CHN’s COVID-19 Watch: Tracking Hardship November 13, 2020

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November 13, 2020

COVID-19 Hardship

November 13, 2020

The we’re-increasingly-alarmed-yet-a-tad-bit-optimistic edition. COVID-19 is burning through America’s heartland like a California wildfire. Over the past week, there has been an average of 134,078 new cases a day, an increase of 72 percent from the average two weeks earlier. The U.S. may soon see new confirmed cases climb above 200,000 a day – a figure that would have been unfathomable when daily cases peaked at over 70,000 new cases a day last July. In multiple states, hospital officials warned that the current spike is straining resources and sidelining the very staffers needed to care for sick people. In North Dakota, healthcare workers with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 will be allowed to keep working as the number of infected patients outpaces the staff members needed to care for them in some parts of the state. 

And yet: pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has reported a vaccine with an effectiveness rate of over 90 percent – millions of frontline care workers could begin receiving it by next month. “Help is really on the way,” says Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert. “If you think about it metaphorically, the cavalry is coming here.” More good news: brand new antibody treatment protocols might mean a large number of Americans who contract COVID-19 will not become seriously ill, if treated in the early stages. And we’re learning more and more about how – and specifically where — we catch COVID-19. In the pandemic’s early months, 8 in 10 infections occurred as a result of people congregating in crowded indoor venues such as restaurants, gyms, and cafes. Such knowledge could help us lower infections going forward, along with the promised vaccine. 

Still. There currently is no cavalry coming for the millions of Americans who stand to lose unemployment benefits or face evictions in roughly seven weeks – some unemployment aid and the federal eviction moratorium will expire on Dec. 31. It will be a bleak holiday season for many, as families struggle to pay bills and put food on the table, to say nothing of buying presents for the children. Maybe in lieu of presents, Republicans in the Senate could just do the job they were elected to do – bring help to a nation so desperately in need. 

 

10.6 million/ 243,000

 

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S., as of early November 13. Tweet this.

   

163,402/1,172

 

The daily number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in the U.S. as of Thursday, Nov. 12. The average daily number of cases last week rose 72% over the average two weeks before, deaths rose by 33%. Tweet this.

 

67,096

 

The number of hospitalizations reported the same day – a 39% increase over two weeks ago. Tweet this.

 

21,200/10,000 

 

If they had died at the same COVID-19 rate as white Americans, about 21,200 Black, 10,000 Latinx, 1,000 Indigenous, and 70 Pacific Islander Americans would still be alive today, according to data released November 12. Tweet this.

 

1.2 million

 

The number of Americans out of work for more than 6 months rose 1.2 million in October alone – for a total of 3.6 million. Tweet this.

 

13 million

 

The number of Americans who stand to lose unemployment benefits under two programs passed by Congress last spring. The benefits are set to expire on Dec. 31.

 

100,000

 

The estimated number of restaurants in the U.S. that may be forced to close by the end of December – some permanently, some for the winter months.

 

-2.1 million

 

The restaurant industry already employs 2.1 million fewer workers than it did before the pandemic.

 

Nearly 50 million

 

The number of people Feeding America estimates will seek help at its network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meals programs during the entire course of the coronavirus pandemic,

 

5 and 5

 

At least 5 states, including Missouri and Wisconsin, set single-day highs this week for COVID-19 fatalities. At least 5 more, including Illinois and Pennsylvania, set single-day highs for new cases.