By REBECCA BOONE and DAVID CRARY Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. coronavirus caseload has reached record heights with more than 83,000 infections reported in a single day, the latest ominous sign of the disease’s grip on the nation, as states from Connecticut to the Rocky Mountain West reel under the surge.
The U.S. death toll, meanwhile, has grown to 223,995, according to the COVID-19 Dashboard published by Johns Hopkins University. The total U.S. caseload reported on the site Friday was 83,757, topping the 77,362 cases reported on July 16.
The impact is being felt in every section of the country — a lockdown starting Friday at the Oglala Sioux Tribe’s reservation in South Dakota, a plea by a Florida health official for a halt to children’s birthday parties, dire warnings from Utah’s governor, and an increasingly desperate situation at a hospital in northern Idaho, which is running out of space for patients and considering airlifts to Seattle or Portland, Oregon.
“We’ve essentially shut down an entire floor of our hospital. We’ve had to double rooms. We’ve bought more hospital beds,” said Dr. Robert Scoggins, a pulmonologist at the Kootenai Health hospital in Coeur d’Alene. “Our hospital is not built for a pandemic.”
And, from the New York Times
- A resurgent virus attacks the heartland, just before the election.
- UnitedHealth will ship 200,000 coronavirus and flu kits to stem a ‘twindemic.’
- A soaring number of Covid-19 cases brings back ragged memories of mid-July.
- After pausing for safety concerns, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have resumed their U.S. vaccine trials.
- The C.D.C. offers tips for voting safely during a pandemic.
