Nov. 17 (UPI) — The United States has added more than 160,000 COVID-19 cases, according to updated data, and surges along parts of the West Coast ushered in new restrictions Tuesday.
Data Tuesday from researchers at Johns Hopkins University showed a little more than 166,000 new cases on Monday, the third-highest one-day total to date.
The three highest days have all come within the past week, including a record 177,000 cases Friday.
There were also about 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 11.2 million cases and 247,300 deaths nationwide.
Hospitalizations on Monday rose to 70,000 for the first time, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
In California, new restrictions took effect on Tuesday in counties statewide that are home to 94% of the state’s population. The counties returned to the most restrictive tier under the government’s plan, which closes many non-essential indoor business operations.
Restaurants in most counties will be limited again to outdoor and takeout service.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has also strengthened the state’s face covering guidance to mandate masks in public, with limited exceptions, and is considering a curfew.
California cases have doubled over the past two weeks and the total surpassed 1 million last week.
Washington state, which was one of the first areas of the United States to see an influx of cases in the spring, is now seeing another surge — and ushering in new restrictions.
Starting Tuesday, indoor dining, theaters, gyms and other non-essential indoor businesses are not permitted. Gov. Jay Inslee ordered the new measures last weekend, which also limit outdoor events to five people. For outdoor dining, that means a limit of five people to a table.
More than 1 million U.S. children have now been infected by COVID-19, according to an update from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Children represent almost 12% of all U.S. cases, the group said, and the overall rate is about 1,400 cases per 100,000 children.
“As a pediatrician who has practiced medicine for over three decades, I find this number staggering and tragic,” AAP President Dr. Sally Goza said. “We haven’t seen a virus flash through our communities in this way since before we had vaccines for measles and polio.”
Goza called on elected leaders to enact a new national strategy to “control the pandemic.”
“And that should include implementing proven public health measures like mask wearing and physical distancing,” she said.
