Category: Corona Virus

By: KDKA-TV News Staff

HARRISBURG (KDKA) Pennsylvania is once again reporting a record high number of new coronavirus cases. Shattering a record from just yesterday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health is reporting 4,711 new cases of Coronavirus and 59 additional deaths Wednesday.

The statewide total number of cases has risen to 243,368 since Tuesdays report, according to the states data.

The health department is reminding Pennsylvanians that mask-wearing is required in all businesses and whenever leaving home. Consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19, the department says.

The number of tests administered within the last seven days, between Nov. 4-10, is 354,972 with 23,786 positive cases, according to the Health Department. There were 43,158 PCR test results reported to the department through 10 p.m. Tuesday.

The Health Department says all 67 counties in Pennsylvania have had cases of COVID-19. Current patients are either in isolation at home or being treated at the hospital.

The statewide death toll has risen to 9,145.

There are 2,888,761 patients across the state who have tested negative for the virus to date.

Of those who have tested positive to date the age breakdown is:

The state Health Department numbers show there are 28,142 resident cases of COVID-19 in nursing and personal care homes across Pennsylvania. Among employees, there are 5,932 diagnosed cases. That brings the entire total to 34,077 cases. Out of the total deaths across Pennsylvania, state officials say 5,922 have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities.

Approximately 13,036 of total cases are among state health care workers.

Currently, all 67 counties are in the green phase of reopening. However, restrictions are in place for bars, restaurants and large gatherings.

If you have concerns about the virus, you can check out the states COVID-19 Early Warning Monitoring System Dashboard.

More information on the Coronavirus pandemic:

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Pa. Health Dept. Announces Another Record-Breaking Day With 4,711 New Coronavirus Cases - CBS Pittsburgh

By Spencer Custodio | 19 hours ago

A second wave of coronavirus infections is beginning to hit Orange County, along with surrounding counties, after hospitalizations and case counts have continued to rise over the past two weeks.

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The second wave has started, but its not baked into the cake how profound it will be, said UC Irvine epidemiologist and public health expert Andrew Noymer.

He said if people dont let their guard down, it may not be as bad as the summer spikes.

It depends on all of the citizens of Orange County to do their part, Noymer said.

Hospitalizations in OC crept up to 224 on Tuesday, the highest number of people hospitalized since Sept. 9, following the June and July case spikes.

At one point in July, over 700 people were hospitalized.

And Orange Countys coronavirus infection rate could be rising to levels that havent seen since the summer wave.

The reproductive rate is used by epidemiologists and public health professionals to predict how many people an infected person could pass the virus to. If the rate reaches 1, that means each infected person can infect another person all of which exponentially can increase the spread.

UC Irvine epidemiologist Daniel Parker said some university researchers have found the infection rate is going up in Orange County.

So back around early June, late May, it (the infection rate) was a little bit above 1 and thats when things were just shooting through the roof, Parker said.

As of late last week, its not real high, but its pretty close to 1. If its 1 or over, thats real bad, Parker said.

Researchers are expected to update the infection rate tomorrow.

But, he added, the data isnt painting what the current picture is in the county.

But theres that lag, right. The cases youre seeing today, those happened almost a month ago, Parker said.

Noymer said he hopes people still follow public health guidance so the infection rate doesnt rise above 1.

So if you have 1.0, then youre just kind of treading water. So each infection is creating a new infection, Noymer said. The problem is when its 1.1 or 1.2, because then youre adding even more cases.

Noymer said hes keeping a close eye on the number of people in intensive care units.

The thing I look at very closely is ICU numbers, Noymer said. The ICUs were in the 150s over the summer but they were down to as low as 42 at one point in September/October. And now theyve been in the 70s consistently for a few days, so that is not pleasing to me or anyone else.

Of the 224 people hospitalized Tuesday, 79 were in intensive care units, according to the Health Care Agency.

Im frankly concerned, Noymer said.

Since the pandemic began in March, the virus has killed 1,512 county residents out of 62,830 confirmed cases, including three new deaths reported Tuesday.

The virus has already killed nearly three times as many people as the flu does on average in Orange County.

For context, OC has averaged around 20,000 deaths a year since 2016, including 543 annual flu deaths, according to state health data.

According to those same statistics, cancer kills over 4,600 people, heart disease kills over 2,800, over 1,400 die from Alzheimers disease and strokes kill over 1,300 people.

