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The U.S. shattered records for daily cases of the coronavirus illness COVID-19 and hospitalizations on Friday, as states and cities announced new restrictions while others warned that full lockdowns may be needed to contain the spread.
The U.S. counted 163,405 new infections on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker, smashing the record of 142,860 cases set the day earlier, and at least 1,171 Americans died. The U.S. has averaged 134,078 cases a day for the last week, a 72% increase from just two weeks ago.
Hospitals are filling across the nation but are most stretched in the Midwest, led by the Dakotas and neighboring states. There are currently 67,096 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals, or about 2,000 more than a day ago, according to the COVID Tracking Project, and a 91% increase from a month ago. Eighteen states are seeing record numbers of hospitalized patients and hospitals are running out of beds, staff and personal protective equipment.
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory panel, told the Washington Post the U.S. needs to lock down fully for four to six weeks to control the spread, although he conceded that was unlikely to happen. Osterholm said current measures being enacted at local levels “at best, would have a marginal impact.”
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Incumbent President Donald Trump has mostly tweeted his anger at election results he falsely claims are fraudulent and has not commented on the surge of infections. The U.S. leads the world by case tally at 10.6 million and death toll at 242,477, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused Trump and his GOP allies of engaging “in an absurd circus right now” over the election results.
“ “Unless people celebrate safely, we will see a huge increase about two weeks after Thanksgiving and then again two weeks after Christmas.” ”
Republicans are “shamefully pretending” that Trump can overturn the outcome, “making it even harder to address the massive health and economic crisis that we’re facing,” Pelosi told reporters at a briefing.
The vacuum has left state and city officials to take matters into their own hands. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he may impose a lockdown and berated local officials for not enforcing face-mask rules.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a new stay-at-home advisory on Thursday and urged residents to cancel Thanksgiving plans that involve gatherings of guests from different households.
“Here’s the bottom line, and I want people to be very clear about this. If we continue on the path we’re on, and you and me and others don’t step up and do more, our estimates are that we could see 1,000 more Chicagoans die from this virus by the end of the year,” Lightfoot said.
Maryland and Washington are also mulling restrictions including forcing businesses to close temporarily.
Experts are concerned that Thanksgiving could become a superspreader event if Americans gather in large numbers indoors, the perfect setting for transmission.
“Unless people celebrate safely, we will see a huge increase about two weeks after Thanksgiving and then again two weeks after Christmas,” said Dr. Tista Ghosh, epidemiologist and senior medical director at Grand Rounds in Colorado.
“One of the main drivers will be eating indoors in poorly ventilated spaces. Eating necessitates removing masks, and the cold weather in certain states will drive people to eat together inside — a recipe for viral transmission. I think we can prevent this by eating with our household members only during festivities, or with family via zoom, and then meeting afterward for a post-meal outdoor walk. Or if you must eat indoors together, open windows, stay more than 6 feet apart if possible,” she said.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his message Friday that countries have the means at their disposal to get the virus under control, even before a much-hoped for vaccine is available.
The virus itself has not changed significantly, and nor have the measures needed to stop it,” Tedros said in closing remarks at the World Health Assembly, which took place this week. “We know what works.
“First, know your epidemic and do the basics well. Find, isolate, test and care for cases. Trace and quarantine their contacts. And second, engage and empower communities to protect themselves and others with the full range of measures: physical distance, avoiding crowds, ventilation, hand hygiene, and masks,” he said.
In other news:
• The U.S. is not the only country setting COVID-19 records. The whole world suffered the highest death toll from the pandemic to date on Thursday, when 11,617 people died in a single day, according to the Johns Hopkins data. It also set a new case record of more than 660,000.
• Germany, Russia and Sweden counted their biggest one-day case tallies on Thursday, the Guardian reported. Germany had 23,542 cases, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to talk with state governors on Monday, the midpoint of measures the government describes as “lockdown-light.” Russia counted 21,983 new cases and Moscow is preparing to close restaurants and bars from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sweden counted 5,590 new cases and 42 deaths.
See also:Why COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe are set to get lighter — but last longer
• A wedding in rural Maine that made headlines in August became a superspreader event because guests refused to wear face masks and some showed up to work even though they were feeling sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote Friday in its weekly report. The CDC did not name the event at the Big Moose Inn in Millinocket, but it was widely covered by local and national media after it was linked to at least seven deaths of people who did not attend the event. Just 55 people attended the wedding, which led to coronavirus outbreaks in the local community, as well as at a long-term care facility and a correctional facility in other counties, said the CDC. “ Overall, 177 COVID-19 cases were linked to the event, including seven hospitalizations and seven deaths (four in hospitalized persons). Investigation revealed noncompliance with CDC’s recommended mitigation measures,” said the report.
• The pandemic likely will mark the end of an era for millions of workers who used to face daily, mandatory slogs into the office. That’s according to Clarion Partners CEO David Gilbert on what he sees in store for commercial real-estate markets in the aftermath of the U.S. election and the global pandemic, as MarketWatch’s Joy Wiltermuth reported. “Office is a big question,” Gilbert said of the potential shake-up to real estate some eight months into the worst global health crisis in a century. “You don’t abandon the office. It’s just less of a need to be there every single day.” What does that ultimately mean for office properties? It’s still too early to tell, said Gilbert, during a Franklin Templeton virtual series, but he does expect there to be less demand for office space.
