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 The spike to 84,218 cases, breaking the record of 77,299 set on July
16, comes as University of Washington researchers forecast that the
U.S. death toll from COVID-19 could reach a total of 500,000 by
February.
Sixteen U.S. states also hit one-day records for new infections of
the virus that causes COVID-19 on Friday, including five considered
key in the Nov. 3 presidential election: Ohio, Michigan, North
Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Health experts have not pinpointed the reason for the rise but have
cited such factors as colder temperatures driving people inside,
fatigue with COVID-19 precautions and students returning to schools
and colleges.
The latest estimate by the widely cited University of Washington's
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation also reflects fears that
cold winter weather will drive Americans indoors, where the virus is
more likely to spread.
"We are heading into a very substantial fall/winter surge," said
IHME director Chris Murray, who co-led the research.
The number of possible deaths could drop by 130,000 if 95% of
Americans would cover their faces, the IHME said, echoing a
recommendation by 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
the end of November, the beginning of 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
nationwide to the behavior of individuals, saying household
gatherings have become a "major vector of disease spread."
Asked about an assertion by President Donald Trump during Thursday
night's presidential debate that the United States is "rounding the
turn" on the pandemic, Azar told CNN that Trump was trying to
provide hope to Americans waiting for a vaccine.
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On Thursday there were 916 reported fatalities in the United States, a day after
the country recorded over 1,200 new deaths for the first time since August.
Eighteen states have reported their highest daily numbers of hospitalized
COVID-19 patients since the pandemic started and on Friday, the number of
COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals climbed to a two-month high.
There are now more than 41,000 hospitalized patients with coronavirus across the
country, up 34% from Oct. 1, according to a Reuters analysis.
North Dakota, with 887 new cases on both Thursday and Friday, remains the
hardest-hit state, based on new cases per capita, followed by South Dakota,
Montana and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally.
In Tennessee, hospitals in Nashville said they have experienced a 40% increase
in patients admitted for COVID-19.
Dr. Jeff Pothof, an emergency medicine physician at University of Wisconsin
Health in Madison, expressed worry about a lack of compliance with public health
measures in the state, where some groups have challenged Democratic Governor
Tony Evers' COVID-19 restrictions in court.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a curfew on nonessential businesses from
10 p.m. on Friday. She warned residents to avoid social gatherings of more than
six people and end all gatherings by 10 p.m.
Nearly 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 one region of the county without a significant surge
in cases, but infections are trending higher. Boston public schools shifted to
online-only learning this week.
(Reporting by Maria Caspani and Caroline Humer in New York, Kate Kelland in
London, Lisa Shumaker in Chicago, by Anurag Maan in Bengaluru, Doina Chiacu and
Lisa Lambert in Washington. D.C. and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by
Daniel Wallis, Bill Tarrant, Sonya Hepinstall and William Mallard)
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