Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Are Americans 'Giving Up'? COVID Cases Skyrocket Past 120,000 In A Day
A record number of coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, breaking a record set Wednesday of more than 100,000 cases in a single day. A total of 120,048 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, nearly 16,000 more than on Wednesday, according to an NBC News tally. (Stelloh and Mullen, 11/5)
The coronavirus is surging out of control across the country, and more than 121,000 cases were reported on Thursday, more new cases than on any other day of the pandemic. In 43 states, new infections are climbing steadily higher. To many Americans, the pandemic鈥檚 march feels inexorable. (Bosman, Burch and Mervosh, 11/5)
Since cases began climbing in mid-September, states have periodically introduced incremental restrictions but largely steered clear of sweeping actions. Some health officials hope that will change in a post-election landscape. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been this sense of people giving up,鈥 Michael Fraser, chief executive of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, told The Post. 鈥淵ou had state leaders looking at the election and deciding it was not worth taking bold, unpopular moves against the virus that might save lives but hurt your side politically. There鈥檚 been state health officials debating whether to continue telling people to do things, because they know many are not going to listen.鈥 (Noori Farzan, 11/6)
The record officially marks what was already clear: As winter nears, the country鈥檚 third surge of infection is dangerously accelerating in almost every region of the country. This is the reality that the United States is facing, regardless of who will become its next chief executive: A deadly respiratory pandemic is spiraling out of control, and the number of hospitalized people鈥攁nd deaths鈥攊s certain to rise over the next several months. (Meyer and Madrigal, 11/4)
Also 鈥
A quarter of a million coronavirus infections have been reported at colleges and universities across the United States, according to a New York Times survey, as schools across the nation struggle to keep outbreaks in check. The bulk of the cases have occurred since students returned for the fall semester, with more than 38,000 new cases reported in the last two weeks alone. And the numbers are almost certainly an undercount. (11/5)