More than 100,000 people in the United States are hospitalized because of COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began as hospitals across the country brace for a likely post-Thanksgiving surge, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The only downward trend in U.S. coronavirus data is testing, the project noted. Though data shows a sign of trending back up, testing plummeted around the Thanksgiving holiday, dropping from an average of 1.8 million on Nov. 25 to 1.5 million on Wednesday.
The drop in testing temporarily created a reciprocal decrease in positive COVID-19 cases, but Wednesday’s 195,695 cases represented the highest single-day caseload ever. More than 2,000 deaths were reported on Wednesday, the greatest number of deaths in one day since May 7.
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.4 million tests, 196k cases, and 2,733 deaths. There are 100,226 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the US —the first time hospitalizations have exceeded 100k. pic.twitter.com/8QSKujBGao
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) December 3, 2020
In November alone, the U.S. reported more than 4 million coronavirus cases, smashing the previous record of 1.9 million cases in October. In the past month, roughly 40,000 people died from COVID-19.
“1 out of every 3,300 Americans is in a hospital bed tonight with COVID, without visitors, hoping their body will keep breathing so they can get home to their loved ones,” Bloomberg’s Steven Dennis tweeted.
“For scale, in a typical day fewer than 10,000 USA deaths are recorded from all causes, per CDC stats,” Dennis added. “The leading cause of death is heard decided, which kills an average of 1,800 a day.”
For scale, in a typical day fewer than 10,000 USA deaths are recorded from all causes, per CDC stats.
The leading cause of death is heart disease, which kills an average of 1,800 a day.https://t.co/NbADDA8uGg
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) December 3, 2020
Speaking after Thanksgiving, top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the U.S. could experience “yet another surge superimposed upon the [current] surge,” saying that it would take “three to three and a half weeks” before the post-Thanksgiving surge manifested itself. Dr. Deborah Birx echoed Fauci’s concerns, noting that Thanksgiving gatherings would “reverse” progress made in some states, particularly in the Northern Plains.
More than 13 million people in the country have tested positive for COVID-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. conducts far more testing than other nations but has also reported nearly 100,000 more deaths than the country with the second-highest death toll, Brazil. Brazil has reported more than 7 million fewer cases than the U.S. India, with the second-highest caseload, has reported 9.4 million.
