U.S. COVID-19 deaths surpass 250,000 mark as infections surge

[webfact]

U.S. COVID-19 deaths surpass 250,000 mark as infections surge

By Roshan Abraham and Shaina Ahluwalia

 

Signage hangs on entry doors to a hospital wing housing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients at UW Health University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. November 18, 2020. REUTERS/Daniel Acker

 

(Reuters) - The number of COVID-19 deaths in the United States crossed 250,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally, as a third coronavirus wave brings a fresh surge in infections and puts immense strain on the healthcare system.

 

The number of people hospitalized with the virus rose to at least 78,630 by Wednesday afternoon, the highest ever for a single day during the pandemic.

 

Governors and local officials have brought in a range of measures in recent days to try to damp down the surge. Cleveland asked residents to stay home, mask mandates were passed in places that had previously resisted them, and New York City's school district, the largest in the United States, is halting in-person learning from Thursday.

 

Over a seven-day average, the United States is reporting 1,176 daily deaths, more than the daily average deaths in India and Brazil combined - the two countries next most affected.

 

The United States has reported a total of about 11.4 million cases since the start of the pandemic and remains the only country to have reported more than 10 million cases. With nearly 158,000 cases per day, it accounts for one in every 26 infections reported worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

 

The Midwest is currently the hardest-hit region, based on the number of cases per capita. North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska are the top five worst-affected U.S. states.

 

The record number of total new cases reported by any state in any 24-hour period was recorded by Illinois on Friday, with 15,433 new cases, surpassing the previous all-time high of 15,300 set by Florida in July.

 

New York, which was the first major U.S. coronavirus epicenter in March and April, remains the state with the highest overall number of deaths since the pandemic began - over 33,000.

 

(Reporting by Roshan Abraham, Shaina Ahluwalia and Anurag Maan in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Chaitra J; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-19

 

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[Chomper Higgot]

What an utterly depressing milestone.

 

A direct result of making the refusal to follow science based preventative measures a statement of political allegiance.

 

 

[ChouDoufu]

Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

 

Daily Updates of Totals by Week and State

Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

[Eric Loh]

It really boggles my mind on how a highly developed country with well developed public health system is unable to take control of the pandemic for over 8 months. Most countries had some measure of success in flatting the infections and deaths but USA is just the opposite with the pandemic spirally out of control. There really no others to blame but poor and bad leadership. Trump must be accountable for all those needless deaths and losing the election is simply insufficient for crime against its own people.  

[Phoenix Rising]

How Iowa's Governor Went From Dismissing Mask Mandates to Ordering One Herself

 

"Reynolds’ reversal comes as other Republican governors are moving to embrace directives they once eschewed. The governors of North Dakota and Utah have also issued mask mandates in recent days....."

 

I hope there will be legal as well as political consequences for these morons.

[Srikcir]

5 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

It really boggles my mind on how a highly developed country with well developed public health system is unable to take control of the pandemic for over 8 months. Most countries had some measure of success in flatting the infections and deaths but USA is just the opposite with the pandemic spirally out of control. There really no others to blame but poor and bad leadership. Trump must be accountable for all those needless deaths and losing the election is simply insufficient for crime against its own people.  

When Biden's AG takes office, Trump should at least be charged for negligent homocide; albeit Trump will probably grant himself a presidential pardon b3for January 20th for all past, present and future adverse consequences due to his mishandling, disregard and false information concerning covid-19 spread. Biden has indicated he will not have Trump indicted for any breach of federal laws, but it will be the decision of his AG. Maybe some state AG's may charge Trump.

Let the US Supreme Court decide who's above the law. Current 250,000 dead (projected to reach 400,000) deserve some accountability.

