Coronavirus updates: US sets record number of new cases, hospitalizations

November 10, 2020November 11, 2020 WKXA

Ovidiu Dugulan/iStockBy MORGAN WINSOR and EMILY SHAPIRO, ABC News

(NEW YORK) — A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

Over 50.9 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks. The criteria for diagnosis — through clinical means or a lab test — has also varied from country to country.

Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica. The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 10 million diagnosed cases and at least 238,251 deaths.

Nearly 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.

Here’s how the news developed Tuesday. All times Eastern:

Nov 10, 11:05 pm
Nevada announces ‘Stay at Home 2.0’

For the next two weeks, Nevadans need to live under the “Stay at Home 2.0” mentality to help relieve the strain on the health care and give time for contact tracing to catch up, Gov. Steve Sisolak said at a press conference Tuesday.

The governor is asking residents to avoid large and small gatherings and not leave the home unless necessary. He also said masks must be worn in public settings.

The state announced more than 1,300 new cases on Tuesday, and highest number of hospitalizations since mid-August on Monday.

Sisolak did not announce any new business closures on Tuesday, but said he would if the trends continued to get worse.

“Again, if we don’t come together at this moment, I will be forced to take stronger action in 14 days,” Sisolak said. “To be clear, I don’t want to take stronger action. I do not want to implement more restrictions. I want this to improve and we can make it improve If everyone helps.”

Nov 10, 8:43 pm
US sets record number of new cases, hospitalizations

The U.S. recorded nearly 131,000 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, the highest single-day total since the pandemic started, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

The seven-day average of new cases is over 118,000, the health data showed.

The number of Americans hospitalized is over 62,000, another record, according to the data. Seventeen states, including Indiana, Ohio and Missouri, reported single-day hospitalization records.

The country’s death toll was 1,347 Tuesday, the highest recorded since Aug. 19, according to The COVID Tracking Project. The seven-day average for new deaths has been on the rise over the last couple of days and is now at 991, according to the data.

Nov 10, 7:41 pm
Massive increase in new cases, deaths across country: HHS

Fifty states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new cases, as deaths rise and hospital space continues to dry up, according to an internal memo from United States Department of Health and Human Services that was obtained by ABC News.

During the period of Nov. 3 to Nov. 9, the country recorded 767,645 new cases, a nearly 31% increase from the previous seven-day period, according to the memo. There were 6,838 deaths during that period, which was a nearly 18% jump from the previous week, the memo said.

The national test-positivity rate increased to 9% from 7.4% in week-to-week comparisons, according to the memo.

About 24% of hospitals across the country have more than 80% of their ICU beds filled, HHS said.

Several state leaders have warned that the situation is getting dire, according to the memo.

In Arizona, officials warned of an escalating death toll, citing COVID-19 fatigue and crowded holiday gatherings as potential dangers, HHS said. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker noted that hospital admissions doubled or tripled in every region of Chicago, according to the memo.

Nov 10, 6:47 pm
Texas sets new COVID daily case record

Texas health officials announced the most daily COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began Tuesday.

There were 10,865 new cases reported and 94 new deaths, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas hospitals have 6,170 confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to the Health Department.

The state has recorded 974,230 total cases since the pandemic began, health department data shows. Over the last month, 184,170 new cases were confirmed, according to the data.

There have been a total of 18,863 coronavirus-related deaths in Texas, according to the state. Over 1,500 deaths were recorded in the state over the last 30 days, according to the data.

ABC News’ Gina Sunseri contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 6:29 pm
Fauci estimates average Americans can get vaccination by April

Dr. Anthony Fauci estimated during a CNN interview that people who are not high priority will be able to get vaccinated “probably by April, by the end of April.”

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said there are concerns that there may be a lot of people who do not want to be vaccinated right away.

“That is why we were talking that it might take well into the second and third quarter to finally get people to be convinced to get vaccinated,” Fauci said.

He added that the incentive to get the vaccine will be increased by the treatment’s efficacy.

“When you hear something is 90 to 95% effective it makes it more likely someone would want to get vaccinated,” Fauci said. “I think you’re going to get vaccinated within the first four months. I’d say by April you’ll be able to get vaccinated.”

Nov 10, 4:29 pm
South Dakota hardest-hit in US with 53.97% positivity rate

South Dakota is the hardest-hit state in the U.S. with a 53.97% positivity rate, according to Johns Hopkins University.

South Dakota is followed by Iowa with a 48.29% positivity rate and Kansas where there’s a 41.27% positivity rate.

The state with the lowest COVID-19 numbers is Vermont, which has a 0.64% positivity rate.

The next safest states are Maine at 2.02% and New York, once the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, with a 2.07% positivity rate.

