November 6, 2020
The we’re-still-counting-votes-and-COVID-cases edition. Even as a record number of Americans cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. reached staggering levels. For the first time, we surpassed 100,000 new cases in a single day. Case levels have reached alarming new records in recent days as outbreaks continue to grow across the country. Weekly infection rates reached record levels in nearly half the country in late October. Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Dakota are among the states struggling to handle the onslaught of cases amid shortages of both nurses – who themselves are infected or in quarantine – and ICU beds.
Meanwhile, economists are warning of a “double dip” recession in the coming months, caused by the surge in infections. But there could be a hint of good news on the horizon. This week, in a post-election reversal, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will take up a COVID-19 relief package when it returns for its lame-duck session. We don’t know how serious McConnell is or how robust the package will be, but McConnell did open the door to the possibility that it will include aid for state and local governments – urgently needed so that governments can continue to provide essential services, and to prevent further layoffs of government workers, which in turn would cause further damage to the economy.
Stay tuned. And keep counting!
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9.7 million/ 235,000
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The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. Tweet this.
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121,200
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The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. on November 5. This was one day after the number of daily cases first exceeded 100,000, and marked a 54% increase from two weeks earlier. Tweet this.
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More than 800
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The average number of COVID-19 deaths per day in the U.S. in early November. That’s below the spring peak, but much higher than in early July. Tweet this.
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53,322
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Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. on Nov. 5; highest since August 5. Hospitalizations are rapidly rising, from 41,010 on Oct. 22.
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365,000
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The number of private sector jobs added during the month of October – much lower than a previous estimate of 600,000 and well off September’s pace of 753,000. Tweet this.
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45.3%
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The percent of Americans who reported that someone in their household lost employment income since March 13. Among Latinx, it was 58%; Blacks, 52.5%; Asians, 44%; and whites, 40%. Tweet this.
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11%
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The percent of Americans reporting that they did not have enough to eat the previous week. Among Blacks, it was 19%; Latinx, 18%; whites, 8%; and Asians, 6%. In households with children, it was 14%.
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-1.3 million
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The number of state and local government employees furloughed or laid off since the pandemic began (from February through October 2020, not seasonally adjusted).
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15%
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Proportion of tenants not caught up on rent, as surveyed from October 14-26 (8.4 million people). More than one in five people in households where someone lost work income is behind in rent.
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102,004
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The number of eviction filings in 24 cities tracked by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab since March. Currently, a moratorium prevents actual evictions, but landlords may still proceed with filings. In Maryland, “hundreds” of eviction filings were submitted in court by Westminster Management, part owned by Trump son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner. Westminster adds court fees to the rent owed when the notices are filed.
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