The U.S. reported more than 200,000 COVID-19 cases for the first time on Friday, an all-time high reached about three weeks after the nation first reported 100,000 daily cases on Nov. 4.
The nation recorded 205,557 new cases Friday. That rapid doubling, as reported by Johns Hopkins University, is reminiscent of the virus’ growth this spring, when exponential spread prompted widespread restrictions across the country in an effort to control the virus.
But experts warn that coronavirus testing numbers are likely to be erratic over the next week or so as fewer people get tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observe shorter hours.
The result could be potential dips in reported infections that offer the illusion that the spread of the virus is easing when, in fact, the numbers say little about where the nation stands in fighting COVID-19. The number of Americans who have tested positive passed 13 million Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Here’s what to know Saturday:
- A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved.
- Kings County, New York, where Brooklyn is located, is the second American county to reach 7,500 reported deaths, after Los Angeles County in California. Globally, only 30 countries have reported 7,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.
- Many state leaders are again making moves to slow the spread. In Los Angeles County, a three-week stay-at-home order takes effect Monday. The most populous county on Friday hit an average of 4,500 cases a day over a five-day period, triggering the order.
- Several European countries were expected to relax coronavirus-related restrictions in the coming days. On Saturday, more than 150 people were arrested at an “anti-lockdown” protest in London, according to police.
- The NFL has ordered team facilities to be closed to in-person activities early next week in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 among players and staffers.
- Black Friday crowds were thinner this year as shoppers increasingly turned to online deals to avoid in-person shopping. That, however, didn’t stop some shoppers from camping out to score the new Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X, two in-demand gaming consoles.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. recorded more than 13.2 million cases and over 266,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Worldwide, there have been over 62 million cases and 1.4 million deaths.
🗺️ Mapping coronavirus: Track the U.S. outbreak in your state.
📰 What we’re reading: A dangerous fiction has made its way through social media and American politics – the idea that COVID-19 is really only a danger to the elderly or those with a severe, chronic illness.
This file will be updated throughout the day. For updates in your inbox, subscribe to The Daily Briefing newsletter.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tests positive for COVID-19
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and first gentleman Marlon Reis have tested positive for COVID-19.
Polis had been in quarantine since Wednesday evening after finding out he was exposed to someone who tested positive. A test he took Wednesday came back negative.
In a statement released Saturday night, Polis said he and Reis were asymptomatic and will isolate at home.
“Marlon and I are feeling well so far, and are in good spirits,” Polis said. “No person or family is immune to this virus.”
He urged Coloradans to limit public interactions, to wear a mask in public, stay 6 feet from others and wash hands.
– Rebecca Powell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
Oregon mink farm has COVID-19 outbreak
An Oregon mink farm has reported an outbreak of COVID-19 among animals and workers. Oregon Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Andrea Cantu-Schomus declined to say which county the farm is in or how many workers have tested positive, citing federal health privacy rules. The farm has about 12,000 animals, she said.
Outbreaks in farmed mink have been reported in several U.S. states and countries. Earlier this month Denmark announced it would kill all 17 million of the mink raised there after confirmation that 12 people had been infected with a mutated strain of COVID-19 that had spread from mink to humans. That strain has not been found elsewhere.
Oregon has the nation’s fourth-largest farmed mink industry, after Wisconsin, Utah and Michigan. All three of those other states have had outbreaks on mink farms.
State and national environmental groups have been raising alarm about possible infections Oregon’s mink industry, the Statesman Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, previously reported.
— Tracy Loew, Salem Statesman Journal
All Denver Broncos quarterbacks ineligible for game following COVID exposure
The Denver Broncos will not have a quarterback on their roster Sunday when they take on the New Orleans Saints.
A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Saturday that all three Denver QBs — Drew Lock, Brett Rypien and Jeff Driskel — have been placed on the COVID-19/restricted list and will be ineligible to play this week. The person requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Adam Schefter of ESPN was first to report that all three players were ineligible and were considered high-risk contacts of a person who tested positive — and none of them was wearing a mask at the time.
The news comes in the wake of the NFL shutting down all team facilities on Monday and Tuesday to slow the spread of the virus.
Where will the Broncos turn with no one to lead the offense? Broncos reporter Mike Klis of 9News in Denver wrote that it could be practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton, who played quarterback in college.
— Steve Gardner and Jarrett Bell
Photo shows doctor embracing ‘lonely’ COVID-19 patient on Thanksgiving
Photographer Go Nakamura has visited a COVID-19 intensive care unit in Houston about 20 times, but he never gets used to what he sees there. Taking photos too graphic to share; seeing patients one day who will be gone when he returns later in the week — there’s no getting used to that, he told USA TODAY on Saturday.