Parker said OC may be able to avoid spikes in cases and deaths if people follow the public health protocols, like avoiding gatherings and wearing a mask.

Maybe well be vigilant, but I dont know, Im a bit of a pessimist right now, he said.

Meanwhile, all of the counties surrounding OC are in the most restrictive tier, the Purple Tier, on the states business reopening system because of the positivity rates and new average daily cases. San Diego was moved to the Purple Tier on Tuesday.

For now, Orange County sits in the Red Tier, the second most restrictive tier.

That means retailers, malls, beauty salons, movie theaters, restaurants, gyms and places of worship are open under limited capacity.

Larger entertainment venues, like theme parks, sports stadiums and bowling alleys remain closed.

A move back to the Purple Tier would see movie theaters close, while restaurants and houses of worship would have to move their operations outside. It would also further limit the number of people allowed inside malls and retailers, depending on the specific guidelines for each industry.

The rising cases around California are causing concerns for state and local public health officials, especially since the holiday season is around the corner.

It is clear we are seeing increasing cases, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the state Health and Human Services Agency at a Tuesday news conference.

He said more counties will be moving back to more restrictive business reopening tiers next week.

As we look forward to next week and we see which counties may have missed tier thresholds this week, we anticipate over half of Californias counties will have moved into a more restrictive tier, Ghaly said.

No county moved to a less restrictive tier on Tuesday, which is when state public health officials update the business reopening system.

Ghaly, Noymer and Parker all fear new infections stemming from Thanksgiving dinner and other upcoming holiday celebrations.

All three said people should avoid doing Thanksgiving dinner and other celebrations with people they dont live with.

Im really apprehensive about Thanksgiving, Noymer said. People need to really reflect on protecting the elderly and other high-risk groups. And just not use Thanksgiving as this massive springboard into the other holidays.

Heres the latest on the virus numbers across Orange County from county data:

Infections | Hospitalizations & Deaths | City-by-City Data | Demographics

The rest is here:

Second Coronavirus Wave Hits Orange CountyVoice - Voice of OC

After Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Monday that some of Californias counties would be falling back in his coronavirus reopening protocols, the states Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Mark Ghaly, announced on Tuesday that nearly a dozen counties are being required to move back to more restrictive measures.

A total of 11 counties, including one of the states most populous, fell back in the governors tiering structure. Sacramento, Stanislaus and San Diego retreated to the most restrictive Purple tier. That means movie theaters in those counties which had been allowed to reopen up to 100 people or 25%, whichever is less in the Red tier must shutter indoor operations again.

Other moves included Amador, Contra Costa, Placer, Santa Cruz and El Doradocounties going from the Orange tier down to the more restrictive Red tier. Modoc, Siskiyu and Trinity moved back to Orange. Yolo County, also at risk of demotion, stayed in the Red tier. No counties moved forward.

Los Angeles now sits firmly within the Purple tier. L.A. County health officials said last week that they do not anticipate the county moving out of the Purple Tier any time soon.

You can view a chart of the tiers and their restrictions in the tweet below.

California reported 5,367 new daily cases on Tuesday, coming close to 1 million milestone at 977,000. The seven-day average now is over 6,000. According to Ghaly, Tuesdays number reflects Sunday data that often is lower.

The state currently has a 3.7% test positivity rate. Ghaly cautioned that the seven-day test positivity is 4.2%. We havent seen test positivity rates above 4 since August, he said.

Hospitalizations due to COVID had increased 3.4% just since Monday. Patients in the ICU due to COVID-19 were up more than 4% vs. Monday. Those are big one-day jumps.

The states number of new cases per 100,000 people was 8.4% as of Tuesday. If taken as a whole, that rate would put the entire state in the most restrictive tier.

Almost all counties in the state are in an upward trajectory, said Ghaly. Even worse: If those trends continue, between this week and next week, he said, more than half of Californias 58 counties will have moved into a more restrictive tier.

To business owners who might be forced to shut down again. Ghaly said, We want to continue to work with all our business owners, big and small, across the state.

On Monday, Disneyland announced that it will be furloughing another group of workers at the park. The bulk of the hit or 67%, the company said will fall on part-time workers.

Also on Monday, Regal Cinemas said it will shutter its 18 locations still open in New York and California, effective Thursday.

