UW Health University Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin has been rushing to convert available space into units for Covid-19 patients, as the state’s medical facilities struggle to keep pace with a surge in new infections.
The United States saw the country’s highest-ever number of new Covid-19 cases in the past two days, keeping the pandemic a top election issue as Vice President Mike Pence travels the U.S. to campaign despite close aides testing positive.
New cases of Covid-19 rose in 27 out of 50 U.S. states in September compared with August, led by an increase of 111% in Wisconsin, according to a Reuters analysis.
The number of new Covid-19 cases in the United States rose two weeks in a row in 27 out of 50 states, with North Carolina and New Mexico both reporting increases above 50% last week, according to a Reuters analysis.
The number of novel coronavirus cases in the United States topped 7 million – more than 20% of the world’s total – as Midwest states reported spikes in Covid-19 infections in September, according to a Reuters tally.
The death toll from the spread of the coronavirus in the United States exceeded 200,000, by the far the highest number of any nation.
The United States set a one-day record with over 1 million coronavirus diagnostic tests being performed, but the country needs 6 million to 10 million a day to bring outbreaks under control, according to various experts.
The number of new cases of the novel coronavirus reported in the United States fell 15 percent last week from the previous seven days, and deaths fell for a fourth week in a row, according to a Reuters analysis.
U.S. deaths from the coronavirus will reach 410,000 by the end of 2020 and deaths could soar to 3,000 per day in December, the University of Washington’s health institute forecast.
Several large U.S. states are not heeding new federal health officials’ calls to reduce Covid-19 testing of some exposed to the virus, joining a broad rebuke of the Trump administration by public health leaders.