By Ben Westcott, Adam Renton, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes and Meg Wagner, CNN
There have been at least 12,613,248 cases of coronavirus in the US, and at least 260,190 people have died, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases.
So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 22,085 new cases and 265 reported deaths.
From CNN's Melissa Alonso and Devon Sayers
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he's in contact with CVS and Walgreens leadership, and is told once a Covid-19 vaccine is available "they are ready to deploy to Florida's over 4,000 long-term care facilities."
In a short pre-taped video update, DeSantis said more than 3,000 long-term care facilities have already signed up to receive vaccines.
"Our goal will be to provide vaccines to every resident of long-term care facilities throughout the state," according to DeSantis.
"As more vaccine becomes available, we of course are going to want to get that into the broader senior community first, and then into the broader community at large," said DeSantis.
DeSantis has said there will be no vaccine mandate in Florida, CNN has reported.
DeSantis did not address the rise in Covid-19 cases and deaths in his state nor did he provide an update on daily cases.
DeSantis hasn’t hosted a Covid-19 press conference in three weeks. Since November 4, DeSantis hasn’t held a single live news conference.
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
The CEO of a Chicago food bank that is seeing a 200% increase in demand ahead of Thanksgiving says many people are coming to them for the first time ever.
“It's such a tough time for so many right now. … So many people in America live paycheck to paycheck or are one furlough or layoff away from a financial crisis, and that's a lot of what we're seeing right now,” Lakeview Pantry CEO Kellie O’Connell said in an interview with CNN.
“Especially hospitality workers or hard-hit industries, so many people are coming to us for the first time that never have had to before,” she added.
O’Connell said that the pantry is also seeing larger families with children seeking out meals.
Watch:
Click here to find out how you can get help if you are facing food insecurity today.
From CNN's Amanda Watts
It's the morning before Thanksgiving in the United States and the coronavirus pandemic is raging across the country.
If you're just reading in now, here are the latest Covid-19 trends and headlines for the US:
Here's where new Covid-19 cases are increasing compared to the previous week:
From CNN's Jeremy Diamond
The White House is strongly considering lifting sweeping restrictions on travel from the European Union and the United Kingdom, an administration official confirmed.
Discussions have been ongoing for several weeks about lifting the restrictions, which ban entry to most foreigners who have been to Europe in the two weeks before their arrival in the US. Reuters first reported on the discussions.
An administration official told CNN that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expressed some reservations about lifting the restrictions, but the agency is not expected to block the move.
The discussions come at a time when the US is experiencing its worst surge of coronavirus, and as many European countries also face higher levels of coronavirus cases.
President Trump has yet to sign off on the move, but once he does, the restrictions are unlikely to be lifted until the US and European countries have established a protocol for safe travel between the two countries.
The White House did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention directed CNN to the White House and the Health and Human Services Department when asked for comment.
Trump first banned most travel from the European Union and UK in March as the pandemic escalated. The EU soon followed suit, restricting most travel from the US and other countries.
From CNN's Adrienne Vogt
Dr. Joseph Varon, chief medical officer at Houston’s United Memorial Medical Center, says he expects an influx of sick patients after Thanksgiving.
“My concerns for the next six to 12 weeks is that if we don't do things right, America is going to see the darkest days in modern American medical history,” Varon said in an interview on CNN.
“My hospital is full. I just opened two new wings so that I can accommodate for the next few days, because I know that a lot of people are going to get sick after Thanksgiving,” he added.
Today is Dr. Varon’s 251st continuous day of working due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that he is “running out of fumes” but he “can't get a day off, because nobody cares for the patients that I can care for.”
He said that he sees people who still do not listen to guidelines. “You go outside, and it's like nothing has happened. People are out there, restaurants, bars, I mean, just name it," he said.
Watch:
More than 259,000 people in the US have died from coronavirus since the pandemic began earlier this year.
That means, for thousands of American families, this will be their first Thanksgiving without a loved one. Empty chairs at dining tables across the US are somber reminders of the pandemic's toll.
CNN spoke to some of these families. You can listen to their stories here.
From CNN’s Paul R. La Monica
The recovery in the American job market is still painfully slow. Another 778,000 people filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on seasonally adjusted basis.
That was more than the 735,000 initial jobless claims that economists were expecting, and it's also higher than last week's revised number of 748,000.
It's the second straight week that first-time claims rose.
The latest unemployment benefits figures were released by the Labor Department on Wednesday, a day earlier than usual because of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The report also showed that continued jobless claims, which include people who have applied for benefits for at least two weeks in a row, was 6.1 million on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was down from the previous week.
And 4.5 million more people had received Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits from the government as of the week of Nov. 7. There is a two-week lag with PEUC data.
Overall, more than 20.4 million Americans were still receiving some form of unemployment benefits as of Nov. 7.
From CNN’s Pete Muntean
Thanksgiving week air travel is expected to remain strong enough to set a pandemic era-record, despite urging from federal health officials to spend the holiday at home, according to Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Andy Post.
The agency receives passenger information from the airlines as part of its screening responsibilities, and the data do not show widespread cancelations in recent days, Post said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last week that Americans do not travel for Thanksgiving to prevent coronavirus spread.
Approximately 4.8 million people have boarded airplanes since that warning. More than 900,000 passed through security at America’s airports on Tuesday, the TSA said.
Officials still expect Sunday – when everyone heads home from their holiday travels – to be the busiest day travel since the pandemic began.