The governor said on Monday that, as the numbers increased, the state was being well served by his decision to develop a tiering structure that was more restrictive not based on political whim, but based upon data.

The tier system is working as designed, he asserted, before warning that the state was definitely seeing the second wave of the virus.

I am concerned that we may be over exuberant that we now have a safe vaccine and people may go back to their usual form, said Newsom. The availability to people like you and me is a long way off. Do not take your guard down. First responders, he reminded Californians, will get any vaccine first.

The governor said we likely yet have the worst months of the pandemic before most of us have access to a vaccine. We should see a mass distribution of these vaccines [beginning] in April, he predicted.

Let us double down on the work that we have done together, on non-pharmaceutical interventions like masks and social distancing, he pleaded.

The rest is here:

California Coronavirus Update: 11 Counties Ordered To Impose More Restrictive COVID Measures With Many More Likely; Theaters Must Close Again In 3...

By Spencer Custodio | November 9, 2020

A second wave of coronavirus infections could be hitting Orange County after a series of upticks over the past week, with over 500 new cases reported Sunday.

The county hasnt seen over 400 new cases reported since early August, when OC was coming out of the summer case spikes. Monday saw an additional 308 cases reported.

All of the counties surrounding OC, except for San Diego, are in the states most restrictive tier of business reopenings because of high positivity rates and daily case rates.

UC Irvine epidemiologist Daniel Parker said new cases could paint a picture of what was happening a couple weeks ago.

The tricky thing is that when the cases start going up, thats probably something thats happened two, three weeks ago. So the transmission thats happening right now, youre not going to see that in cases for two or three weeks. So when they show up in the numbers its too late, Parker said.

Last week, OCs new daily case counts crept above 300 a day before hitting 512 on Sunday.

Parker said the best way to measure how much the virus is spreading in OC is daily new cases, hospitalizations, the positivity rate and new cases per 100,000 residents.

Its good to keep up with the different metrics. Because one metric could shoot up and it could be a statistical blip, Parker said. You could have a bunch of cases reported on the same day.

By Sunday, there were 201 people hospitalized, including 72 people in intensive care units. Thats the highest hospitalizations have been since mid September.

The highest number of hospitalizations happened during the summer virus wave, when over 700 people were hospitalized at one point in July.

Parkers colleague, UC Irvine epidemiologist Andrew Noymer said the number of people in ICUs could indicate a second wave.

When the ICU stays above 70 for a few days in a row, thats when we know the games on, Noymer said. But make no mistake about it, theres going to be a second wave in Orange County and nationwide.

At the same time, the positivity rate in OC has been hovering around 3.6%, but the average daily new cases is 6 per 100,000 residents a metric thats climbed over the past weeks. A couple weeks ago, OC had an average of 3.5 new cases per 100,000 residents.

If the average daily new cases hits 7 and stays there for a few weeks, that means OC could move back into the Purple Tier on the states reopening system.

For now, Orange County sits in the Red Tier.

That means retailers, malls, beauty salons, movie theaters, restaurants, gyms and places of worship are open under limited capacity.

Larger entertainment venues, like theme parks, sports stadiums and bowling alleys remain closed.

A move back to the Purple Tier would see movie theaters close, while restaurants and houses of worship would have to move their operations outside. It would also further limit the number of people allowed inside malls and retailers, depending on the specific guidelines for each industry.

Certainly the increase in case counts is of a concern, said Dr. Matt Zahn, director of the Communicable Disease Control Division Orange County at the county Health Care Agency, at a Friday news conference.

But its really important at the same time we cant let our guard down, Zahn said. You cant lose sight of the fact that since weve done well in the last two or three months. Thats been a hugely important part, for one, our community to open up and go into the Red Tier, and two, to prevent serious illness and death in our community.

He also said county public health officials have noticed fatigue around OC, meaning people may begin to stop wearing masks and avoid large gatherings or crowding indoors.

By the same token, the virus is not gone. And I think we all know theres COVID fatigue and i think we all feel it, Zahn said, noting the upcoming holidays. We all think of family gatherings, social gatherings, work gatherings. Unfortunately, you have to think about those gatherings differently, because there is a risk there.

Most of the counties surrounding OC Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino sit in the purple tier. San Diego remains in the Red Tier.

