The United States continued to break coronavirus records on Thursday, reporting nearly 213,000 new infections in its single-worst day since the pandemic began — a count that was met by yet another daily tally of more than 2,5000 COVID-19 deaths in the nation’s deadliest three-day stretch since the pandemic began.
The news comes after the nation topped 200,000 new coronavirus cases in a day for the first time on Wednesday — a report that it will likely continue to exceed as new infections emerge in the wake of the Thanksgiving holiday. Wednesday’s infection record also coincided with the country crossing the crushing threshold of 100,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized — a number that medical professionals have said is swiftly followed by a surge in COVID-19 deaths, which is all but guaranteed in the coming weeks.
As infections continue to climb amid what health experts have anticipated will be a challenging winter ahead, President-elect Joe Biden said on Thursday that he would prioritize mask-wearing as soon as he in inaugurated in January — a measure that President Donald Trump has largely ignored in spite of guidance from government scientists.
“The first day I’m inaugurated I’m going to ask the public for 100 days to mask,” Biden told CNN’s Jake Tapper in an interview Thursday night.
“Not forever. 100 days. And I think we’ll see a significant reduction, if that occurs with vaccinations and masking, to drive down the numbers considerably,” he added.
