The United States surpassed another grim milestone Wednesday, with nearly 205,000 new cases of Covid-19 reported in a single day, according to an NBC News tally.
That figure comes just a month after the U.S. single-day record topped 100,000 cases for the first time.
More than 2,700 people died Wednesday, according to the data.
And more people than ever are hospitalized with the coronavirus. The COVID Tracking Project reported that 100,000 people were hospitalized across the country on Wednesday.
Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak
Much of the United States has seen a rise in cases over the last month. In the last two weeks that surge has been most acute In New Mexico, Arizona and California, where the percentage of new cases has risen by 109 percent, 90 percent and 75 percent, respectively, according to NBC News data.
“Cases are rising, hospitalizations are increasing, deaths are increasing. We need to try to bend the curve, stop this exponential increase,” Dr. Henry Walke, the CDC’s Covid-19 incident manager, said during a briefing Wednesday.
Health experts are bracing for a possible surge in travel-related cases following Thanksgiving. Cases stemming from the holiday are likely to be apparent about a week to 10 days after Thanksgiving.
CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield had a dire prediction for the winter months. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” he said.
Much like it did ahead of Thanksgiving, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is recommending people to cancel plans to travel for the December holidays.
But if you must, get coronavirus tests before and after, experts said Wednesday.
The agency on Wednesday announced new, shorter, quarantine guidelines after possible exposure to the coronavirus.
The agency’s previous guidance had been to quarantine for 14 days, but it’s now suggesting two alternatives.
The first is to end quarantine after 10 days if no symptoms are reported, Walke said. The second option is to end quarantine after seven days if an individual tests negative and also reports no symptoms.