Speaking at a Monday news conference, Gov. Gavin Newsom said more counties are expected to move back to the Purple Tier during Tuesdays weekly tier update.

OC is likely to stay in the Red Tier.

State officials are also warning of virus fatigue and a looming second wave.

People are letting their guard down. Theyre taking their masks off, Newsom said. Were starting to see more people mixing so this was anticipated, no one was surprised by it.

Secretary of the state Health and Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly, said public health officials across the state are seeing increased virus transmission from people holding parties and other gatherings.

They mention private household gatherings as a major source of spread, Ghaly said at the Monday news conference.

Since the pandemic began in March, the virus has killed 1,509 people, out of 62,563 confirmed OC cases, according to the county Health Care Agency.

For context, Orange County has averaged around 20,000 deaths a year since 2016, according to state health data. Of that number, cancer kills over 4,600 people, heart disease kills over 2,800, over 1,400 die from Alzheimers disease and strokes kill over 1,300 people.

According to those same statistics, the flu kills about 543 OC residents annually.

Hospitalizations continue to creep up also.

As of Monday, 205 people were hospitalized because of the virus, including 76 in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, some Orange County parents are driving their children to Arizona and Nevada so they can play youth sports games like baseball, soccer and softball because current state guidelines only allow for practice and not games.

Zahn said county Health Care Agency officials havent seen any cases stemming from the road trips, but said he worries about increased virus exposure because of what people may do when they get out of state.

Its still unclear when state public health officials will update the guidelines to potentially allow for some games.

Parker said youth sports games are tricky during the pandemic.

I would say something like soccer, if you dont really have a high burden in the community and youre getting around that indoor time with people, that seems like its not a high risk. We all have to find some acceptable levels of risk because we cant just stay indoors forever, Parker said.

Although he said sports like wrestling or indoor basketball is concerning because the virus spreads easier indoors.

The outdoor activities where youre not forced to be in real close proximity to people for a lot of time, that doesnt worry me too much, Parker said. If youre on a soccer field or football field, then youre going to be coming into closer contact with people, Parker said. So its not completely risk free. But being outdoors helps a lot, really.

Because of the ever-changing situation with the virus, Parker said people will have to constantly do risk assessments before trying to resume pre-pandemic activities.

Youre not going to completely stop living, youre just going to balance out risky behaviors. Like, how important is it for me to drink a beer in a bar tonight, which is a really risky thing to do. Or go to the park to play catch, which is less risky, Parker said. We just have to find ways to balance these things out.

Heres the latest on the virus numbers across Orange County from county data:

Infections | Hospitalizations & Deaths | City-by-City Data | Demographics

See the article here:

Is a Second Coronavirus Wave Hitting Orange County? - Voice of OC

The NFL and NFL Players Association reported a big jump in COVID-19 infections for their most recent testing period, a reflection of growing case counts around the country.

A total of 56 employees, including 15 players and 41 staff members, returned confirmed positive tests between Nov. 1 and Nov. 7. That's more than twice the total of any other period (26, from Sept. 27-Oct. 3), the period that accounts for most of the Tennessee Titans outbreak that forced multiple changes to the league's early-season schedule.

1 Related

Since then, the NFL has managed to play its games on schedule after deciding to isolate any high-risk close contacts for five days. But league officials are making contingency plans for future game cancellations, including the possibility of a 16-team playoff field.

The NFL and NFLPA are testing roughly 8,000 different employees during each period.

After deciding last summer against operating in a bubble environment, the league has been focused on preventing spread of inevitable infections. Its chief medical officer, Dr. Allen Sills, has said repeatedly that rising case counts across the country make that job more difficult. Nationwide, more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections have been reported for six consecutive days.

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NFL coronavirus cases on rise along with nation - ESPN

CLEVELAND, Ohio - It took 112 days from the first known coronavirus cases in Ohio for the state to reach 50,000 in late June. But over just 13 days recently, the state went from 200,000 to 250,000 cases, with no end for the recent spike in sight.

This illustrates how quickly the case totals have been adding up.

Ohios first three cases were confirmed on March 9. It wasnt until June 28 - three and a half months later - that Ohio reported case No. 50,000.

Then things accelerated, in part because more testing was able to confirm more cases, but more so because of an increasing spread, especially over the last several weeks.

* It took 42 days for Ohio to go from 50,000 cases to 100,000 on Aug. 8.

