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The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday the upcoming months could be “the most difficult in the public health history of this nation” because of the stress on the country’s health care system from the coronavirus. “The reality is, December and January and February are going to be tough times,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, speaking at an event with the US Chamber of Commerce. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.” (Kaufman, 12/2)

The White House coronavirus task force issued extremely dire warnings to states in weekly reports this week, urging public health officials to circumvent state and local policies amid record high cases, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as fears of a surge upon a surge following Thanksgiving. "The COVID risk to all Americans is at a historic high," say the reports dated November 29, which were shared with states and obtained by CNN. They provide figures from previous moments in the pandemic for comparison. (Klein, 12/2)

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday the COVID-19 pandemic, still raging with unprecedented fury nationwide, will pose the country’s grimmest health crisis yet over the next few months, before vaccines become widely available. CDC Director Dr Robert Redfield urged stricter adherence to safety precautions such as wearing face coverings, social distancing and good hand hygiene to slow the spread of a highly contagious respiratory virus now claiming well over 2,000 U.S. lives a day. (Gorman and Trotta, 12/2)

With the first doses of a vaccine expected to arrive in the region later this month, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia on Wednesday reported new highs in coronavirus cases — a regular occurrence in recent weeks thanks to the fall surge — on a day when the United States reported its highest one-day loss of life yet. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warned he might tighten the state’s current restrictions if cases there spike in the coming days. Echoing leaders at all levels of government, he warned things could get worse before they get better this winter and urged people in his state to bear down on the public health basics: face masks, social distancing, and handwashing. (McDaniel, Steele and Tornoe, 12/2)