Coronavirus in the United States: More closures, including …

US first recorded over 150,000 coronavirus cases in one day, in the middle of a third peak which has multiplied deaths and hospitalizations and which has already forced several large cities to return to distance education and many governors to close restaurants and bars and redouble requests to wear masks.

For the third consecutive day, moreover, United States hits record hospitalizations for Covid-19, with more than 67,000 until Wednesday and with a particularly dramatic overflow of health centers in states like North Dakota, where The governor authorized the work of nurses infected but without symptoms this week.

In Utah, for example, one of the state’s largest hospitals announced it would bring in 200 nurses from other parts of the country, including many from New York City, which from tonight is forcing its bars and restaurants to close at 10 pm to cope with the new peak in infections.

The virus has already claimed more than 242,000 lives and 10.5 million cases in the country hardest hit by the pandemic, which faces what experts say is a bleak winter due to large numbers of people ignoring it use of masks and restrictions, as well as at the onset of the cold and the need to spend more time indoors.

The situation will get even worse

According to a widely consulted statistical model projected this Thursday, the United States will have 438,941 deaths from Covid-19 by March 1, 2021 with current restrictions, and the figure could reach 587,000 by that date if states relax the measures. social distancing and the recommendation to wear a chin strap.

The University of Washington Institute for Statistics and Medical Assessment (IHME) model also predicted that 36 of the 50 states would experience “high or extreme pressure” from mid-December to February, being “extreme” only. with 20% of Occupation of all beds by patients with Covid-19 and “high” than with 10%.

This could force a limit on scheduled surgeries, according to the IHME.

For three days, the total number of people currently admitted to hospitals in the United States with coronavirus exceeds 60,000, a level that had never reached so far, and set a record on Wednesday with 67,096, according to the Covid site Tracking Project (CTP).

Contagion record

Also on Wednesday, the country recorded 153,496 new infections, the first time it topped 150,000 and the 10th day in a row with more than 100,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University (JUH) database. The country already has more than 10.5 million confirmed cases.

Another 919 people have died from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, the accumulated number of which is already at least 242,436, according to the JUH. Also yesterday, California became the second state to exceed one million cases, after Texas did the same this week. It already accumulates 1,000,631 infections and 18,126 deaths from the virus.

“Individual responsibility”

Amid those numbers, some state governors preferred an approach that prioritizes “individual responsibility” over mandatory requirements, such as the use of masks.

In North Dakota, nurses oppose Gov. Doug Burgum’s order to allow health workers with asymptomatic coronavirus to continue their duties, arguing they should first try to reduce infections with measures that have full scientific approval, such as the use of masks.

In other states, authorities have reversed restrictions, but not as severe as those applied at the start of the national epidemic, last spring, between March and June.

The mayor of Chicago has asked residents to suspend Thanksgiving celebrations on November 26, limit all social gatherings to ten people, and stay home except for essential things, like going to work or buying food, at next Monday, CNN reported.

Minnesota has joined with other states, like New York, in ordering all bars and restaurants to close at 10 p.m. The governor of Wisconsin this week urged people not to leave their homes. The one in Utah made the use of the chinstrap mandatory, while the one in Indiana extended its mandatory use by one month.

Suspension of face-to-face lessons

The city of Philadelphia, Pa., Backed down with plans to resume face-to-face classes on November 30 and arranged to continue online classes.

Detroit, the largest educational district in the state of Michigan, for its part announced that it will suspend face-to-face classes for its nearly 50,000 students next week, joining, like many other districts, teaching in line.

Likewise, the authorities of the cities of Indianapolis, State of Indiana, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for its suburb, and the county of Salt Lake City, Utah.

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday that the district’s 1.1 million students would return to online classes if the positivity rate for tests taken in the city reached 3%.