(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections and deaths.
Latest reported numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 44,067,588
Global deaths: 1,168,693. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 226,733.
Number of countries/regions: at least 189
Total patients recovered globally: 29,849,059
Latest reported numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 8,779,933 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 226,733. New York State has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 33,433.
U.S. total patients recovered: 3,487,666
U.S. total people tested: 138,457,135
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 915,899 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. That ranks third in the world after Maharashtra, India, which has 1,654,028 reported cases, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, which has 1,098,207 reported cases.
Now over 44 million global COVID-19 cases
There are now over 44 million reported COVID-19 cases worldwide. As of Wednesday morning, there were 44,067,588 cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. That’s an increase of over 3.2 million cases in the past seven days. Of those, at least 8,779,933 are in the U.S., comprising 20% of global cases, a percentage that’s been roughly holding steady for the run of the pandemic to date. As the number of cases continues to surge in the U.S. and around the world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest forecast estimates there will be from 235,000 to 247,000 COVID-19 deaths by the week ending November 14. There are currently 226,733 deaths reported in the U.S.
Experts, others warn against Thanksgiving gatherings during pandemic
As Thanksgiving approaches, experts are becoming more vocal about avoiding traditional holiday gatherings in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. In Illinois, the Chicago Tribune reports Dr. Ngozi Ezike, director of the state’s Department of Public Health, warned at a virtual event that if you want to see your loved ones at Christmas, don’t see them at Thanksgiving. “Do we want to sit with people at Thanksgiving, and weeks later attend their funeral?” Ezike said. “Then the funeral spreads the infection, and there are more funerals.” Likewise, the Boston Globe reports Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker urged people to stay home this Thanksgiving, declaring, “The holidays have to look and feel different this year if we’re going to keep up the fight against COVID.” And in Philadelphia, WPVI reports Dr. Thomas Farley, the city’s health commissioner said his official recommendation is that everyone “cancel their planned family holiday gatherings,” adding, “We are not going to get past this epidemic by Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas… Family gatherings right now are simply very dangerous.”
However, President Trump’s COVID-19 testing coordinator, Adm. Brett Giroir, was less severe in his warnings about the holidays in a Washington Post live forum Monday. “I’m not a party pooper, but having 20 or 30 or 40 people at your house for Thanksgiving, without appropriate precautions and being careful — that can be a recipe for spread too,” said Giroir. “So I’m not saying throw grandma out in the cold and not bring her in, but I am saying, be very careful about your hygiene hand washing, physically distance if you can, particularly those who are very vulnerable. That will save lives and save your family.” Giroir also said he expects a COVID-19 vaccine will be available before the end of this year, but that most Americans won’t receive it until the middle of next year.
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