Cases Rising in All 50 States
US Nears 250,000 Deaths Since Beginning of Pandemic
Millions Face Eviction, Loss of Benefits Without Relief Package
As the United States approaches 250,000 lives lost to coronavirus, the pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down. Cases are surging in all fifty states, hospitals are overrun, and more than 1,000 people are dying each day. States are imposing new restrictions in an attempt to protect public health, while the economy continues to tank.
But Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are only making things worse. At a critical juncture that requires decisive, thorough action, Donald Trump is blocking the Biden Administration from a smooth transition, and preventing Biden from scaling up an assault on the virus. Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are refusing to meet at the negotiating table to provide long-past-due relief to the American people, who face a worsening economy in the months ahead.
Coronavirus Is Exploding and Continuing to Break Records Across the Country
- 83 Percent Of Counties In The United States Have Seen Cases Increase Over The Last Two Weeks. “In the past two weeks, 83% of U.S. counties have seen their coronavirus cases increase, by an average of 156%. Why it matters: This county-level map shows a more granular level of detail than our weekly state map, and makes clear that infections are soaring in almost every pocket of every state, in every region.” [Axios, 11/17/20]
- Cases Have Spiked In All Fifty States Plus Washington D.C., The U.S. Virgin Islands And Guam Over The Last Two Weeks. “Coronavirus cases have increased in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam over the past 14 days, the latest NBC News data showed Tuesday.” [NBC News, 11/17/20]
- 41 US States Have Record Record Increases In New Infections In November, While 20 Have Recorded Record Daily Deaths. “Forty-one U.S. states have reported daily record increases in COVID-19 cases in November, 20 have registered new all-time highs in coronavirus-related deaths from day to day, and 26 have reported new peaks in hospitalizations, according to a Reuters tally of public health data.” [Reuters, 11/17/20]
- A Dozen States Have Seen Cases Increase By 100 Percent Or More Over The Last Two Weeks. “And in a dozen of those states — Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Iowa, Ohio, Colorado, Michigan, Nebraska, Kansas, Pennsylvania and New York — infections have spiked in the last two weeks, meaning there has been a 100 percent or more increase in confirmed cases over 14 days.” [NBC News, 11/17/20]
- The US Average Daily Increase Of New Infections Hit 155,000 On November 16, A Record Since The Pandemic Began. “The US average for daily cases across a week hit a record for the pandemic Monday, at over 155,000. Monday’s one-day total was over 166,000 — the country’s third-highest one-day total, Johns Hopkins University data show. On the same day, another pandemic record for the US: More than 73,000 Covid-19 patients were in hospitals, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.” [CNN, 11/18/20]
- Nine States Are Reporting More Than 100 Daily New Cases Per 100,000 People. “Unlike the spring, this surge is a truly national phenomenon. Every state now has more than four daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, a standard for controlling Covid-19. The vast majority of states completely surpass that. Nine states now report more than 100 daily new cases per 100,000 — which was unthinkable in even one state just months ago.” [Vox, 11/18/20]
- More Than 14,000 Americans Are In Critical Care Units, The Most Since April. “As the Trump administration delays the transition, the COVID-19 picture in the country is getting bleaker. The United States passed the milestone of 150,000 daily cases just about a week after it hit 100,000 for the first time, showing the acceleration of the outbreak. More than 14,000 Americans are in critical care for the coronavirus in hospitals, according to the Covid Tracking Project, the most since the first peak of the crisis in April.” [Boston Globe, 11/17/20]
- More Than Three Million People In The United States Are Estimated To Be Currently Contagious With Coronavirus. “More than 3 million people in the United States have active coronavirus infections and are potentially contagious, according to a new estimate from infectious-disease experts tracking the pandemic. That number is significantly larger than the official case count, which is based solely on those who have tested positive for the virus.” [Washington Post, 11/17/20]
Donald Trump Continues to Endanger American Lives by Obstructing a Smooth Transition and Hampering Biden’s Ability to Prepare for the Pandemic
- The Incoming Biden Administration Has Been Blocked By President Trump From Accessing Critical Information About The Distribution Of A Vaccine. “The incoming Biden administration has been blocked from coordinating with the federal government’s civil servants who are planning a massive vaccination campaign, forcing the president-elect’s team to meet with local health leaders and pharmaceutical companies to piece together information in an attempt to get around President Trump’s obstruction… [The vaccine] undertaking is being mapped out by health and defense officials in the government who are currently not allowed to coordinate with Biden’s team — an unusual politicization of the transition process that is coming at a perilous time for the country. The Trump appointee in charge of authorizing the transition has yet to formally acknowledge Biden as the apparent winner of the election, preventing the incoming administration from meeting with Trump administration officials and receiving classified briefings.” [Boston Globe, 11/17/20]
