Washington, D.C., reported 206 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, double the number of previously recorded cases in the nation’s capital in recent days.
With the seven-day rolling average of new cases in the 80s and 90s for the past two weeks, this marks the largest increase in a 24-hour period in D.C. since May, according to NBC Washington.
It remains unclear what caused the increase in cases, but there have been significant spikes in places across the country in recent weeks.
Masses of people took to the streets in D.C. and other cities across the country on Saturday to celebrate the media’s projection that Joe Biden will become the 46th president of the United States. Hundreds, if not thousands of people gathered near the White House, many wearing masks, although there was little social distancing. However, it’s too early to tell if these gatherings may fuel more spikes in cases.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser attended presumed Biden’s victory in Delaware, breaking her own coronavirus restrictions. The mayor defended the trip, calling it “essential travel.”
There have been a total of 18,379 positive cases in D.C. since the beginning of the pandemic. At least 14,000 have recovered while 657 lives have been lost, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Tracker.
In all, the U.S. surpassed 10 million cases of COVID-19 earlier this week. Hospitalizations have hit a new high too. Nearly 62,000 people were in hospitals with COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
