Skip to main content

Coronavirus Watch: US is seeing almost 2,000 deaths a day

Grace Hauck   | Paste BN

COVID-19 is killing Americans almost as quickly as the worst week of the summer surge.

The daily coronavirus death toll rocketed to almost 1,900 on Wednesday as weeks of rising infection totals are beginning to translate into fatality numbers not seen since May. That's when, for more than a week, daily deaths averaged over 2,000.

It's Thursday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's the most significant news of the day, as of 12 p.m. ET:

  • Face mask mandates are gaining momentum among Republican governors in Iowa, Utah and Ohio.
  • New York City, the nation's first virus "hot spot," is facing new restrictions as infections and hospitalizations are again climbing in the city. Bars, restaurants and gyms statewide must close at 10 p.m. daily, beginning Friday.
  • New Jersey health officials are blaming Halloween parties for at least five COVID-19 outbreaks.
  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced another $70 million to global efforts to develop and distribute vaccines for low- and middle-income countries.
  • Ticketmaster is working on a plan to safely allow people to return to concerts in 2021 by verifying if they tested negative for COVID-19 or have been vaccinated, Billboard reported.
  • The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healing.

Today's numbers: A record 144,133 infections were reported Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The U.S. has reported more than 10.4 million cases and 241,000 deaths. Globally, there have been 52 million cases and 1.28 million fatalities. See the numbers in your area here, and check out where cases are rising here.

Numbers in context:  Wednesday was the ninth straight day the count of new daily cases surpassed 100,000 – and until nine days ago, the U.S. had never surpassed 100,000 cases. For days, almost every state has reported rising case counts. Nearly two-thirds of the states are reporting cases faster than they ever have before.

Thank you for subscribing!

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck

Facebook Twitter Email