[Anant72]

Trump has presided over a mass murder of sorts. His total lack of leadership, his refusal to be accountable, his total indifference to the devastation caused by the virus,  his encouragements to ignore the recommendations of doctors and scientists , all of these make him a prime suspect in this crime. To think that 70,000.000 morons voted for him boggles the mind, 

[IgboChief]

56 minutes ago, Anant72 said:

Trump has presided over a mass murder of sorts. His total lack of leadership, his refusal to be accountable, his total indifference to the devastation caused by the virus,  his encouragements to ignore the recommendations of doctors and scientists , all of these make him a prime suspect in this crime. To think that 70,000.000 morons voted for him boggles the mind, 

 

As much as I despise Trump and the monkeys voting for him: your claim is just wrong.

Murder needs intention. All you can claim is negligence and this is hardly a felony for a government. And I even do not see negligence, simply because he ran a strategy ("save the economy") which was just different from the other strategy ("save the elderly people").

 

People voted for Trump in 2016, they got exactly what they asked for. I actually wished, that the 70+ Mill. voting for him again shall stick with him much longer.

[scorecard]

11 minutes ago, IgboChief said:

 

As much as I despise Trump and the monkeys voting for him: your claim is just wrong.

Murder needs intention. All you can claim is negligence and this is hardly a felony for a government. And I even do not see negligence, simply because he ran a strategy ("save the economy") which was just different from the other strategy ("save the elderly people").

 

People voted for Trump in 2016, they got exactly what they asked for. I actually wished, that the 70+ Mill. voting for him again shall stick with him much longer.

I suspect you are correct that he couldn't be charged with murder but there are several other offences relating to causing death that would be applicable. 

[tpazzi]

9 hours ago, IgboChief said:

People voted for Trump in 2016,

Actually... Trump won the Presidency because States voted for him in the Electoral College.  If it were up to the people (aka the popular vote total) then the outcome would have been different.  

 

That isn't to say his election in 2016 was illegitimate, but it is not accurate to claim he was the choice of the majority of the people when he got 3 million fewer votes than his opponent.

[simple1]

19 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

It really boggles my mind on how a highly developed country with well developed public health system is unable to take control of the pandemic for over 8 months. Most countries had some measure of success in flatting the infections and deaths but USA is just the opposite with the pandemic spirally out of control. There really no others to blame but poor and bad leadership. Trump must be accountable for all those needless deaths and losing the election is simply insufficient for crime against its own people.  

 

Remember the structure in the US, States are not obliged to follow federal guidelines even if they are are appropriate for Covid mitigation, plus the culture of resentment towards government institutions pushed by trump. Here in Australia with a somewhat similar Fed / State structure, but not the equivalent to a trump in power, Covid infections, on a pro rate basis, are 30 times less than the US.

[ExpatOilWorker]

21 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

 

Daily Updates of Totals by Week and State

Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm

So "under death" rate at 96% and 79% since November 1st. 

 

[ShindenGo]

Trump and republicans routinely claim, without evidence, that this is due to testing! A highly dubious, anti-science and unscientific claim. If you compare countries with the same and yet diverse populations, the US vs Indonesian, Indonesia only has 11,000 deaths! A remarkable achievement due to their government’s swift response and belief in science. Also look at the Philippines, Iran, China and Pakistan. All whose numbers are far better than the US! We need to impose the same level of restrictions as these countries and follow their nations leaders for you know real leadership. 

[ChouDoufu]

2 hours ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

So "under death" rate at 96% and 79% since November 1st. 

 

 

here, maybe this will help put things in perspective:

 

 

United States Coronavirus Cases:

12,063,759

Deaths:

258,280

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

2 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

 

here, maybe this will help put things in perspective:

 

 

United States Coronavirus Cases:

12,063,759

Deaths:

258,280

 

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/

 

 

I get it, we are in a pandemic and people are dying. I was just pointing out, that either the CDC data for the past 3 weeks are not complete yet or things are not as bad as the headline news wants us to believe.

We have seen the same trend in Europe, massive amount of Covid cases, but relative low mortality.