* It took 48 days to go from 100,000 to 150,000 on Sept. 26.

* It took 30 days to go from 150,000 to 200,000 on Oct. 26.

* And it took just 13 days to go from 200,000 to 250,000 on Sunday, Nov. 8.

After adding 4,706 cases on Monday and 6,508 more on Tuesday, Ohios case total now stands at 261,482, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

Read related coverage

Mapping Ohios coronavirus cases, updates, trends; deaths now reported in all 88 counties

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine cancels Tuesdays coronavirus briefing for a statewide broadcast Wednesday evening

Ohio reports 6,508 new coronavirus cases - 959 above previous record: Tuesday update

See original here:

This is how fast Ohios coronavirus cases have been increasing - cleveland.com

Pandemic-weary residents everywhere are holding their breath for the first coronavirus vaccines to be approved by federal regulators. The shots, currently being mass produced for international distribution, carry with them the hope of putting an end to the COVID-19 pandemic and resuscitating the global economy.

But Dr. Marc Hellerstein, a vaccine researcher and toxicologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who studied at MIT, says he isnt actually sure if he'll take one of these early vaccines.

Thats a really good question. I might, he muses. Id be worried though. Id be worried about do I have to get another vaccine in two years?

Hellerstein is one of a small but vocal contingent of scientists that are warily watching the development of the coronavirus vaccine frontrunners. In general, they have two theoretical concerns about the first candidates, which could receiveapproval from the Food and Drug Administration sometime within the next year.

First, these vaccines focus primarily on creating antibodies immune defense compounds that can neutralize the virus. Hellerstein says that might mean the vaccines protection is short-lived.

This is what scares me say you give some people a vaccine, and it just gets antibodies. A year later, theyre dying away because thats how long these antibodies live. Six months, even less, Hellerstein says.

Once those antibodies fade, Hellerstein says its unclear if the immune system will still recognize the coronavirus and mount a strong defense. Antibody levels often wane after the body recovers from an illness, but the immune system can typically create those antibodies again quickly if the same pathogen returns. Even so, Hellerstein argues a vaccine that focuses on T cells, a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections, might be more lasting.

In Hellersteins own research, he found that T cells created by the yellow fever vaccine were still effective decades after the vaccine was injected. And, Hellerstein adds, when researchers looked at people who had recovered from COVID-19, they found those who had only mild illness had fewer antibodies but more T cells. Hellerstein thinks that might mean T cells are more important for fighting off COVID than antibodies.

The people with mild infection often dont have antibodies at all. Those are the people we want to emulate. They won. They succeeded, Hellerstein says.

Those people also created many different T cells that targeted different parts of the coronavirus, but the leading vaccine candidates provide the body with only one of those targets the spike protein. This is the tool the coronavirus uses to infect and enter cells.

I would say its five different flavors of vanilla, says Dr. Anne De Groot, the co-founder of a vaccine design firm called EpiVax. The problem being that if the spike doesnt work [in a vaccine], then what do you have?

Like Hellerstein, she has doubts about the leading vaccine candidates especially what she considers an overcommitment to the spike protein. If vaccines based on this protein fail to provide adequate protection against the coronavirus, then the millions of doses that companies have already manufactured will end up in the incinerator. De Groot says that result would be disastrous for public health and couldhinder subsequent efforts fora better vaccine.

I think thats going to have a hugely damaging effect on public trust in vaccines. So, we really need to have a plan B, she says.

De Groot says that plan B should include the development of vaccines that focus on different targets and use a variety of strategies in case one fails, or the coronavirus mutates in a way that makes the leading vaccines obsolete. Recently, a mutation was found on the spike protein in coronavirus cases in Denmark, although its unclear if that mutation will affect the vaccines effectiveness.

Creating more vaccines that focus on other parts of the virus or increasing the complexity of the existing vaccines would also stretch out development time. Thats time we dont have, points out Dr. Daniel Barouch, a vaccine researcher at Harvard University. He also led the team that designed the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine now undergoing clinical trials.

It gets exponentially more complicated to add additional components, Barouch says. If you had 10 years, could you make a better vaccine? Probably. In terms of what could be done within the space of a year? Then I think this suite of vaccines represents the best science the world has to offer.

