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The number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in 75 percent of the country as the U.S. approaches a “critical phase” of the pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said Wednesday. “Unfortunately we're seeing a distressing trend here in the United States,” Jay Butler, the CDC’s deputy director for infectious diseases, said at a media briefing at the agency's headquarters in Atlanta. (Hellmann, 10/21)

Hospitals across the United States are starting to buckle from a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, with several states setting records for the number of people hospitalized and leaders scrambling to find extra beds and staff. New highs in cases have been reported in states big and small — from Idaho to Ohio — in recent days. The rise in cases and hospitalizations was alarming to medical experts. Around the world, disease trackers have seen a pattern: First, the number of cases rises, then hospitalizations and finally there are increases in deaths. Seeing hospitals struggling is alarming because it may already be too late to stop a crippling surge. (Pane, Johnson and Peters, 10/21)

With that, the much-feared fall and winter surge of coronavirus cases that experts warned of for months may now be here. Despite the US already suffering at least 220,000 Covid-19 deaths — the highest death toll in the world — it looks like things are getting worse. (Lopez, 10/22)

Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña and his wife come from large families and typically split the holiday festivities, getting together with one group of relatives for Thanksgiving and another one at Christmas. This year, they’ll reluctantly keep their distance from both. "We’re going to have to make sacrifices," said Cioe-Peña, an emergency room physician and director of Global Health at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York. "My wife and I decided this year’s going to be nuclear family, and we’re not inviting anybody over." (Ortiz, 10/21)

Six U.S. states reported record day-over-day increases in COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, according to a Reuters analysis, as infections rose across the Midwest and elsewhere, prompting new clampdowns on residents, schools and businesses. Deaths attributed to COVID-19 hit daily records in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Kansas, Hawaii and Wisconsin, Reuters found. Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Colorado and Ohio reported record daily increases in new infections, the tally showed. ... “Folks, please stay home,” Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a statement on Wednesday. “Help us protect our communities from this highly-contagious virus and avoid further strain on our hospitals.” (Shumaker and Caspani, 10/21)

Michiganders need to do everything they can to stop the spread of COVID-19 now if they want to avoid any drastic outcomes, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Wednesday during a press conference where she said she was "sounding the alarm bell." The governor, joined by the state's chief medical executive, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, said the state is taking new action to fight the disease caused by the coronavirus. Asked about the possibility of a new shutdown anywhere in the state, she said she didn't want to cause additional anxiety but it is incumbent on everyone to do what they can to stop the spread of the disease. (Boucher and Shamus, 10/21)

Northern and Southern Indiana hospitals are struggling to handle a surge of patients amid all-time highs in COVID cases while their Central Indiana counterparts are not seeing as much of a rush as they did in the spring. (Rudavsky, 10/22)