The United States confirmed nearly 140,000 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday — setting yet another world record for daily cases. The U.S. has confirmed over a million new infections in just the first 10 days of November, and U.S. coronavirus hospitalizations have topped 60,000 for the first time.
In Oklahoma, Republican Governor Kevin Stitt is resisting public health officials’ pleas to order a statewide mask mandate, after hospitals in Tulsa ran out of intensive care unit beds.
Texas has passed a million confirmed coronavirus cases — more than the entire nation of Italy. In El Paso, officials have more than doubled their supply of mobile morgues, as ICU beds have run out and COVID-19 patients are being routed to a downtown convention center that’s been converted into a field hospital.
Iowa Republican Governor Kim Reynolds has ordered a limited mask mandate for the first time — for indoor gatherings of 25 people or more.
Philadelphia’s public school district has once again delayed the return of in-person classes for students, saying remote learning will continue “until further notice.”
Meanwhile, Newark, New Jersey, has ordered a 9 p.m. curfew on weeknights as cases surge. And here in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio is warning of a second wave of coronavirus across the city as the test positivity rate now exceeds 2%.