November 9, 2020 at 7:42 PM EST
U.S. tallies more than 100,000 infections for the fifth straight day
By Darren Sands, Jacqueline Dupree and Meryl Kornfield
For the fifth consecutive day, the United States has reported more than 100,000 infections, as 30 states set a record for their seven-day average of new cases amid the worst surge the country has experienced.
Monday marks the third-highest day ever for cases, with 118,953, trailing only Saturday and Friday, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. The largest concentration of new cases is in Midwestern states, as the virus has spread rapidly throughout Great Lakes and Mountain West states, with North Dakota and South Dakota leading the way. Seven states — including Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee — reported new highs for daily infections Monday, while West Virginia recorded its highest death toll since the pandemic began.
Hospitalization numbers are not any better: There are nearly 59,000 people battling the virus in hospitals in the United States. The country has not had a similar number of hospitalized covid-19 patients since late July. Forty-five states have a higher average number of covid-19 inpatients than a week ago.
Cases were at 9 million just 10 days ago. Now, the country has counted at least 10,086,506 cases and at least 238,000 people have died. By comparison, it took three months for the pandemic to reach 1 million cases from zero. In the past seven days, the country has reported just under 800,000 new cases.