Nov 10, 4:19 pm
Antibody drug can keep patients out of hospital but should be reserved for high-risk: Officials

Eli Lilly’s FDA-authorized monoclonal antibody drug takes an hour to infuse via IV and should be reserved for those at high-risk of getting sicker, senior government officials said at a briefing Tuesday.

High-risk includes people with preexisting conditions like obesity, chronic kidney disease, diabetes and those older than 65.

Government officials said they hope the drug will help slow down hospitalizations.

The product’s distribution will begin this week with over 80,000 doses. The government has a contract to purchase 300,000 doses through December, with the option to purchase another 650,000 through June.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report

Nov 10, 3:49 pm
Cases increasing ‘exponentially’ in Midwest
COVID-19 cases in the Midwest have increased “exponentially over the last four weeks,” according to Dr. Amy Williams, dean of the Mayo Clinic Practice in Minnesota.

The positivity percentage is now hovering around 20% in some Minnesota communities and over 30% in some Wisconsin towns, she said.

When the rate of positivity “is over 10%, which is very, very serious… we start to worry about having the capacity to care for those that are positive,” she said.

“Younger and younger patients” are also being hospitalized, she noted.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos contributed to this report

Nov 10, 3:34 pm
New restrictions coming to San Diego, Sacramento

In California, COVID-19 numbers are on the rise.

In October the state had a 14-day positivity rate average of 2.9%. Now, the 14-day average is up to 3.7%.

California’s Sacramento, San Diego and Stanislaus counties are moving to the most restrictive COVID-19 tier, in which the rules include no indoor dining or gyms, officials announced Tuesday. Los Angeles County is already in the most restrictive tier.

The state’s top doctor is warning Californians to avoid Thanksgiving celebrations with people outside their household.

ABC News’ Alex Stone contributed to this report

Nov 10, 2:50 pm
New restrictions in New Jersey after ‘devastating’ numbers

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced new restrictions on Tuesday following “devastating” COVID-19 numbers.

The state has 3,877 new COVID-19 cases, he said, bringing its total to over 260,000.

Newark, the state’s largest city, has a positivity rate at 19%.

“We’re taking action to beat back the second wave,” Murphy said.

Beginning this Thursday, restaurants and bars can’t operate indoors between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sitting at the physical bar inside bars will be prohibited at all hours, Murphy said.

“Due to the impact this may have on restaurants with small seating areas, restaurants will be allowed to have groups at tables indoors that are closer than six feet together, if they are separated by barriers that comply with guidance from the Department of Health,” Murphy’s statement said. “Restaurants will be allowed to set up plastic domes outdoors, limited to one group each, as additional outdoor dining space.”

Additionally, all indoor sports games for high schoolers and younger will be banned.

Nov 10, 1:54 pm
Vaccine distribution could possibly start in late November

If Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized by the FDA, U.S. distribution could start at increments of about 20 million doses per month, potentially as early as late November, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told reporters Tuesday.

“Back in April, when I was forming Operation Warp Speed, if you told me that by November we would have exciting data from a Phase 3 vaccine trial and substantial supplies of a monoclonal antibody authorized and ready for distribution, I would have been absolutely stunned,” Azar said.

Pfizer said Monday that the earliest it could have the requisite safety data needed to apply for FDA authorization is the third week of November. The company also said it expects to produce 50 million doses globally before the end of the year. Each person needs two doses.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 1:27 pm
Fauci says ‘I will take the vaccine’

Now that Pfizer Inc. said Monday that its vaccine may be 90% effective, Dr. Anthony Fauci says it’s possible that “by the time we get into December, we’ll be able to have doses available for people … at the highest priority to get it first.”

“Hopefully, since this is such an effective vaccine, or efficacious at least in the trial, that after a reasonable period of time, we will get vaccine to everyone who wants and needs it and hopefully that will be the overwhelming majority of the country,” Fauci told MSNBC Tuesday. “The vaccine is a very, very important tool in ending this pandemic both domestically and internationally.”

Fauci added that he will take the vaccine and he’ll “recommend that my family take the vaccine.”

ABC News’ Sophie Tatum contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 12:28 pm
Every state is reporting an increasing number of new cases

Every state in the country is reporting an increasing number of new COVID-19 cases, according to the COVID Tracking Project

In Washington, D.C., and five states — California, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — cases are low, but increasing.

In the remaining 45 states as well as Guam, and Puerto Rico, cases are high and staying high.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos, Soorin Kim, Brian Hartman and Ben Bell contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 10:23 am
Paris prosecutor opens judicial inquiries into COVID-19 response complaints

The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened four judicial inquiries in response to complaints related to how French authorities have handled the coronavirus pandemic.

