US reports over 120K new COVID-19 cases, breaking previous single-day record, according to Johns Hopkins
FILE - Liam Burns (C) listens as President-elect Joe Biden addresses the nation at the Chase Center on November 07, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware.
LOS ANGELES - The United States has recorded more than 120,000 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday, breaking the previous single-day record, and the fourth consecutive day for new cases over 100,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Johns Hopkins reported 126,742 new cases throughout the U.S. Nov. 7, surpassing the 121,888 new cases reported the previous day. One day before that, the country recorded 102,831 new cases.
The nation is setting records for coronavirus cases heading into a cold weather season when many experts expect the virus will be harder to contain. Since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 290 days ago, the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases stood at nearly 104,000 on Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. death toll is a staggering 237,408 with a confirmed total of 9.9 million COVID-19 cases.
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Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities account for about 1% of the U.S. population, but represent 40% of COVID-19 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
An analysis of federal data from 20 states for The Associated Press finds that new weekly cases among nursing home residents rose exponentially from the end of May to late October, from 1,083 to 4,274.
Resident deaths more than doubled, from 318 a week to 699, according to the study by University of Chicago health researchers Rebecca Gorges and Tamara Konetzka.
Equally concerning, weekly cases among nursing home staff in surge states more than quadrupled, from 855 the week ending May 31, to 4,050 the week ending Oct. 25. That rings alarms, as infected staffers not yet showing symptoms are seen as the most likely way the virus gets into facilities. When those unwitting staffers test positive, they are sidelined from caring for residents, raising pressures on remaining staff.
And in light of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election, the president-elect already has plans to to unveil a COVID-19 task force.
RELATED: US surpasses 9 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins
Biden is planning to name former Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler as co-chairs of the coronavirus working group he’s launching this week.
Biden’s deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield announced the two public health experts would lead the task force during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. Murthy and Kessler have been part of a group of experts and doctors that have briefed Biden on the pandemic for months throughout the campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.