The United States for the first time surpassed 100,000 new coronavirus infections in a single day on Wednesday, according to data tracked by The Washington Post.

Maine and three other states – Minnesota, Idaho and Indiana – set new single-day records for infections.

Seventeen states including Kansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Montana, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Ohio, Nebraska, Minnesota, Indiana and West Virginia on Wednesday reported record numbers of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The steadily rising number of hospitalizations threatens to again overwhelm some health systems.

Nationwide, more than 9,445,000 coronavirus cases and more than 232,500 fatalities have been logged since February.

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, urged Americans “to do the right thing” and wear a mask in public to protect themselves and stop the spread of the virus as the country heads into the winter and flu season.

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In a written statement, Collins referred to a new study published in the journal Nature Medicine that estimated that if most Americans wear masks, up to 130,000 lives could be saved by March. But if mask-wearing continues at its current rate of roughly 50 percent and social distancing measures are not followed, the study found, the total number of COVID-19 deaths could reach more than 1 million by the end of February.

Read the full story here.

Texas records highest number of cases; El Paso hospitals near a ‘breaking point’

EL PASO, Texas  — El Paso hospitals are near a “breaking point” as 3,100 new cases of the coronavirus were reported there Wednesday, an official said.

“Hospitalizations continue to rise sharply and unfortunately more people we know will continue to succumb to the complications of this disease,” said Dr. Hector Ocaranza, El Paso’s city and county health authority.

“Our hospitals are near breaking point, we need everyone to do their part to stop this virus,” he said.

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There were 1,041 hospitalizations Wednesday, health officials said.

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At technician carries swabs at a state drive-thru testing location in El Paso, Texas in October. Briana Sanchez/The El Paso Times via Associated Press

Texas recently surpassed California in recording the highest number of positive tests for the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data. The latest numbers show 950,345 reported Texas cases.

The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick.

El Paso has become a hot spot, with the governor sending additional medical personnel and equipment, and local officials ordering a two-week shutdown of nonessential activities.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and a cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with

Last pints poured as pubs close and England readies for lockdown

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LONDON  — Last-minute shoppers in England were out in force Wednesday and thirsty drinkers planned their final freshly poured pints in a pub for the next month as Britain prepared to join large swathes of Europe in a coronavirus lockdown designed to save its health care system from being overwhelmed.

All non-essential venues — which in England includes pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, golf courses, gyms, swimming pools, entertainment venues and stores selling items like books, clothing and sneakers — must close Thursday until at least Dec. 2. That ruling came after a sudden change of course last weekend by Britain’s government, which had for weeks been advocating a targeted regional response to the pandemic instead of another national lockdown.

Two changes from the U.K.’s spring lockdown is that this time schools and universities in England are remaining open, as are construction sites and factories.

With time running out to get things sorted out before the lockdown and of Christmas, all types of businesses were reporting brisk business, sometimes on an unprecedented scale.

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Shoppers walk along a very busy Oxford Street in London on Wednesday. Associated Press/Frank Augstein

“This has been the busiest day any of us can remember, but I’m not sure this is the right thing to do,” said Miri Buci, a 30-year-old barber at Dulwich Barbers in southeast London, which was staying open later than usual to cope with the increased demand. “What are we going to do if we don’t get a vaccine? Lock down every few months?”

Many lawmakers in Parliament, particularly from Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party, feel the same way and argued that the new lockdown is too draconian and will further devastate an economy that suffered one of the deepest recessions in the world during the first wave of the pandemic in the spring.

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Still, Johnson easily won a vote on the new measures later Wednesday as most opposition lawmakers backed the lockdown.

“I don’t think any government would want to impose these measures lightly, or any parliament would want to impose these measures lightly on the people of this country,” Johnson said.

The U.K. recorded another 492 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, the highest daily increase since May. Overall, the U.K. has Europe’s highest official virus-related death toll: 47,742.