Remy Heitz, the chief public prosecutor in the French capital, said in a statement Tuesday that the judicial inquiries bring together 253 complaints against decision-makers and national public structures from the general population, health workers, civil servants as well as sick or dead people that were addressed to the Paris prosecutor’s office since March 24.

The investigations will enable the prosecutor’s office to carry out complex investigations intended to bring to light any criminal offenses on counts of voluntary abstention from fighting a disaster, endangering the lives of others and unintentional homicides and injuries.

France, along with much of Europe, is in the grip of a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Paris and its suburbs have been particularly hard-hit.

ABC News’ Ibtissem Guenfoud contributed to this report.

Nov 10, 9:14 am
Denmark abandons plan for mass mink cull

Denmark’s government will not move ahead with its plan to immediately slaughter all 17 million mink in the country, due to legal obstacles and a lack of political backing.

Last week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced the mass cull of the country’s entire mink population — including those that are healthy — amid concerns that a COVID-19 mutation moving from farmed mink to humans could evade future vaccines. But on Monday, Danish Environment and Food Minister Mogens Jensen admitted that the government did not have the legal basis for the order.

Frederiksen’s minority Social Democratic government still plans to put forward emergency legislation to back the cull on Tuesday, but the draft needs a three-quarters majority in parliament and opposition parties have already suggested they won’t support it.

There are doubts over whether the mass cull is actually scientifically based as well as concerns that it would threaten the livelihoods of hundreds of mink breeders. Denmark is the largest exporter of mink fur in the world.

Meanwhile, mink breeders will continue to cull any infected animals on farms. As of Tuesday morning, around 2.5 million mink have been culled so far, a spokesman for Denmark’s Ministry of Environment and Food told ABC News. The animals are gassed and then either incinerated or buried in mass graves on military land.

Nov 10, 6:43 am
Russia registers over 20,000 new cases for fifth day in a row

Russia confirmed 20,977 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, marking the fifth consecutive day where daily infections exceeded 20,000.

An additional 368 deaths from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide over the past day. The cumulative total now stands at 1,817,109 cases with 31,161 deaths, according to Russia’s coronavirus response headquarters.

Moscow remains the epicenter of the country’s outbreak and recent surge. More than 28% of the newly confirmed cases — 5,902 — and over 18% of the new deaths — 68 — were reported in the capital, according to the coronavirus response headquarters.

Despite rising infections, Russian authorities have repeatedly said they have no plans to impose another nationwide lockdown.

The Eastern European country of 145 million people has the fifth-highest tally of COVID-19 cases in the world, behind only the United States, India, Brazil and France, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Nov 10, 5:45 am
Employee at Shanghai’s main international airport tests positive

Authorities in China’s largest city have quarantined dozens of people after an airport employee tested positive for COVID-19.

A 51-year-old man who works as a freight handler at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, a major aviation hub of East Asia, was confirmed to be infected on Monday and has since been transferred to an area hospital for treatment, authorities said.

It’s the first domestic case of COVID-19 reported in Shanghai in months, and it remains unclear how the patient contracted the disease. He has not left Shanghai and reported no history of being in high-risk areas in the 14 days prior to the onset of illness. He also has no history of contact with anyone infected with COVID-19 and has not been to any other hospitals within the past three months, according to authorities.

Twenty-six close contacts, including the man’s family members and colleagues, have been quarantined and have all tested negative for COVID-19. More than 100 others were also placed in isolation for medical observation, authorities said.

So far, no additional cases have been found.

The local health authority has raised the COVID-19 risk area to medium in the village where the patient lives in Shanghai’s district of Pudong. The rest of Shanghai remains low-risk.

Nov 10, 4:38 am
US sees highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations since July

There were 59,275 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 across the United States on Monday, according to data collected by The COVID Tracking Project.

That figure — up from 56,768 on Sunday — marks the largest single-day increase since July 10 and the highest total amount since July 25, The COVID Tracking Project said.

Nov 10, 4:24 am
US reports over 100,000 new cases for sixth straight day

There were 119,944 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Monday, according to a real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

It’s the sixth straight day that the country has reported over 100,000 new infections. The latest daily tally is slightly less than the nation’s all-time high of 128,412 new cases set on Saturday.

An additional 670 fatalities from COVID-19 were also registered nationwide Monday, down from a peak of 2,666 new deaths in mid-April.

A total of 10,110,552 people in the United States have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 238,251 of them have died, according to Johns Hopkins. The cases include people from all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. territories as well as repatriated citizens.

Much of the country was under lockdown by the end of March as the first wave of pandemic hit. By May 20, all U.S. states had begun lifting stay-at-home orders and other restrictions put in place to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. The day-to-day increase in the country’s cases then hovered around 20,000 for a couple of weeks before shooting back up and crossing 100,000 for the first time on Nov. 4.