For the short term, Barouch says the spike protein is the obvious choice for a vaccine. Its on the surface of the coronavirus, and antibodies that can neutralize the protein also cripple the virus ability to attack cells. At the moment, Barouch says the research suggests a vaccine targeting the spike protein will likely work. The presence of antibodies is often used to help estimate the effectiveness of a vaccine and measure an immune response. Still, he adds, nothing is certain until the clinical trials are complete.

We wont know until we see the results. If the phase 3 studies are wonderfully protective, then that was clearly a pretty good decision, he says. If they fail, then therell be serious questions.

Once the first vaccines get federal approval, it willstill take months, at the very least, before scientists know whether they provide long-lasting protection. If they prove to be ineffective or onlypartially effective, Barouch says the world will have to wait for the next generation of vaccines, which will hopefully be better. Several companies, including De Groots EpiVax in Providence, are working on those vaccines now.

However, the federal government hasnt made those vaccines a priority, says John Lewis, the CEO of Entos Pharmaceuticals in Canada and San Diego-based Aegis Life, Inc, which is working on a coronavirus vaccine. He asked Moncef Slaoui, the head of the federal governments main vaccine development initiative, if he planned to allocate funding towards diversifying coronavirus vaccine candidates.

I said, do you have a plan if spike protein doesnt turn out to be ideal, a backup plan to produce other vaccines? And he basically responded saying, I dont think well need to do that, Lewis says. I was disappointed when I heard that answer.

Critics argue the government's strategy might slow down the development of the next generation of vaccines. But Berkeleys Hellerstein says if it turns out the leading vaccines are justmediocre, they might still be able to slow down the pandemic enough for new vaccines to come to the rescue.

I wouldnt be surprised if the first vaccines are OK. Then we buy a little time," he says. "During that time, we should pick a great vaccine.

Read the original post:

The World Hopes A Coronavirus Vaccine Will Come To The Rescue. Some Scientists Aren't So Sure - WBUR

Though the country is conducting far more tests now than it was in the spring, the soaring case numbers now reflect accelerating spread of the virus, not simply wider testing.

Hospitalizations, which give a clear picture of how many people are seriously ill with the virus at any given time, grew by 63 percent over the past month, according to data collected by the Covid Tracking Project. More than 55,000 people are now hospitalized with the virus, approaching earlier peaks of more than 59,000 in April and July.

Treatment has vastly improved since the height of the spring outbreak, when more than 2,200 people were dying per day. Even so, deaths, which tend to lag a few weeks behind new infections, are now trending upward. The country has averaged about 900 deaths a day over the last week, compared with about 700 a month ago.

Mr. Biden is in line to inherit one of the most serious and complicated national crises that any incoming president in more than half a century has faced.

While other presidents have entered office during an economic slowdown, including President Obama and Mr. Biden as vice president in 2009, not since Harry Truman in the final months of World War II has a new president faced a situation as complex and multiheaded as the pandemic, said Bruce J. Schulman, a political historian at Boston University.

Mr. Biden has said controlling the pandemic is the necessary first step to bringing back jobs, and has said that on his first day in office, he would move rapidly to appoint a national supply chain commander and establish a pandemic testing board, similar to Franklin D. Roosevelts wartime production panel.

On Sunday, Mr. Bidens campaign released a first glimpse of his plan for the pandemic, including a commitment to listen to science. Public health experts offered initial praise for his coronavirus task force, which is expected to include Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general; Dr. David Kessler, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration; and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale University professor.

Original post:

How A Terrifying Coronavirus Surge Will Land in Bidens Lap - The New York Times

CHICAGO Fourteen more deaths from coronavirus were reported in Illinois during the past day.

The states and citys outlook look grim, with positivity rates, new cases, hospitalizations and deaths quickly rising. Much of the suburbs will soon face tighter restrictions, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Monday. Chicago and the rest of Cook County are struggling to control their outbreaks, as well.

The virus is winning the war right now, Pritzker said at a Monday coronavirus update.

The states new daily cases are up nearly 380 percent since Oct. 1, Pritzker said, and Illinois positivity rate has risen 180 percent in the past five weeks. Coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths per day are up more than 150 percent in the same time period, he said.

Regions 7 and 8 covering Will, Kankakee, Kane and DuPage counties have been placed under Tier 2 mitigations, meaning theyll face tighter restrictions on bars, restaurants and sporting and recreational events, Pritzker said. People should no longer gather in groups of 10 or more in those areas, as well.

