief Clinical of UnityPoint Health, Fischer, put it more firmly.

Dr. Fe Williams said, “Fellow Iowans, my job is to tell you that now we have to start listening.”

The message was echoed by Ohio Governor Mike Devine hours later, after announcing in his state record that 61 people had been diagnosed with coronavirus in a single 24-hour period and 541 were critically ill in intensive care. Epidemic.

“It doesn’t matter the virus, if we voted for Donald Trump, it doesn’t matter if we voted for Care Biden or not.” “It’s coming after all of us.”

In its own state, the most invisible task of diagnosing and fighting the virus, continued in a quiet laboratory around noon.

At the Cleveland Clinic, a huge fridge glowed with rows and rows of coronavirus samples. The techniques of surgical masks and blue plastic gloves shook the test tube and squinted at the graphs on computer screens, trying to determine if yet another patient had tested positive for the virus.

This is a reality across America, where laboratories – once overlooked in the back rooms of hospitals – have become the front and center in the country’s epidemic response, as they run with the demand for testing in mind.

Almost every hour, samples from the nearby coronavirus test site were sealed in a cooler and left at the Cleveland Clinic Lab. The machine processing samples rotated twenty-four hours. Unlike people working in the lab, he never seemed tired of lingering for months on end.

One lab supervisor said, “I’m working, I’m going home, I’m coming back.” Another activist described the ever-increasing sense of pressure and responsibility. “This is not fun and sports,” he said. “People’s lives are in danger there.”

Children are also experiencing the effects of increasing caseloads, forcing schools to close due to the growing infection, or postponing reopening if they have not yet reopened.

In southwestern Virginia on Thursday, hundreds of students from the Henry County Public Schools District were working in their classrooms. They had come online weeks later in mid-October. But after individual staff resumes, 22 staff members and students tested positive for the virus, and hundreds more were isolated.

So, on Thursday, the holidays are approaching and with the possibility of more cases tied to the family reunion, the superintendent, Sandy Streer, will recommend to the board that the school return to virtual learning by January.

The board unanimously accepted his recommendation. Come Monday, the district’s schools will be closed again.

A heavy toll

In Minot, ND, patients were waiting to be admitted to an emergency room at Trinity Health on Thursday. The entire floor, dedicated to coronavirus patients, which can hold up to 35 people, had no more beds. Half of the patients in the intensive care unit were sick with the virus.

Staff Chief Dr .. Jeffrey Sheather called on other major hospitals in the state to see if they could send some patients there – a regular request in normal times. But every hospital was also full. He will have to handle the rush alone.

He said he was thinking about how to dedicate the second six floors of the hospital to coronavirus patients.

Lisa Clute, director of public health at the First District Health Unit, said coronavirus test positivity rose to 5 percent every Thursday in Ward Ward County, Minot, a city of about 1,000. The virus has spread to the community and recently reached two long-term care facilities, where dozens of staff and residents are now infected.

On Thursday, a lot of people on Dr .. Sheather’s staff were working overtime to meet the huge demand. He said he worries about overworked employees, as well as what he sees every day.

D They. Sheth said they regularly witness deaths. “And that’s a huge mental toll.”

Quiet farewell

Amanda Harper always envisioned Grandma’s funeral as the perfect celebration of life that took her from Canada to Connecticut. Juliet Marie Foley, 98’s viewing and service would have been in a church, then family time, where loved ones would have hidden a hole in old photos and swapped stories.

But it was preceded by epidemics and traditions of life and death.

In October, the survivors of 17 children, Ms. Foley contracted coronavirus. An avid baker and seamstress, she died on the last day of the month.

On Thursday afternoon, a day before Mrs. Foley’s small cemetery service in Connecticut, there were many details to consider for Mr. Harper and the rest of the family.

The Ms. in Australia. Will the zoom link work for friends and relatives who couldn’t attend, including Foley’s beloved grandson? To attend a few face-to-face present, Ms. How can Harper ensure he is intimate and safe, especially by increasing the number of virus cases in Connecticut? Should she bring a big photo of her grandmother, or would she encourage people to gather too close?

The marketing director of the university in Boston, 37, Ms. “This epidemic has robbed us of the way to say goodbye,” Harper said. “My grandmother had this pretty full life and she ends up in fact in this devastating epidemic.”

By dinner, the nation once again reached the 100,000 case mark.

Julie Bosman Report from Resin, Sarah Merwash From Cleveland, and Ra Dra D.S. Birch Hollywood, Fla. Mitch Smith The report from Chicago contributed, Lucy Tompkins Bismarck, N.D. and Kate Taylor From Boston. Steven Moity Contributed research.