But on Thanksgiving, Nakamura captured an image of compassion that has gained national attention as the United States reels under a record number of daily COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.
The photo shows Dr. Joseph Varon, clad in protective equipment, embracing a patient who has collapsed into his arms. In the moments before the photo was taken, the patient was clearly feeling “vulnerable … lonely,” Nakamura said. Read more.
Vanderbilt kicker Sarah Fuller makes history
Vanderbilt’s Sarah Fuller kicked off to start the second half against Missouri on Saturday, becoming the first woman to play in a Power Five football game. It was a squib kick to the Missouri 35-yard line.
“Honestly it’s just so exciting, and the fact that I can represent like the little girls out there who wanted to do this or thought about playing football or any sport really and it encourages them to be able to step out and do something big like this,” Fuller said after the game.
Fuller, a senior goalkeeper for Vanderbilt’s soccer team, was asked to join the football team this week after COVID-19 contact tracing depleted the roster of specialists. Last Sunday, Fuller led the Vanderbilt soccer team to an SEC tournament title. On Saturday, she suited up in her No. 32 football jersey with “Play Like a Girl” written on the back of her helmet.
– Adam Sparks, Nashville Tennessean
Panel of advisers to vote next week on how vaccine will be distributed
A panel of U.S. advisers will meet Tuesday to vote on how scarce, initial supplies of a COVID-19 vaccine will be given out once one has been approved.
Experts have proposed giving the vaccine to health workers first. High priority also may be given to workers in essential industries, people with certain medical conditions and people age 65 and older.
Tuesday’s meeting is for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a group established by the CDC. The panel of experts recommends who to vaccinate and when – advice the government almost always follows.
– The Associated Press
NFL orders shutdown of team facilities Monday and Tuesday
The NFL has ordered team facilities to be closed to in-person activities early next week in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 among players and staffers.
A memo from commissioner Roger Goodell, tweeted Friday night by the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, says in-person meetings are prohibited on Monday and Tuesday and must be held virtually.
The NFL said it was taking the step because of the growing number of COVID-19 cases in the country and because it came to the league’s attention that a “number of players and staffers celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday with out-of-town guests.”
– Mike Brehm
European countries prepare to relax coronavirus restrictions
Several European countries were expected to relax coronavirus-related restrictions in the coming days.
- In France, nonessential shops were opening their doors Saturday as part of a staggered relaxing of lockdown restrictions. The plans that come after a drop in nationwide virus infection rates were laid out by President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week.
- In England, a four-week national lockdown was due to end Wednesday and was expected to be replaced by three-tier regional measures that restrict business activity, travel and socializing. The vast majority of the country is being put into the upper two tiers.
- In Belgium, the government said Friday that nonessential shops could open under restricted conditions next week. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that beyond containing the virus, everyone had to make sure that loneliness did not strike.
However in Germany, restrictions are heading in the opposite direction. Federal and state leaders this week decided to extend a partial shutdown until at least Dec. 20 and tighten some restrictions. The measures so far have succeeded in halting a rise in new cases but haven’t pushed them down significantly.
– The Associated Press
US reports 200,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day
The U.S. on Friday reported 200,000 COVID-19 cases in a single day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. reached 100,000 daily infections on Nov. 4.
When a virus’ spread becomes exponential, the human brain struggles to comprehend how quickly the growth is occurring, Columbia University’s Hod Lipson told USA TODAY in the spring. Because few things in our daily experience grow so fast, the concept is “fundamentally difficult … for the human mind to understand.”
The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects estimated infections will reach about 450,000 daily cases by mid-December, more than double the number of current confirmed cases. Estimated cases, however, are often higher than confirmed ones.
That forecast also assumes social distancing mandates will be reimposed in most U.S. states at various times. If that doesn’t occur, case and death counts could be far higher.
Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that total COVID-19 deaths have been steadily increasing for months, but in recent weeks confirmed cases have been spiking rapidly.
Because deaths lag behind confirmed cases, sometimes for weeks, public health experts are warning the nation to brace for deaths to soon sharply increase as well amid a long-predicted seasonal uptick in COVID-19 spread.
“Given the experience in Europe, we expect that the increase in deaths will soon begin to match the increase in cases,” wrote the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in a Nov. 12 briefing.
Experts: Virus numbers could be erratic after Thanksgiving
The coronavirus testing numbers that have guided much of the nation’s response to the pandemic are likely to be erratic over the next week or so, experts said Friday, as fewer people get tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and testing sites observe shorter hours.
