US hits 11 million Covid cases as restrictions increase, holiday worries intensify



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The United States surpassed more than 11 million Covid-19s on Sunday, as the third wave of the virus continued its uncontrolled spread, new restrictions were introduced and Americans weighed in on whether and how they could celebrate Thanksgiving.

The United States recorded more than one million new cases last week alone, including 156,416 on Saturday, marking the eleventh day in a row that the United States has recorded more than 100,000 daily cases. More than a dozen states, including New Hampshire, Maryland, Colorado and Montana, also broke daily case records on Saturday. Georgia was the only state in the country to see a decrease in cases in the past 14 days.

In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee announced the Sunday dining hall closure, which will take effect at the end of Monday and through December 14. It also limited in-store retail to 25 percent occupancy. Fitness facilities and indoor gymnasiums must close completely. The decision comes shortly after Illinois did the same. In Chicago, a 30-day stay-at-home order begins Monday, with Mayor Lori Lightfoot warning that a huge increase in the number of deaths could result without one.

In Mount Vernon, New York, next to New Rochelle’s first Covid-19 hotspot, the city also issued a “stay-at-home advisory” which will begin on Monday. citing the resurgence of the virus in New York. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that schools would remain open as the positivity rate approaches the 3% that would trigger a closure.

In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis moved his state back to Phase 1, as 1,100 people in the state are hospitalized with the coronavirus. The governor hopes to increase the capacity of hospital beds by at least 50% and asks hospitals to continue planning to convert medical and surgical beds into intensive care beds if necessary.

And in Michigan, where officials have said the increase in the number of cases could soon lead to 1,000 deaths per week, Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday announced a new order partially closing places like restaurants, bars and schools. The three-week order also limits family gatherings, suspends organized sports that are not professional or college-level, and extends a mask term for indoor and outdoor gatherings.

“We are seeing more cases in more places than ever before,” Dr Tom Frieden, former CDC director under President Barack Obama, told “TODAY” on Sunday.

More than 60,000 Americans are currently hospitalized with the virus, which Frieden said will drop to at least 100,000 next month.

“Unfortunately, that means changing our Thanksgiving plans,” said Frieden, who recommends people not to travel for the holidays and avoid “crowded indoor spaces”.

“Traveling from one place to another, meeting inside many families for a long time without a mask, is a formula for a massive explosion,” he said. “Unless we change our Thanksgiving plans, we’re going to have a very merry Christmas, I’m afraid.

As the number increases, so do families. In San Antonio, Texas, 4-year-old Raiden Gonzalez lost both parents to the virus. Her father died in June at age 33 and her mother in October at age 29.

“This morning he told me that he wanted to find his mother and that he just wanted her to come back,” said Raiden’s grandmother, Rozie Salinas.

Healthcare workers are also feeling the burden, as the virus is only getting worse. “Everyone feels like they’ve run a marathon and now we’re being asked to do an ironman, and now we’re just tired,” Dr. Michelle Prickett, Northwestern University Hospital, told “TODAY ‘HUI’.



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