• Tesla Inc. TSLA, -1.57% Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted that he took four rapid COVID-19 tests and got two positive and two negative results. “Something entirely bogus is going on,” said Musk, who made headlines earlier this year when he predicted the U.S. would have no more cases by the end of April.
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Latest tallies
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide now stands at 53 million, the Johns Hopkins data show, and the death toll is 1.3 million. At least 34 million people have recovered from COVID-19.
Brazil has the second highest death toll at 164,281 and is third by cases at 5.8 million.
India is second in cases with 8.7 million, and third in deaths at 128,668.
Mexico has the fourth highest death toll at 97,056 and 10th highest case tally at 991,835.
The U.K has 51,020 deaths, the highest in Europe and fifth highest in the world, and 1.3 million cases, or eighth highest in the world.
China, where the disease was first reported late last year, has had 91,783 cases and 4,742 fatalities, according to its official numbers.
What are companies saying?
• Caterpillar Inc. CAT, +1.03% reported October retail sales that showed a deceleration in the decline caused by the pandemic, and positive growth in the Asia/Pacific region. Worldwide total machines retail sales, on a rolling 3-month basis, fell 17% in October, after falling 20% in both September and August. The decline in North America slowed to 28% from 31% in September and down 35% in August, while Asia/Pacific sales turned up 3% from unchanged in September and down 1% in August. Global retail sales in resources industries declined 29% after being down 31% the previous month, while construction industry sales fell 13% after falling 15% in September. In energy and transportation, global retail sales were down 22% in October after being down 27% in September, as improvements in industrial and oil and gas sales declines offset a similar decline in power generation and increased decline in transportation.
• Costco Wholesale Corp. COST, +0.42% will require all employees and customers to wear face masks or face shields starting Monday. Costco has required masks in stores since May 4, but customers who could not wear face masks due to a medical condition were exempt from that rule. That will no longer be the case. “If a member has a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, they must wear a face shield at Costco,” Chief Executive Craig Jelinek said in a letter to members Thursday. The new rules will apply to all but children under 2. “This updated policy may seem inconvenient to some, however we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience,” Jelinek said. “Our goal is to continue to provide a safe shopping environment for our members and guests, and to provide a safe work environment for our employees.”
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• Dillard’s Inc. DDS, +4.40% surprised Wall Street with a quarterly profit as sales fell to $1.05 billion from $1.42 billion a year ago. Same-store sales fell about 24%. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected sales of $1.17 billion. Given “uncertainty” related to COVID-19 and its economic effects, it cannot estimate the related financial impact to its fiscal year 2020. “We have worked hard on inventory and expense control in unpredictable conditions throughout the pandemic,” Chief Executive William T. Dillard said in a statement.
• JetBlue Airways Corp. JBLU, +5.15% provided details of its plans to limit onboard capacity for the busy holiday season and its plans to open all of its seats, saying the decision was supported by “science validating the safety of the aircraft cabin” during the pandemic. The air carrier is increasing its limit of capacity to 85] for the Dec. 7 through Jan. 7 period, up from its current 70% capacity limit through Dec. 1. Starting Dec. 2, the company said specific seats will no longer be blocked, and will not guarantee empty middle or adjacent seats. Then starting Jan. 8, JetBlue said it will make all seats available for sale, as demand typically declines during the winter period.
Read: Palantir posts huge loss but outlook cheers investors
• Revlon Inc. REV, -14.14% reported a third straight quarterly loss as sales fell 20% to $477.1 million. “While COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact on both the beauty industry overall as well as on our business, I am pleased that our third quarter 2020 results reflected a sequential improvement in our net sales decline versus the prior quarter,” Revlon Chief Executive Debra Perelman said in a statement. “We remain diligent in managing our cost base to reduce COVID-19’s impact on our profitability.” Revlon made progress in the quarter expanding its e-commerce business, which represents about 12% of its net sales, she said.
• Spectrum Brands Holdings Inc. S, +4.00%, the home, pet and garden care products company, reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales that rose above expectations, citing elevated demand and strong point-of-sale amid a “quick recovery” from COVID-19-related supply disruptions. The parent of brands including Pfister, IAMS, Black+Decker and Remington swung to a profit from a loss and sales grew 17.9% to $1.17 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.03 billion, as hardware and home improvement sales rose 18.9%, home and personal care sales grew 5.8%, pet care sales climbed 21.6% and home and garden sales increased 37.8%. For fiscal 2021, the company expects sales growth of 3% to 5%, while the current FactSet consensus of $3.96 billion implies a 0.1% decline for 2020 sales of $3.96 billion.
• The Walt Disney Co. DIS, +1.81% posted another quarterly loss, resulting in the entertainment giant’s first annual loss in more than 40 years, weighed down by the pandemic which has closed its parks and cruise line, and halted production for TV and films. “It’s been a year unlike any other in our lifetimes, and certainly in the history of the Walt Disney Co.,” Chief Executive Bob Chapek said in a conference call. The pandemic cost it $7.4 billion in operating income in the fiscal year, with almost all of it — $6.9 billion — coming from the theme parks and experiences division.
