Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
California To Join Texas With Over 1 Million Cases As Infections Accelerate In Every State
The Hill: COVID-19 Cases Rising In Every State
Every state is now seeing increases in COVID-19 cases, and many are also seeing spikes in hospitalizations, a marker that the third wave of the pandemic has arrived. The U.S. reported 136,000 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, the largest single-day increase on record, according to a tracker by Johns Hopkins University. (Hellmann, 11/11)
AP: Unwelcome Milestone: California Nears Million COVID-19 Cases
California will be the second state — behind Texas — to eclipse a million known cases. The grim milestone in a state of 40 million comes as the U.S. has surpassed 10 million infections. The timeline of COVID-19 in America often comes back to California. It had some of the earliest known cases among travelers from China, where the outbreak began. The Feb. 6 death of a San Jose woman is the first known coronavirus fatality in the U.S. That same month, California recorded the first U.S. case not related to travel and the first infection spread within the community. (Melley and Taxin, 11/12)
ABC News: El Paso, Texas, Getting Crushed By COVID-19 As State Surpasses A Million Cases
Charlie Brown had spent years motivating his high school football team as their coach. But when he was diagnosed with the coronavirus last month, it became his family’s turn to provide the encouragement. “We were all telling him, ‘Just keep fighting.’ And even that morning, I said, ‘You have to pinky-promise me that you will not stop fighting.’ Every time, when we ended a phone call, it was ‘I love you’ and I would throw him kisses,” his wife, Vickie Brown, told ABC News’ chief national correspondent Matt Gutman. (Gutman, Torres and Singh, 11/11)
Des Moines Register: White House Task Force Warns Iowa Of 'Unyielding COVID Spread'
White House experts are urging Iowa to ramp up testing, require masks and take other steps to control its raging coronavirus outbreak." The unyielding COVID spread across Iowa continues with new hospital admissions, inpatients, and patients in the ICU at record levels," the new White House coronavirus task force says in its latest report. "The most recent trends, showing steep inclines across all indicators, need immediate action including mask requirements to decrease severity in morbidity and mortality among Iowans." (Leys, 11/11)
Courier-Journal: Kentucky Reports Highest Ever Daily Total Of New COVID-19 Cases
Gov. Andy Beshear announced a record-high total of 2,700 new cases of the coronavirus in Kentucky on Wednesday.“ This entire state is in danger," Beshear said in a statement. "COVID-19 is absolutely everywhere. We need everybody to wear your masks and follow red zone reduction recommendations and school recommendations. It is a must if you want to lessen the impact in your community." (Austin, 11/11)
Charleston Gazette-Mail: As COVID-19 Cases Continue To Rise In WV, Justice Says 'I Don't Know What Else I Can Do'
As the leaders of Ohio and Maryland announced moves to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus amid increasing case numbers in those border states, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday instead took no action, saying “I don’t know what else I can do.” For the fifth time in the past seven days, West Virginia set a record for the highest number of new daily cases, 885. Hospitalizations dipped slightly in that same time — 277 people were hospitalized Wednesday, down from last week’s high of 290 — but the number of COVID-19-related deaths has continued to climb, with 81 reported since last Wednesday and 553 overall. (Coyne, 11/11)
Philadelphia Inquirer: Philadelphia’s Weekly Average For COVID-19 Positive Tests Jumps 5-Fold; Pa., N.J. Case Hitting Pandemic Highs
Hospitalizations are up on both sides of the Delaware River and around the nation, positive tests are at pandemic highs, and on Wednesday a disheartening resurgence showed that the coronavirus had absolutely no intention of relenting deep into its eighth month of redefining life in America.“ We are entering the most dangerous phase of this pandemic,” said Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley, “and everyone — everyone — needs to take this seriously.” (Wood and Tornoe, 11/12)
ABC News: New Hampshire Seeing Virus Spread In Rural Communities
The coronavirus is spreading rapidly in rural New Hampshire towns, health officials say. In Clarksville, a small town in the northern part of the state, one in every 27 residents has an active COVID-19 infection. In Colebrook, near the Canadian border, a COVID surge site that was taken down in June has been reopened in preparation for an influx of COVID-19 patients. (Schumaker, 11/11)
