COVID-19 Surges In U.S. Midwest, Broadway Dark Until June

CHICAGO: COVID-19 shattered records for new cases in the U.S. Midwest, straining hospitals, and will darken New York’s Broadway theaters until June, a decision the Actors’ Equity Association union, called “difficult but responsible.”

The Broadway closure that began in March had been due to end in early January until the Broadway League industry group announced the extension on Friday.

A dozen Midwestern states together reported a record 16,807 new cases on Thursday, according to a Reuters analysis. The surge is most extreme in the northern Midwest, where weather is the coldest. Illinois reported its biggest increase since May 14 on Thursday. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3d9OAoF)

The number of Midwest COVID-19 patients hospitalized hit a record high on Thursday for the fourth day in a row and now tops 8,000. Nationally, nearly 34,000 coronavirus patients are hospitalized, the highest since Sept. 4. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/3lwVO9f)

Michigan’s hospitalizations reached 918 on Thursday, up from 687 the previous day. Wisconsin is opening a field hospital outside Milwaukee with the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized hitting a new record on Thursday.

While deaths nationally decline, health experts say they are a lagging indicator that usually rises weeks after cases surge.

Cases are rising in New York, a city that early in the pandemic endured the world’s most rampant outbreak. To curb a second wave, the City has closed businesses and schools in neighborhood hot spots, drawing protests from a small contingent of Orthodox Jews.

U.S. President Donald Trump, sidelined by his own COVID-19 infection, had been keen to return to the campaign trail ahead of a Nov. 3 election but was unlikely to hold any in-person events until at least Monday, aides said.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would resume talks on a possible economic stimulus package with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday, but Senate Republicans voiced doubts that a deal can be reached before the election.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Read all the Latest News and Breaking News here