Coronavirus: United States soars past 12 million cases as resurgence gains strength
- More than 255,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University
- The US has recorded more cases and deaths than any other country
The virus has spread rapidly in recent weeks, as the country hit 10 million cases on November 9 and the 11 million mark November 15. More than 255,000 people in the US have died from Covid-19, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The US has recorded more cases and deaths than any other country. India, home to an estimated 1.3 billion people, has tallied 9 million cases and 130,000 deaths. Brazil has reported 6 million cases and 168,000 deaths.
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Demand for free food rises in US as nation’s Covid-19 pandemic crisis deepens
With health experts deeply afraid Thanksgiving travel and holiday gatherings next week will fuel the spread of the virus, many states and cities are imposing near-lockdowns or other restrictions. California ordered a 10pm to 5am curfew starting Saturday, covering 94 per cent of the state’s 40 million residents.
US coronavirus cases surge, as Texas passes 1 million mark
The Texas border county of El Paso, where more than 300 people have died from Covid-19 since October, is advertising jobs for morgue workers capable of lifting bodies weighing 79 kilograms (175 pounds) or more. Officials are offering more than US$27 an hour for work described as not only physically arduous but “emotionally taxing as well.”
The county had already begun paying jail inmates US$2 an hour to help move corpses and has ordered at least 10 refrigerated trucks as morgues run out of room.
In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott has ruled out another shutdown and singled out El Paso county leaders for not enforcing restrictions already in place. The state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, likened the county’s chief administrator to a “tyrant” after Paxton won an appeals court ruling blocking local leaders from shutting down gyms and other non-essential businesses.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, also a Republican, failed to persuade leaders of the GOP-controlled legislature to reject a bill that would limit his administration’s power to deal with the crisis.
Global virus cases surge past 50 million after 30-day spike
At issue is a Senate bill that would ban the state health department from issuing mandatory quarantine orders enforced against people who are not sick or exposed to disease – such as the order announced by the governor on Tuesday setting a 10pm curfew.
DeWine said he will veto the bill when it reaches his desk. Republicans in both the House and Senate have enough votes to override the veto if they choose.
“This bill is a disaster,” DeWine said. “This is not a bill that can become law.”
In California, the curfew affects 41 of the state’s 58 counties. Its impact will depend heavily on voluntary compliance. Some county sheriffs said they won’t enforce it the rules for people not on essential errands to stay home after 10pm.
The curfew is less strict than the near-total ban on non-essential business and travel that Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed in March, which he credited with flattening the rate of COVID-19 cases.
Because of the countrywide surge, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has told Americans not to travel during the coming Thanksgiving holiday.
