US coronavirus: Americans head to polls amid harrowing surge in cases and

On Mar 2, 2021

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Hospitalizations are also surging, with the number of patients nationwide rising by more than 10,000 in just two weeks, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. Hospitals in some parts of the country have hit their “breaking point.”

And when hospitalizations climb, deaths are likely to follow, doctors have warned.

The virus’s spread has already changed the way Americans vote, as tens of millions of people have already voted by mail or prior to Election Day. People recovering from Covid-19 or quarantining from being exposed to the virus can still go vote, a spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN.

More than 231,500 people have died in the US and researchers from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation project a total of about 399,163 American lives lost by February 1.

The numbers will likely get worse before they get better and officials worry the upcoming holidays — and the gatherings that will come with them — will further fuel an already rampant spread into the winter months.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Public health measures touted by experts for months — including face masks, social distancing and regular hand washing — can help hold the virus down.

Health resources ‘stretched beyond belief’

An attendant talks to a person waiting in their car at a coronavirus testing site at Ascarate Park on October 31 in El Paso, Texas.

At least 36 states are reporting more new cases than the previous week while only five — Alabama, Hawaii, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Tennessee — are reporting a decline, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Working to combat the pandemic’s grip, some state leaders have pushed new measures in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus.

In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont announced new guidelines including limiting restaurants to 50% capacity, with no more than eight people at a table and limiting indoor event spaces and theaters, among other restrictions. Lamont also recommended residents stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., a move he said would help limit socializing.

A 13-year-old Missouri boy's last day of school was in late October. He died from Covid-19 days later

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday announced a Stay-At-Home advisory, which will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. All gatherings — limited to 10 people in homes indoors and 25 people outside — need to end by 9:30 p.m., he said. Everyone over the age of 5 will also be required to wear a face covering in public.

Meanwhile in West Virginia, the governor sounded the alarm on the state’s infection rate and the resources stretched thin.

“When it boils right down to it, what I have done now I’ve taken an even more drastic step in trying to provide testing and our National Guard, local health departments are now being tested beyond belief and being stretched beyond belief,” Gov. Jim Justice said.

The city of El Paso, Texas, set another record on number of hospitalizations Tuesday as the city’s Covid-19 dashboard reported there are 998 people in the hospital. The city reported 1,085 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 52,817, according to the dashboard.

A full 92% of positive cases are among the Hispanic population. Broadly, health experts have said Hispanic people are disproportionately hurt by coronavirus due to their work as essential workers and…