The number of coronavirus cases is rising at startling rates. And there are concerns that the Thanksgiving holiday is going to cause numbers to spike even more. NPR writes:
The cumulative case count passed 12 million on Saturday, six days after the previous million mark was crossed, which was six days after the previous million.
On Friday alone, there were more than 195,000 new confirmed cases and 1,878 deaths reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
More than 255,000 people have died in total, as of Saturday afternoon.
This comes as people around the country report waiting hours to get a coronavirus test. Slate writes:
Local officials seem to have been caught off-guard and have scrambled to make adjustments. In Chicago, Denver, and Olympia, Washington, testing sites reached capacity and had to shut down within about an hour of opening. In Eric County, New York, residents trying to schedule an appointment for a COVID test through the county hotline have been unable to get through. Washington, D.C., has expanded the number and hours of its free testing sites after lines stretched for blocks, and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested that residents call 311 to find sites with shorter wait times.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump was, once again on the golf course today.
And instead of acknowledging how many people are sick or have died, he took to Twitter today to blame the media for reporting actual statistics.