Britain’s lockdown follows fresh restrictions across the continent and clear signals that the number of people hospitalized — and subsequently dying — from the virus is increasing,

Scammers have pivoted during the pandemic. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Just as consumers are adapting to lifestyle changes during the pandemic, so, too, are scammers. “We’ve seen a large increase in spam text messages since April 2020,” says Giulia Porter, vice president of marketing for RoboKiller. “This tells us that Americans are avoiding answering unknown phone calls, making it harder for scammers to reach people.”

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The Federal Trade Commission has seen a rise in complaints about text messages this year, according to Shameka Walker, manager of the Identity Theft Program. The most common ploy: a text saying you’ve received a package from FedEx, UPS or similar, and you should click on a link for more information. If you do, your phone and all of the personal information on it could be compromised.

What can we do to protect ourselves? Most of us are already doing it: screening phone calls, deleting suspicious emails and refusing to click on links within emails or texts. But sometimes, a call or email appears legitimate, or we simply can’t help ourselves. I get it. It’s lonely when you’re stuck at home. Here are a few reminders for keeping your personal information quarantined.

Don’t trust caller ID. Just because it says the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t mean that’s who’s calling. And the IRS and Social Security Administration don’t call you. “If you owe money or there’s an issue, they mail you something in writing,” Walker says. If you do answer the call, say: “I can’t talk now. I’ll call back.” Hang up, and then . . .

Be the call initiator. Should you be contacted about an issue with your credit card or other account, find the institution’s phone number either online or on the back of your credit or debit card. (Sophisticated scammers may give you a phone number to call. Don’t use it.) The only time you should verify personal information, such as your Social Security number or bank account, is if you initiate the call to a phone number you know is legitimately connected to the institution, Walker says.

Dig deeper. Search online for a company or product name with words such as “review,” “complaint” or “scam.” Or search for a phrase that describes your situation, such as “IRS call.” You can even search for phone numbers to see if other people have reported them as scams, says Ron Culler, senior director of technology and solutions for ADT Cybersecurity.

Resist the temptation to click . . . on anything. Be it an email or text, don’t click on any link, even if it looks legitimate. Clicking could send you to a scam site, download malware or result in your phone number being added to lists that are sold to other bad actors.

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Keep your systems updated. Make sure your software and applications for computers, tablets and phones are up to date, Culler says. Ensure that your anti-virus/anti-malware software is set to both automatically update and detect. Keeping your systems updated helps protect you from cybercrooks exploiting software vulnerabilities.

Beware of online quizzes. They appear innocent, but they can be used by scammers to add specifics to your profile, Culler says. Once they’ve compiled enough data, they can target you and sound legitimate, because they know where you bank, the model of your first car, your favorite breed of dog or the first street you lived on.

Report it. If you find yourself part of a scam or have lost money, report it to ftc.gov/complaint. The agency tracks scam trends and scammers through self-reported data from consumers.

North Dakota Republican died of COVID-19 in October. He still won his election.

David Andahl died of COVID-19 in early October, just as the coronavirus was pummeling his home state of North Dakota. But that did not keep the 55-year-old rancher from winning his race for the state House of Representatives on Tuesday.

With an apparent victory in North Dakota’s eighth district, Andahl’s election marks an unusual overlap between two of the most consequential events in the United States this year: a pandemic that has killed at least 232,000 people in the United States and the unprecedented election season it upended in the process.

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In-person political conventions over the summer were all but scrapped. Get-out-the-vote efforts went remote too, and many voters opted to submit mail-in ballots instead of waiting at the polls. Yet with results trickling in around the country into Wednesday morning, few of the virus’s political consequences seem as tangible – or as shocking – as Andahl’s posthumous win.

A cattle rancher and land developer, Andahl had spent 16 years serving on the zoning and planning commission in Burleigh County, including eight years as its chair, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Earlier this year, he won a heated GOP primary against longtime state Rep. Jeff Delzer, who chaired the chamber’s powerful Appropriations Committee.

The district north of Bismarck has two House seats, and Andahl teamed up with another candidate, Dave Nehring, to earn endorsements. During the campaign, he earned the backing of two of the state’s most influential Republicans, Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Kevin Cramer.

