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BOISE, Idaho – The number of coronavirus cases in the U.S. has reached record levels with more than 83,000 infections reported in a single day, the latest ominous sign of disease control in the nation, as states from Connecticut to Rocky Mountain West stagger under the rise.
Meanwhile, the death toll in the US has risen to 223,995, according to the COVID-19 Dashboard released by Johns Hopkins University. The total number of cases in the United States reported on the site on Friday was 83,757, surpassing the 77,362 cases reported on July 16.
The impact is being felt in every section of the country: a shutdown starting Friday at the Oglala Sioux Tribe reservation in South Dakota, a request by a Florida health official to stop children’s birthday parties, warnings dire circumstances from the governor of Utah and a growing desperate situation at a hospital in northern Idaho, which is running out of patient space and considering air travel to Seattle or Portland, Oregon.
“Basically, we have closed an entire floor of our hospital. We have had double rooms. We have bought more hospital beds, ”said Dr. Robert Scoggins, pulmonologist at Kootenai Health Hospital in Coeur d’Alene. “Our hospital is not built for a pandemic.”
In the southern Idaho city of Twin Falls, St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center said it would no longer accept children because it is overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. With the exception of newborns, all children under the age of 18 will be sent 206 kilometers (128 miles) away in Boise.
Among those who joined Scoggins in northern Idaho at an Idaho Panhandle Health District meeting was board member Walk Kirby.
“People are dying, they will keep dying and trapping these things,” Kirby said. How many people will not wear a mask? The same people who will not be vaccinated. “
Utah Governor Gary Herbert proclaimed Friday “a record day for Utah, but not a good one,” as COVID-19 cases hit a record for the state.
“So far, our hospitals have been able to provide good care to all patients with and without COVID who need it,” he said. “But today we are on the edge of the abyss. If Utahns don’t take serious steps to limit group gatherings and wear masks, our healthcare providers will not have the ability to provide quality care to all who need it. “
By public health order, masks are required in 21 counties, Herbert said, urging Utahns to wear one whenever they are around someone outside their immediate home.
The seven-day moving average for daily new COVID-19 cases in the US topped 61,140 on Thursday, compared with 44,647 two weeks ago. The record was reached on July 22 when the moving average was 67,293 amid a summer outbreak driven in large part by waves of the virus in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.
The surge in the United States reflects an equally widespread rebound in Europe, where Rome, Paris and other major cities are tapping into nightlife as part of increasingly drastic measures taken to slow the spread of the pandemic. French authorities said the country had registered more than 1 million confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, making it the second Western European country after Spain to reach that number.
The director of the World Health Organization warned that the countries of the northern hemisphere are at a “critical juncture” as cases and deaths continue to increase.
“The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous path,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference on Friday.
Some of the latest developments in the United States:
SOUTH DAKOTA
In South Dakota, the Oglala Sioux tribe ordered a week-long closure of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in response to a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the state. Until the morning of October 30, all non-essential travel is prohibited and non-essential businesses must close.
The tribe posted on its Twitter page that there were 391 active cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday on the reservation, which has around 20,000 residents.
The lockdown comes as South Dakota surpassed 9,000 active coronavirus cases on Thursday and reported an all-time high of 973 new cases in one day.
FLORIDA
The top health official in one of Florida’s most populous counties discouraged parents from hosting birthday parties for their children, regardless of size.
Dr. Raul Pino, a state health official in Orange County, said that half of the 30 attendees at a Sweet 16 party in the Orlando area contracted the virus. Last month, an Orange County high school closed for two weeks after students who had attended a birthday party tested positive.
“Those parties will not only affect the people who participate in that activity, but also everyone else they come in contact with when they leave,” said Pino. “We will continue to see consequences if we do not act super responsibly.”
TEXAS
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott is sending more medical reinforcements to the El Paso area in response to the increase in coronavirus infections. The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Division of Emergency Management will provide additional medical personnel and equipment this week.
El Paso County reported 3,750 new coronavirus infections this week, including 1,161 on Thursday. That number represents 17.5% of the 21,321 cases reported this week by the state’s 254 counties.
IDAHO
Even as the health care situation worsened in northern Idaho, a regional health board voted to repeal a local mask mandate. He performed moments after hearing how the Kootenai Health hospital in Coeur d’Alene had reached 99% capacity.
Kootenai is the third most populous county in conservative Idaho.
The state is experiencing its largest coronavirus surge since the pandemic began, with new cases increasing statewide by 46.5% over the past two weeks. Gov. Brad Little, a Republican, has refused to take steps such as requiring masks statewide to slow the spread of the virus.
Dr. Joshua Kern, St. Luke’s vice president for the Magic Valley region that includes Twin Falls and Jerome, said Thursday during a virtual press conference that he and other medical professionals are scared.
“The purpose of any intervention around the coronavirus has been to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed, and here I am today saying that the hospital is overwhelmed,” he said.
A day later, on Friday, his hospital announced the decision to send younger patients to Boise.
NEW JERSEY and CONNECTICUT
For a time, as new COVID-19 cases increased in the Midwest and elsewhere, the level of new cases remained low in the Northeast, which had previously been hit hard in the pandemic. Several states, including New Jersey and Connecticut, imposed 14-day quarantine requirements for travelers arriving from dozens of states with higher rates of positive tests.
This week, however, rates in New Jersey and Connecticut increased to the point where they qualify for their own quarantine restrictions.
After some confusion, the Democratic governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, where fares remain lower, decided to keep their travel rules in place but not add each other to their quarantine lists.
