Over the past two weeks, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. has increased by more than 10,0000, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project cited by CNN.
Thirteen states saw record hospitalizations Nov. 3, according to data tracked by The Washington Post. They are Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin.
Five more updates:
1. The U.S. reported more than 93,500 cases Nov. 2, marking the second-highest daily increase seen during the pandemic, according to The New York Times' Nov. 3 Coronavirus Briefing newsletter.
2. About 41 percent of voters said the pandemic was their most important issue in the presidential race, according to an AP VoteCast survey cited by NPR. The survey, which includes responses from more than 110,000 people nationwide, was conducted over several days before Nov. 3 and continued until polls closed. In contrast, early exit polling numbers cited by The Washington Post show the economy outweighed COVID-19 as voters' most important issue.
3. Some health experts are advocating for use of a "cluster-busting" contact tracing approach that entails not just tracking down someone's known contacts, but also identifying exactly how they contracted the virus, reports Bloomberg. The method, known as "backward tracing," can be helpful at identifying virus clusters and has been successfully used in Japan, among other Asian countries, according to the report.
4. Louisiana officials are recommending against using rapid COVID-19 tests for asymptomatic people, reports Bloomberg. Those who do receive an antigen test should be informed of the limitations, according to the Louisiana Department of Health. Louisiana was one of the first states to receive the rapid, low-cost tests from HHS, which is providing antigen tests for both symptomatic and asymptomatic people. On Nov. 3, the FDA issued an alert warning that antigen tests can produce incorrect positive results.
5. COVID-19 transmission from young children to adults may be limited, a Pediatrics study suggests. Researchers examined virus exposure for U.S. child care providers during the first three months of the pandemic, and found no link between exposure to child care and COVID-19. Researchers noted that the findings can only be interpreted within the context of significant infection mitigation efforts implemented in child care programs.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 9,385,505
Deaths: 232,638
Recovered: 3,705,130
Counts reflect data available as of 8:30 a.m. CST Nov. 4.
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US entering 'most deadly phase' of pandemic, Birx warns; COVID-19 patients can break quarantine to vote, CDC says — 6 updates