By Adam Martin

Newly reported Covid-19 cases in the U.S. hit a record high, as did deaths reported in a day, as the global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic passed 1.5 million.

Hospitalizations also hit a record, with 100,667 people in the U.S. admitted as of Thursday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Of those, a record 19,442 people were in intensive care.

The country reported 217,664 new cases on Thursday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, up from 200,055 on Wednesday, and surpassing the previous record of 205,557 set Friday last week.

Newly reported deaths also surged Thursday, to 2,879, according to Johns Hopkins data, the second daily record in a row. The U.S. reported 2,804 deaths on Wednesday.

Nationally, more than 14 million have been infected and more than 276,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins data. World-wide, more than 65.2 million people have been

States face a Friday deadline to submit requests for doses of the Pfizer vaccine and specify where they should be shipped, and many appear to be heeding nonbinding guidelines adopted this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to put health care workers and nursing home patients first.

But they’re also facing a multitude of decisions about other categories of residents — some specific to their states; some vital to their

“According to the study, ‘in contrast to most people’s assumptions, the number of deaths by COVID-19 is not alarming. In fact, it has relatively no effect on deaths in the United States.’ Wait, what? Really? That’s what it says. And, it should come as no surprise that the study was deleted within days.”

There are, however, major issues with this so-called study.

For one, calling it a “Johns Hopkins study” is inaccurate. The now-broken URL didn’t

The U.S. recorded over 3,100 COVID-19 deaths in a single day, obliterating the record set last spring, while the number of Americans in the hospital with the virus has eclipsed 100,000 for the first time and new cases have begun topping 200,000 a day, according to figures released Thursday.

The three benchmarks altogether showed a country slipping deeper into crisis, with perhaps the worst yet to come, in part because of the delayed effects from Thanksgiving, when millions of Americans disregarded warnings to stay home and celebrate only with members of their household.

Across the U.S., the surge has swamped hospitals and left nurses and other health care workers shorthanded and burned out.

“The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they are going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation,” Dr. Robert Redfield,

Support for Sweden’s government and public confidence in authorities’ ability to handle the coronavirus crisis are sliding as the country’s anti-lockdown approach continues to be tested by mounting numbers of deaths and new cases.

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Photograph: Tt News Agency/Reuters

As the national health agency announced 6,485 new infections and 33 more deaths on Thursday, the prime minister, Stefan Löfven , said the country’s high schools would switch to distance learning from 7 December for the rest of the term.

“This is being done so as to have a slowing effect on the spread of the disease, Löfven said, adding that the measure was “not an extended break”. What the country does now “will determine how we can celebrate Christmas”, he said.

A six-monthly poll by Statistics Sweden this week showed support for Löfven’scentre-left Social Democrats had dropped nearly five points to 29.4% since May, amid signs

There were 3,157 Covid-19 deaths reported Wednesday — a jump of about 20% from the previous record of 2,603 set on April 15 — and health care systems are struggling to support the weight of worsening impacts.

© Go Nakamura/Getty Images
HOUSTON, TX – NOVEMBER 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (EDITORS NOTE: Image depicts death.) Medical staff members stand by a body bag that contains a deceased COVID-19 patient’s body in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on November 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas. According to reports, Texas has reached over 1,210,000 cases, including over 21,300 deaths. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)

In total, 273,799 people in the US have died of the virus and more than 13.9 million have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Health experts project the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths to worsen as the holidays bring people

Kansas also had a record-high daily average of 53 new COVID-19 hospitalizations during the seven-day period that ended Wednesday. Hospitals have been stressed for weeks, with many facing staffing shortages and having to convert space into rooms for COVID-19 patients.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month will consider authorizing the emergency use of coronavirus vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna, but the doses will be rationed in the early stages and it will likely be months before it is available to most people. A federal government