Dear Reader:

Worldometer, Dec 3: yesterday in the U.S., there were close to 204 thousand new cases, the second highest number of new cases during the whole pandemic, second only to Nov 20 with a bit over 204 thousand new cases.

Yesterday in the U.S.,  there were 2,833 new deaths- the highest number of new deaths than in any other day during the whole pandemic, including the first/ Spring wave.

The Hill, US reports 3,100 Covid-19 deaths in one day, surpassing previous record by 20 percent, Dec 3: “The U.S. saw its highest single-day coronavirus death toll to date on Wednesday with 3,157… The record high came the same day new hospitalizations exceeded 100,000 for the first time ever and newly reported infections hit 200,000 for only the second time, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Of those hospitalized, 19,396 were intensive care patients, another new high.

“These numbers likely do not reflect the number of new infections spurred by Thanksgiving gatherings, The Wall Street Journal noted, since hospitalizations typically come within weeks of the corresponding infections. Meanwhile, numerous states that seemingly flattened their infection curves over the summer have seen surges in recent weeks… Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) said Wednesday that the city will exhaust its hospital beds between now and Christmas if current infection rates do not drop. He added that daily infections within the city are three times the rate of early November…

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield warned Wednesday that the winter months would put extreme pressure on the health care system. Public health experts have repeatedly warned cold weather will likely cause infections to surge as people gather inside. ‘The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that’s going to be put on our health care system,’ Redfield said.”

anita