(CNN) — As nationwide Covid-19 cases soar, the number of hospitalized Americans is also climbing, and experts warn that could lead to a rise in deaths.
The United States has more than 53,000 coronavirus patients, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
An ensemble forecast by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects another 31,000 people could lose their lives over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
Hospitalizations in New Mexico have shot up by 260% in the last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said, and health officials added they expect to run out of general hospital beds “in a matter of days.”
In the Midwest — where communities have been hit particularly hard and outbreaks are only worsening — hospitalizations are up “following the region’s sharply accelerating case surge,” the COVID Tracking Project said in a Thursday blog post.
“Reported deaths from the Midwest are rising as well, several weeks into that region’s case surge,” the project said.
Thursday set another record for new cases
At least 235,347 Americans have died, and there have been at least 9,654,501 US cases since the pandemic’s start, Johns Hopkins University data show.
By Friday afternoon, Johns Hopkins had reported 47,165 new cases and 420 deaths.
The US reported more than 121,000 infections Thursday, beating a daily case record it set just 24 hours earlier.
Wednesday’s record of more than 100,000 cases was the first time the US hit a six-figure number. That means in just two days, the country reported more than 220,000 positive tests, bringing the past week’s total to more than 660,000 new cases of the virus.
The US reported 1,210 deaths Thursday, the third day in a row the nation lost more than 1,000 people, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
The US now averages 895 deaths a day, and the number is rising rapidly, Johns Hopkins data show.
Three states reported record-high deaths on Thursday, according to JHU: New Mexico, North Dakota and Tennessee.
‘It is everywhere’
In the first five days of November — as the country has focused on its presidential election — 22 states reported at least one record-high day of Covid-19 hospitalizations, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.
The states are: Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
In October, 31 states reported at least one record-high day of new cases during the entire month.
New Mexico is one of at least 38 states reporting more new Covid-19 infections than the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins. Only two US states — Alabama and Tennessee — are trending in the right direction.
In Minnesota, health officials reported more than 3,900 new cases Thursday — the highest daily total for the state and the third day in a row that single-day cases reach a new high.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine meanwhile warned of community spread as the state also reported a record-high of Covid-19 cases Thursday.
“It is everywhere, we can’t hide from it, we can’t run from it,” the governor said during a news conference. “The risk of catching this virus in every county is very real.”
New state restrictions target gatherings
With the virus now running rampant across American communities, several state leaders have pushed new measures to help curb the spread.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking people not to come to the state through its airports without proof of a negative test, he said Friday.
Cuomo also said New York is doing “extraordinary well” compared to the rest of the country and is only trailing Vermont and Maine.
This comes after several micro-cluster areas are being downgraded across the state, the governor said.
In Connecticut, new measures are going into effect Friday, which will place new limits on restaurants, religious ceremonies and event spaces. The governor also announced Thursday tightened restrictions around private gatherings through Thanksgiving.
Public health officials nationwide have pointed to gatherings as a major driving force behind Covid-19 surges. And Gov. Ned Lamont also recommended earlier this week that residents stay home between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. to limit socializing.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo announced new restrictions taking effect Sunday, including a stay-at-home advisory that will last from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weeknights and will begin at 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The governor also said the main source of the virus spread has been gatherings like large house parties.
If those don’t stop, the governor said, “I will be back in two weeks with a shutdown order.”
(Copyright (c) 2024 CNN. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)