U.S. Records Highest Number of COVID-19 Deaths in a Day Since May

The CDC recently released updated guidance strongly cautioning against the usual Thanksgiving travel. The next couple months will be key for the U.S.

November 20, 2020

With the current onslaught of near-constant updates on COVID-19 records being met or smashed here in the States, it's hard not to live in a constantly overwhelmed state of existential exhaustion. At any rate, Friday morning brought with it another one: the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in a day since May.

The Johns Hopkins University team, per CNN, said more than 2,000 American deaths were recorded on Thursday. That's the highest count since early May, notably marking merely the latest sign that the U.S. is doing very little help curb the spread as we move into a fraught-with-concerns holiday season.

Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told NPR earlier this week that the worst is likely still to come.

"Unfortunately, we are entering what I think will be the worst stretch that we have experienced so far," Rivers said, adding that "hot spots" in multiple regions across the country are contributing to the latest wave of disturbing upward trends.

Recently, the U.S. surpassed more than 250,000 total COVID-19 deaths.

In new guidance released this week, the CDC reminded the more reckless among us that embarking on typical Thanksgiving travels is—though it shouldn't have to be said—not a good idea.

"Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year," an agency rep said.

But if some form of travel is somehow forced upon you, there are a number of recommended measures designed with safety in mind including keeping six feet away from anyone with whom you do not currently live.