- Biden Has Only Had Access To Public Information On The Crisis, Meaning His Team Is Missing Access To Key Metrics Like Distribution Plans And PPE Supplies. “So far, Biden and his aides only have access to publicly available information on COVID-19 as they prepare to implement a vaccine rollout as well as a testing and contact tracing plan when they take over on Jan. 20. Experts say that leaves the team blind on key metrics, including the exact status of the nation’s personal protective equipment (PPE) stockpile as well as detailed distribution plans for therapeutics and vaccines.” [Boston Globe, 11/17/20]
- Health Care Groups Like The American Medical Association Are Raising The Alarm About Trump’s Obstruction Of The Biden Administration. “Groups representing health care workers and hospitals are raising the alarm about the Biden administration being left in the dark. ‘Real-time data and information on the supply of therapeutics, testing supplies, personal protective equipment, ventilators, hospital bed capacity and workforce availability to plan for further deployment of the nation’s assets needs to be shared to save countless lives,’ the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, and American Nurses Association wrote in a letter to the Trump administration on Tuesday.” [Boston Globe, 11/17/20]
- Dr. Vivek Murthy, Co-Chair Of President-Elect Biden’s Covid-19 Task Force: “We Don’t Have Access To The Full Range Of Information That The Federal Government Has To Prepare” For The Virus. “Dr. Vivek Murthy, co-chair of Biden’s COVID-19 task force, said the experts had not been able to speak to current administration officials dealing with the virus, even as the United States is hit by a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. That could damage the incoming administration’s ability to distribute a vaccine, for example, Murthy said. ‘We need to talk to those individuals, we need to work together with them,’ Murthy said on a call with reporters arranged by Biden’s transition team…. The experts were unable to access real-time data, including on hospital bed capacity and the amount of drugs and equipment in government stockpiles, said Murthy, a former U.S. surgeon general and one of 13 experts Biden last week appointed to advise him on COVID-19 during the transition. ‘We can look at the publicly available data, but we don’t have access to the full range of information that the federal government has to prepare for January 20,’ Murthy said.” [Reuters, 11/17/20]
No Action on Coronavirus Relief as McConnell Blocks Negotiations Amid Surging Cases
- McConnell Has Not Spoken With Democrats About A Relief Bill Amid His Continued Insistence For Narrow Legislation. “Mr. McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said Tuesday he hasn’t spoken with Democrats about a relief bill, which he maintained should be roughly the size that Senate Republicans favor. Democrats have rallied around a $2.4 trillion plan, itself a reduction from a $3.5 trillion proposal offered in the spring. ‘I share the view of my colleagues that’s been expressed here that a more narrowly targeted proposal such as we laid out in September and October here in the Senate deals with the actual problem,’ Mr. McConnell said.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/17/20]
- McConnell Supports Relief That Is Targeted Toward Businesses, Rather Than American Workers And Families. “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that he has had ‘no private discussions’ lately with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about a coronavirus relief bill but that he is displeased with what Democrats are saying publicly. He said he supports a measure ‘narrowly targeted at schools and health care providers’ and at small-business relief. He also called for giving liability protections to protect businesses and organizations operating during the pandemic. He said he has ‘seen no evidence’ that Democratic leaders will accept that.” [NBC News, 11/18/20]
- Without Further Relief, More Than 13 Million Americans Could Lose Unemployment Benefits By January. “While further stimulus legislation is at a standstill, many CARES Act relief provisions will expire just after the holidays. That includes the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which expanded unemployment benefits to gig workers, independent contractors and freelancers who don’t normally qualify, and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which provides an extra 13 weeks of UI to those who have exhausted their state’s benefits. More than half of all Americans currently receiving unemployment insurance qualify through those two programs. Their expiration would leave over 13 million Americans without benefits come January.” [CNBC, 11/17/20]
- An Estimated Eleven To Thirteen Million Renters In The United States Are Facing Eviction. “An estimated 11 to 13 million renter households are at risk of eviction, according to Stout, an investment bank and global advisory firm. It predicts there could be as many as 6.4 million potential eviction filings by January 1, 2021 if the CDC moratorium is lifted.” [CNN Business, 11/16/20]
- As The Virus Spreads, The Economy Is Faltering. “States and cities have already begun to impose new restrictions on economic activity in an effort to tamp down the spread. Chicago announced a new ‘stay at home’ order on Monday and advised residents to avoid travel, keep guests from their homes and cancel Thanksgiving celebrations. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California said on Monday that he was pulling an ‘emergency brake’ to stop the state’s reopening plans. A variety of indicators suggest that the recovery from the depths of the pandemic recession is nowhere near complete and that, in many ways, the economy is stalling or backsliding. Ten million fewer Americans are working now than in February. Supplemental benefits for the unemployed expired months ago, and federally funded benefits for the long-term unemployed are set to run out at year’s end barring congressional action.” [New York Times, 11/16/20]