But those mitigations can only slow the viruss spread if people follow them, Pritzker said. He and Dr. Ngozi Ezike, head of the Illinois Department of Public Health, urged people to follow the restrictions and to take other safety measures like wash their hands, wear masks and practice social distancing to slow the viruss spread, bend the curve and save lives.

If people follow the mitigations, it will take only several weeks for the curve to start bending, the officials said.

We all want an end to this pandemic. We are all on the same team, Ezike said. We want to be able to hang out with our friends. We want to enjoy our favorite restaurants. We want to have our large weddings and all the things that have been sacrificed since March.

But theres only a few paths to get us there, and one is by reducing the amount of virus circulating so that we no longer see sustainable spread. We do this by limiting our group sizes as well as wearing our mask and keeping our distance. By not doing these things, the virus continues to get ahead of us.

Among the states latest victims were six people from Cook County. At least 10,210 people have died from COVID-19 in Illinois, and another 353 deaths are considered to be probably related to coronavirus.

The state also reported 10,573 confirmed cases, bringing the total in Illinois up to 498,560.

Illinois seven-day positivity rate rose to 11.4 percent with 64,760 tests reported. It was at 10.6 percent Sunday. The figure represents total confirmed cases divided by total tests.

Illinois seven-day positivity, which measures how many tests were positive out of total tests, hit 12.4 percent. It was at 12 percent Sunday.

As of Sunday night, 4,409 people were hospitalized with coronavirus in Illinois, including 857 people in the ICU and 376 people using ventilators.

Over the weekend, the state also saw 118 deaths and more than 22,000 cases.

In Chicago, one death and 2,435 confirmed cases were reported since Sunday but 16 deaths and 4,190 cases were reported over the weekend.

There have been at least 3,138 deaths from COVID-19 in Chicago and 119,960 confirmed cases, according to state data.

The city is seeing an average of 1,599 cases being reported per day, a 41 percent uptick from the prior week. The citys seven-day positivity rate has risen to 12.4 percent, up from 9.5 percent the week before.

The city is also now seeing an average of six deaths per day; for months, that number hadnt risen above two or three per day. But officials have said deaths are beginning to rise in Chicago, and theyll go higher as new cases and hospitalizations spike.

Block Club Chicagos coronavirus coverage is free for all readers. Block Club is an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom.

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Coronavirus Kill 14 More People In Illinois: 'The Virus Is Winning The War' - Block Club Chicago

President-elect Joe Biden during a victory speech on Saturday said he'd take action to fight America's coronavirus epidemic on his first day in office, and his advisers in recent days have detailed some of the steps Biden's taking now to prepareas well as some of the actions Biden intends to take once he's inaugurated as the nation's next president.

How Covid-19 will impact U.S. health care policy

The comments from Biden and his advisors come amid a continuing surge in new coronavirus cases and related deaths and hospitalizations in the United States. On Friday, the United States for the third consecutive day set a new global record for the highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day, at more than 132,700 cases, the New York Times reports. As of Monday morning, U.S. officials had reported a total of about 10,060,700 cases of the novel coronavirus since America's epidemic began, up from about 9,698,100 cases reported as of Friday morning.

According to the Times, the United States' average daily number of newly reported coronavirus cases over the past week was 111,175which is up by 59% when compared with the average from two weeks ago. At least 17 states reported record-high single-day increases in their numbers of newly reported coronavirus cases on Friday, and 27 states in total reported record-high single-day increases in their numbers of new coronavirus cases over the past week the Times reports.

As of Monday morning, data from the Times showed that the rates of newly reported coronavirus cases were "staying high" in Puerto Rico and 44 states that have had a daily average of at least 15 newly reported cases per 100,000 people over the past week. Those states are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Meanwhile, the Times' data shows that, as of Monday morning, the daily average of newly reported cases over the past seven days was "going down" in Guam, which had been seeing comparatively higher rates of coronavirus transmission.

The U.S. Virgin Islands; Washington, D.C.; and six states that have had comparatively low case rates were seeing those rates "going up" as of Monday morning, according to theTimes. Those states are California, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont.