 

That said, we are still early in the traditional flu season. All we can do it wait and see.

[Stargeezr]

The USA is not doing a good job of trying to get the pandemic under control. I am glad to hear that Australia is doing a better effort. There are many colorful people that I have met from Australia, who had great humour, and were great character to visit with.    Australia is a country that is on my wish list to visit yet, like Scotland so I do hope that the vaccines are successful in getting this virus under control so we can all travel around the world again.  

Geezer

[simple1]

Trump Jr has tested positive for Covid-19 - Lol

 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-jr-tests-positive-covid-19/story?id=74326915

 

 

[Jeffr2]

Even Sweden, the country praised by conservatives as a role model, is struggling. Nice some are ok throwing the elderly under the bus. 90% of their deaths are from those over 70.

 

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/11/20/sweden-coronavirus-covid-19-doctors-frustrated-second-wave-black-pkg-intl-hnk-vpx.cnn

[Walker88]

According to the Federation of American Scientists (who collected the data), the region of the world with the highest death rate per capita over the 7 day period ending 15 November is the US State of North Dakota. The 3rd highest is the US State of South Dakota.

 

Overall the death rate per capita in the US is 3rd worst among all 197 nations and territories where Covid has appeared (John Hopkins University data), and the US is running almost 5 times the worldwide average in deaths per capita.

 

There is no way to spin such abysmal data. With new infections running over 180,000 per day and deaths now topping 2000 per day, the only 'corner' being turned is the one on the path to Hell. Then again, maybe 45 and his VP bungled their words, and actually meant to say 'turned to the coroner'.

[NorthernRyland]

3 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

According to the Federation of American Scientists (who collected the data), the region of the world with the highest death rate per capita over the 7 day period ending 15 November is the US State of North Dakota. The 3rd highest is the US State of South Dakota.

 

 

North Dakota has 387 people in the hospital currently. I would imagine if people were really that afraid they would stay indoors, especially the elderly. Why does this require massive government intervention? There are many ways to spin this and the US media prefers fear and hysteria.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-19-hospitalizations-us/

 

[Credo]

6 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

North Dakota has 387 people in the hospital currently. I would imagine if people were really that afraid they would stay indoors, especially the elderly. Why does this require massive government intervention? There are many ways to spin this and the US media prefers fear and hysteria.

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-19-hospitalizations-us/

 

North Dakota is an extremely sparsely populated state with large distances for many people to travel for medical care.   The conservative Republican governor instituted a mask mandate and they have allowed medical personnel who are Covid+ to continue to work.   The situation is fairly dire.   

 

[NorthernRyland]

19 minutes ago, Credo said:

North Dakota is an extremely sparsely populated state with large distances for many people to travel for medical care.   The conservative Republican governor instituted a mask mandate and they have allowed medical personnel who are Covid+ to continue to work.   The situation is fairly dire.   

I don't know how bad that is really. 760k people and a few hundred are in the hospital? That's certainly not good and reason to be worried but a quick search reveals the leading cause of death is heart disease (like all states) and that kills 1,300/year. More people will have died from heart disease in 2020 than COVID (673 so far I see).

 

This is all bad news but I don't see how the global hysteria is helping anything at this point. We need to learn to live with the virus and identify the vulnerable and shield them, otherwise the entire global economy will be crushed and take decades to recover. The fact we haven't had a full blown 1930's style recession is incredible and I consider us very luck, for now.

[Jeffr2]

1 minute ago, NorthernRyland said:

I don't know how bad that is really. 760k people and a few hundred are in the hospital? That's certainly not good and reason to be worried but a quick search reveals the leading cause of death is heart disease (like all states) and that kills 1,300/year. More people will have died from heart disease in 2020 than COVID (673 so far I see).

 

This is all bad news but I don't see how the global hysteria is helping anything at this point. We need to learn to live with the virus and identify the vulnerable and shield them, otherwise the entire global economy will be crushed and take decades to recover. The fact we haven't had a full blown 1930's style recession is incredible and I consider us very luck, for now.