“I just hope that people don’t misinterpret the numbers and think that there wasn’t a major surge as a result of Thanksgiving, and then end up making Christmas and Hanukkah and other travel plans,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a professor at George Washington University and an emergency physician.
A similar pattern unfolds on many weekends. Because some testing centers, labs and state offices are closed on Saturdays and Sundays, COVID case numbers often drop each Sunday and Monday, only to peak on Tuesday.
Dr. Mark Rupp, professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, said the effect of Thanksgiving is likely to be a magnified version of the weekend figures. The Thursday holiday will exacerbate the record-keeping discrepancies over the long weekend, artificially depressing the reported numbers for four or five days before spiking as test results catch up.
Johns Hopkins University reported a high of more than 2 million tests a few days before Thanksgiving as people prepared to travel, but that number had dropped to less than 1.2 million tests on Thanksgiving Day. The latter number, as well as positive case numbers, which had dropped by about a third Friday, could be adjusted as more results are returned.
– Associated Press
Los Angeles County issues stay-at-home order as virus surges
Los Angeles County announced a new stay-home order Friday as coronavirus cases surge out of control in the nation’s most populous county.
The three-week order takes effect Monday, and comes as the county confirmed 24 new deaths and 4,544 new cases of COVID-19. The five-day average of new cases was 4,751.
The order advises residents to stay home “as much as possible” and to wear a face covering when they go out.
It also bans people from gathering with people who aren’t in their households, whether publicly or privately. Exceptions are made for church services and protests, “which are constitutionally protected rights,” the county Department of Public Health said in a statement. Businesses and outdoor trails are also allowed to remain open.
Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new requirement that non-essential work, movement and gatherings stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for counties in the “red tier,” which most in the state are currently under.
– Associated Press
Ohio State cancels Illinois game after coach Ryan Day, others test positive
Ohio State University football coach Ryan Day has tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Friday afternoon. The university also canceled its Saturday game against Illinois after more positive tests came back.
The positive test also puts him in jeopardy of missing the Buckeyes’ next game at Michigan State on Dec. 5. Big Ten coaches who test positive for COVID-19 are required to be out for 10 days, according to the conference’s protocols.
In a statement, OSU athletic director Gene Smith said the 41-year-old Day is “doing well physically,” but he did not say if he has experienced any symptoms since contracting the virus. Day is currently in isolation.
– Joey Kaufman, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch
Colorado governor condemns ‘turkey funeral’ to skirt virus restrictions
Republican Congresswomen-elect Lauren Boebert has drawn criticism from Colorado’s Democratic governor for saying she rebranded her Thanksgiving gathering as an animal funeral to skirt the state’s social distancing regulations.
“Congresswomen-elect Boebert is calling her Thanksgiving a ‘turkey funeral’ and hosting over 30 people. My hope and prayer is that it doesn’t turn into a real funeral for any of the attendees,” Gov. Jared Polis said on Facebook.
In most areas of the state, personal gatherings are restricted to 10 people, but funerals have less stringent rules.
On Wednesday, Boebert tweeted that she could host about 90 people if she hosted funerals for a turkey, pig and duck. Previously she suggested calling her Thanksgiving gathering a “peaceful protest in honor of my deceased turkey.”
After error, AstraZeneca will conduct additional trial
AstraZeneca said it plans to conduct a new global clinical trial to assess the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine’s efficacy. The news comes after the company and the university acknowledged a dosing error in trials.
It’s not clear what effect, if any, these results will have on a separate, 30,000-person trial underway of the candidate vaccine in the United States.
All 11,000 people who have participated in the U.S. trial so far have received two equal doses of the vaccine, said Moncef Slaoui, co-director of Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration program to develop, manufacture and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.
AstraZeneca said an additional trial shouldn’t delay regulatory approval in Britain or the European Union – but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could take longer.
Unlike the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot does not need to be stored at freezer temperatures, making it easier to distribute. AstraZeneca has agreed not to profit from its vaccine during the pandemic.
Don’t hug your elderly relatives during the holidays, warns UK medical chief
The United Kingdom’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty, cautioned families over the holidays not to hug their elderly relatives “if you want them to survive to be hugged again” beyond the holidays.
The nation has granted its residents permission to congregate among themselves in a “Christmas bubble” of up to three households and eight people from Dec. 23 to 27. The lax holiday restrictions, however, will likely lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom.
– Joshua Bote
COVID-19 resources from USA TODAY
Contributing: The Associated Press, Karen Weintraub
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