The number of reported deaths tied to the novel coronavirus also is rising at a quicker pace, with the United States last week reporting more than 1,000 new deaths tied to the virus for four consecutive days for the first time since August. As of Monday morning, U.S. officials had reported a total of about 238,031 U.S. deaths linked to the virus since the country's epidemic began, up from about 235,331 deaths reported as of Friday morning.

Hospitalizations for Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, also are rising. According to data from The Atlantic's Covid Tracking Project, 56,768 Americans were hospitalized for Covid-19 on Thursday. That number had climbed by 14% over the previous seven days and is nearing the United Sates' record number of nearly 60,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations, which the country reported during the summer, NPR's "Shots" reports.

Throughout his campaign, Biden said addressing America's coronavirus epidemic would be one his top priorities if elected president. Biden reiterated that message during his victory speech on Saturday, saying, "Our work begins with getting Covid under control. I will spare no effort, none, or any commitment to turn around this pandemic."

Both Biden and his advisers in recent days have detailed how Biden is preparing to address the epidemic, as well as some actions Biden plans to take on his first day in office.

For instance, Biden on Saturday announced that he plans to name a coronavirus task force on Monday. The task force will be comprised of "leading scientists and experts" and will be responsible for crafting recommendations "built on a bedrock of science, constructed out of compassion, empathy, and concern," Biden said.

According to the Times, David Kessler, who served as FDA commissioner under the administrations of former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton; , Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general under former President Barack Obama's administration; and Marcella Nunez-Smith, a physician, researcher, and professor at Yale University, will serve as co-chairs of the 12-member task force.

A person close to Biden's transition planning reportedly told the Times that Biden's announcement of the task force kicked off a week in which Biden plans to focus on health care and the epidemic as he prepares to start building his future administration.

People familiar with Biden's plans have told various media outlets that Biden intends to quickly establish a national strategy for combatting the coronavirus epidemic that will focus on bolstering U.S. medical supplies, coronavirus testing and contact tracing, and potentially targeted business closures. For example, the Times reports that sources have said Biden plans to appoint a "national supply chain commander" and establish a "pandemic testing board" on his first day in office.

According to Biden's aides, the president-elect once in office also plans to use the president's authority to invoke the Defense Production Act to order businesses to boost stocks of necessary supplies.

Further, Biden plans to press Congress to pass a new stimulus package by late January that's intended to help offset the economic effects of the country's coronavirus epidemic, Politico reports. According to Politico, Biden's aides said he would like Congress to pass a bill that guarantees sick leave for workers, covers the cost of coronavirus testing and treatments for uninsured and under-insured Americans, and allocates billions of dollars in funding to help businesses and schools reopen safely, among other things.

Although Biden has indicated he would like to implement a national mask mandate once he takes office, his advisers have determined that the president does not have the legal authority to do so, according to the Times. As such, Biden plans to try to increase mask wearing in other ways, including by requiring masks on all federal property and "all interstate transportation." Biden also plans to lean on state and local officials to implement mask mandates if they have not already done so, Politico reports.

On Saturday, major trade groups representing hospitals and health insurers vowed to work with Biden and his future administration to tackle the coronavirus epidemic and reform the U.S. health care system.

Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, in a statement said, "We both share the same top priority: fighting the battle against Covid-19. As we continue on the front lines in this fight, we will work as partners to protect our patients and communities, as well as support our brave health care workers."

Further, Pollack added, "Our other priorities remain the same: advancing the transformation of health care, ensuring access to coverage, enhancing the quality of care, and making health care more affordable."

Matt Eyles, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, in a statement said, "There are many health care challenges that our nation must face togetherfrom continuing to battle the Covid-19 crisis, to making health care and prescription drugs more affordable, to protecting patients from surprise medical bills, to ensuring stable coverage markets for those who need it most."

And David Skorton, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), in a statement said, "The AAMC looks forward to working with President-elect Biden, the new administration, and the new Congress to defeat the coronavirus pandemic, safely reopen businesses and schools, and stabilize the economy" (New York Times, 11/8; New York Times [1], 11/9; Stone, "Shots," NPR, 11/6; Owens, "Vitals," Axios, 11/9; Weinstock, Modern Healthcare, 11/7; Facher, STAT News, 11/7; Ollstein/Goldberg, Politico, 11/7; Nichols, Axios, 11/7; Goldmacher et al., New York Times, 11/6; New York Times [2], 11/9).

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How Biden plans to fight the coronavirusstarting on day one - The Daily Briefing