The hospitals are full. If you need the ICU, tough luck. The beds are filled with those who think that the virus is fake. And backed by a governor who's making this political. She should be put in jail for murder.

[Credo]

43 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

I don't know how bad that is really. 760k people and a few hundred are in the hospital? That's certainly not good and reason to be worried but a quick search reveals the leading cause of death is heart disease (like all states) and that kills 1,300/year. More people will have died from heart disease in 2020 than COVID (673 so far I see).

 

This is all bad news but I don't see how the global hysteria is helping anything at this point. We need to learn to live with the virus and identify the vulnerable and shield them, otherwise the entire global economy will be crushed and take decades to recover. The fact we haven't had a full blown 1930's style recession is incredible and I consider us very luck, for now.

It seems to me that you are deliberately trying to minimize the seriousness of this virus.   Since people die of Heart Disease that means we don't have to worry about Covid?   When was the last time you know someone who 'caught' heart disease from going to work, to church or shopping?   

Covid is serious because people die from it.  It's serious because people get very, very sick from it.  It's serious because the amount of time it takes to recover, and a fair number, have lingering effects.   It's serious because it is extremely contagious.  You can't just isolate the elderly, someone has to bring them food or they have to buy it.   They need to get to Dr. appointments.   For those in care facilities, people need to work there and those people run the risk of getting infected and thus infecting the care facility.   

 

[NorthernRyland]

1 hour ago, Credo said:

It seems to me that you are deliberately trying to minimize the seriousness of this virus.

Yes that's exactly what I'm trying to do. This wasn't the case in March but it is the case in November given all that we now know. Protect the elderly and vulnerable so the rest of us can go back to living our lives.

 

EDIT: In my town in Colorado most of the recent deaths were in nursing homes of people 80+. We can't even protect them of all people yet we think locking down the rest of us will have any affect besides destroying local businesses. Panic doesn't help. We need to focus on the actual problem and then work our way from there (if we even make it that far).

Edited November 21, 2020 by NorthernRyland

[NorthernRyland]

2 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

The hospitals are full. If you need the ICU, tough luck. The beds are filled with those who think that the virus is fake.

Full hospitals are a concern obviously. None disagree. They had literally all summer to plan for this so it's kind of worrying but none the less .

 

If they were that afraid of this virus they wouldn't need to be told by the media to stay home. Don't people get that? Remember that most people will catch COVID and have little impact or in increasingly large numbers have no symptoms even. You're talking like it's back in March and we don't know how dangerous this virus is.

[NorthernRyland]

3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

She should be put in jail for murder.

 and before we go off the deep end, consider that we're freaking out because of 380 people. That's the scope of the issue in North Dakota. This is not a the mega crisis you're making it out to be. I think the media is stoking fear and has got you all riled up but try to keep this in perspective.

[Jeffr2]

2 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 and before we go off the deep end, consider that we're freaking out because of 380 people. That's the scope of the issue in North Dakota. This is not a the mega crisis you're making it out to be. I think the media is stoking fear and has got you all riled up but try to keep this in perspective.

I've got 800+ recorded deaths and that number will double shortly. Sad you try to downplay the deaths of so many, needlessly. All because of politics, and Trump.

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 and before we go off the deep end, consider that we're freaking out because of 380 people. That's the scope of the issue in North Dakota. This is not a the mega crisis you're making it out to be. I think the media is stoking fear and has got you all riled up but try to keep this in perspective.

It's a small population state. When you look at it nationally it is indeed a mega crisis.

[Jingthing]

5 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

I've got 800+ recorded deaths and that number will double shortly. Sad you try to downplay the deaths of so many, needlessly. All because of politics, and Trump.

Yes, it's truly disgusting and obviously so politically motivated. Dead is dead, blue or red.