U.S. sets another record for single-day cases
America’s coronavirus crisis deepened Saturday as cases continued to surge and an electoral victory for former Vice President Joe Biden offered the possibility of a significantly different approach to efforts to contain the spread.
For the fourth consecutive day, a single-day record was set for coronavirus cases, with more than 134,000 reported. Numerous states in the Midwest reported record high numbers of new cases, but the peakswere not limited to a single region and included Pennsylvania, Virginia andWashington state. In total, state authorities reported more than 1,100 new deaths Saturday.
The continued rise came as Biden was declared winner of the presidential election and he vowed to take urgent steps to address the pandemic, which has killed more than 237,000 people in the United States, far more than in any other nation.
The number of newly reported coronavirus cases in Oklahoma on Saturday more than doubled the previous one-day record, but the state’s health department said a bureaucratic backlog and duplicate reporting partially account for the steep increase.
There were 4,741 new cases, bringing the total to 136,492 since the pandemic began, the department said. The previous one-day record of 2,101 new cases was recorded Thursday as cases in the state have surged in recent weeks.
“We have reason to believe that ournormal casecountwouldhave continued on an upward trajectory without the backlog and duplication,” which is due to a transition from a manual to electronic reporting system, according to a health department statement. Officials said theywere not sure how many cases were recorded twice but were investigating.
In a statement, Gov. Kevin Stitt called on residents to wash hands often, socially distance and voluntarily wearmasks at indoor public places.
Hospital capacity is re-emerging as a concern in the U.S. and in countries such as France, where cases rose to a record of almost 87,000 after officials added data
fromearlier in theweek. InAustralia, after one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns, residents of Melbourne will be allowed to travel freely to other areas of Victoria state from midnight as the “ring of steel” surrounding the city of 5million is lifted.
In remarks late Friday, before news organizations called the election in his favor, Biden said his campaign had already begun organizing to mount an aggressive response to the virus.
“I want everyone, everyone to know, on Day One, we’re going to put our plan to control this virus intoaction,” he said fromWilmington, Del. “We can’t save any of the lives lost, any of those who have been lost, but we can save a lot of lives in the months ahead.”
Biden is expectedtoannounce a coronavirus task forceMonday, according to two people familiar with theplans, whoalso cautioned that the timing could change and who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Tom Frieden, who was director
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Obama administration, recommended targeted closures and faster response to infections amid the “national tsunami” of infections.
“The sooner we shut, the softer and shorter we can shut,” he said Friday on Twitter. “We can minimize disruption to holiday shopping, jobs, andeducation, andalso
find and reduce the major drivers of spread. To have happier holidays at the end of the year, we must stay much safer for next 6 weeks.”
ACDCreport affirmed the effectiveness of measures Frieden and other public health experts have advocated, including contact tracing, case investigations and stay-at home rules.
The study, released Friday, found that in following the implementation of multiple public health precautions in Delaware in the months leading to late June, disease incidence fell by 82 percent, hospitalization by 88 percent and mortality by 100 percent.
Meanwhile, Biden’s victory in the presidential election and the unresolved status of Senate control left slim prospects for a major fiscal-stimulus package before January.
While President Donald Trump last month pledged a large postelection stimulus act, it was based on his assumption that he’d win re-election. Henowhas little political incentive — or capital — to drive a deal through a divided Congress in his remaining weeks in office.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers were quick to restate their opposing positions on Friday as Biden closed in on his win. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cited falling unemployment in arguing for a “highly targeted” relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected that idea, saying “that isn’t somethingwe should be looking at.”
While each side called for renewed talks and neither advocated holding off until next year, Democrats potentially have an incentive to wait until two Senate runoff races in Georgia in January make clear whether they’ll retake control of the upper chamber. That would allow Biden, Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to push ahead with their own plan.
In the meantime, Senate Republicans will be able to block the scale of spending that the Trump administration was negotiating with Pelosi lastmonth— about $1.9 trillion. Democrats had been holding out for even more, at $2.4 trillion, down froma $3.5 trillion plan back in May.
“Something smaller, rather than throwing another $3 trillion at this issue, is more appropriate,” McConnell said Friday after the October employment report showed the U.S. jobless rate fell by a percentage point to 6.9 percent, a bigger decline than expected. “That, I think, clearly ought to affect what size of any rescue package we additionally do.”