Cramer, a noted Trump ally, put his support behind the Bismarck rancher “because we need more Trump Republicans in the State Legislature,” the Star Tribune reported.

When the coronavirus reached North Dakota, Andahl – who was already grappling with several health issues – was “very cautious,” his family wrote on Facebook. They did not elaborate on what medical challenges he was facing.

As the largely rural state saw a sharp increase in coronavirus cases this fall – at one point leading the country in the number of new cases per capita – Andahl contracted the potentially deadly virus. After four days in the hospital, he died on Oct. 5.

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Read the full story.

Europe responsible for about half new coronavirus cases last week

GENEVA — The World Health Organization says there has been a “further acceleration” in the speed of COVID-19′s spread in Europe, which was responsible for about half of the globe’s new cases reported last week.

The U.N. health agency said in a weekly report published late Tuesday that European countries also recorded a 46% increase in deaths compared with the previous week. Although deaths also rose in the Americas, the rate of increase there was only 2%.

In Europe, France, Italy and the U.K. reported the highest numbers of new cases while Andorra, the Czech Republic and Belgium reported the highest rate per capita.

WHO said the numbers of coronavirus cases in Italy jumped by 72% last week, with about 175,000 new cases. In Switzerland — where WHO’s headquarters is based — the agency said that test positivity rates were about 23%, suggesting that many people with the disease are going undetected.

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WHO also reported that the proportion of COVID-19 deaths among people aged 25-64 increased from about 10% in the early stages of the pandemic to about 30% in the summer. About 75% of coronavirus deaths in recent weeks are in people older than 65.

The coronavirus is surging, but Canada is keeping schools open

Two months later, her twin boys in kindergarten and their older brother in second grade are frustrated by Internet glitches, missing their friends and itching to go back. So the family has opted to switch to a hybrid model of in-person and e-learning this month.

“They’re super excited, but now that the numbers go up, then I start to question my own decisions,” said McGivery. It can be hard to make sense of the local coronavirus data, never mind the broader torrent of sometimes conflicting information on children, schools and COVID-19.

“It’s so stressful. . . . I have to be a mom, an epidemiologist, a teacher — everything.”

It’s been an uncertainty-ridden time for parents across the country. As cases in Canada surge again, provinces are closing businesses, reimposing restrictions on public spaces and urging people to curb private gatherings.

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Still, as in European countries that are also tightening their rules, Canada is prioritizing keeping its schools open. All 13 provinces and territories are holding classes in person; in only some are hybrid or remote learning even options.

In the United States, in contrast, nine states and territories have ordered some or all schools to hybrid or remote learning only, according to a tally kept by Education Week. Individual districts in other states are limiting or banning in-person classes.

The incidence rate of COVID-19 in people under 20 has increased since schools reopened, a trend the Public Health Agency of Canada says could be tied both to a growing number of school outbreaks and an increase in testing for that age group.

Officials are responding by isolating sick pupils, quarantining classes hit by the virus and, in some cases, closing schools temporarily. But they’re resisting the blanket closures and wholesale shift to e-learning of the spring.

Officials say reopening schools is key to restarting the economy, and the longer they’re closed, the greater the effects on students’ education and mental health.

“I think we need to do everything we can to maintain our schools in terms of keeping them open,” Howard Njoo, Canada’s deputy chief medical officer of health, told reporters last week.

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But guidance on when to keep sick pupils home and when to send them to class has created confusion. Testing protocols have changed. Schools have closed with little notice, creating new challenges for parents, students and educators.

South Korea approves a new influenza/COVID-19 test

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea approved a new test that’s designed to detect both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza from the same samples, which they say would help prevent disruption at hospitals as the pandemic stretches into the flu season.

The country has struggled to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which some experts say could spread more broadly during cold weather when people spend longer times indoors.

“It’s not easy to distinguish between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza as they share similar symptoms, but this test could diagnose them both in three to six hours,” senior Health Ministry official Yoon Taeho said during a briefing.

The new test, which targets genes that are specific to both COVID-19 and seasonal flu, is an evolved version of PCR.


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