New cases of COVID-19 in the United States hit a two-month high on Friday with over 58,000 infections of the new coronavirus reported and hospitalizations in the Midwest at record levels for the fifth day in a row, according to a Reuters analysis.
Ten
of the 50 states reported record one-day rises in cases on Friday, including
the Midwestern states of Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Wisconsin and
Illinois recorded over 3,000 new cases for the second day in a row - a two-day
trend not seen even during the height of the previous outbreak in the spring,
according to Reuter’s data.
The
Western states of Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming also reported their biggest
one-day jumps in cases, as did Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Nineteen
states have seen record increases in new cases so far in October. (Graphic:
https://tmsnrt.rs/2SFLb7o)
Amid
the resurgence in cases across the nation, President Donald Trump, who recently
contracted COVID-19, is set to resume his re-election campaign on Saturday by
addressing supporters from the balcony of the White House.
He
is then scheduled’ to travel on Monday to central Florida to hold his first
campaign rally since leaving the hospital.
Trump
and his administration have faced criticism for their handling of the pandemic
that has claimed over 213,000 lives in the country, as well as for a lax
approach to mask-wearing and social distancing in the White House.
There
is no federal mandate to wear a mask, and 17 states do not require them,
according to a Reuter’s analysis.
In
addition to rising cases, hospitals in several states are straining to handle
an influx of patients.
Seven
states on Friday reported record numbers of hospitalized COVID-19 patients:
Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
In
the Midwest, hospitalizations rose to nearly 9,000, continuing a streak of
records that began on Monday.
There
are now over 34,000 hospitalized nationally, up 18% in the past two weeks.
While
deaths nationally continue to trend downward, the United States is losing on
average 700 lives a day. Three states reported a record one-day increase in
fatalities on Friday: Arkansas, Missouri and Montana. Health experts caution
that deaths are a lagging indicator and usually rise weeks after cases climb.
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