December 6 coronavirus news

By Helen Regan, Jenni Marsh and Amy Woodyatt, CNN

Updated 12:00 a.m. ET, December 7, 2020

6 Posts

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12:50 a.m. ET, December 6, 2020

United States sees second highest number of Covid-19 hospitalizations

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

Nurses care for a Covid-19 positive patient at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts, on December 4. Allison Dinner/AFP/Getty Images

The United States recorded its second-highest number of people currently hospitalized with Covid-19 on Saturday, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP).

There were 101,190 people hospitalized with Covid-19 on Saturday, down 86 from Friday's record high of 101,276 hospitalizations, according to the CTP.

This is the fourth consecutive day that the US has surpassed 100,000 current hospitalizations.

The highest hospitalization numbers according to CTP data are:

December 4: 101,276
December 5: 101,190
December 3: 100,667
December 2: 100,226
December 1: 98,691

12:14 a.m. ET, December 6, 2020

The US hits a record 7-day average of new Covid-19 cases as hospitals are further strained

From CNN's Dakin Andone and Christina Maxouris

Hospitals across the United States are being put under immense pressure as the nation continues to hit record levels of new Covid-19 cases, adding more than 1 million new cases in the first five days of December.

"We're seeing day-by-day increasing numbers of patients with Covid-19, both those who are a little bit sick and those who are really sick," said Dr. Megan Ranney, a CNN medical analyst and director of the Brown-Lifespan Center for Digital Health at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
"As that happens, our hospitals are filling up, and our workers are getting sick. Our floors are short on techs, on respiratory therapists, on nurses," said Ranney, adding, "We are on the verge of being in a crisis state."

Rhode Island's not alone. More than 101,200 Covid-19 patients were in US hospitals on Friday — a record high, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Hospital systems and health care workers are approaching their breaking points.

Experts fear a potential surge of infections linked to Thanksgiving gatherings that will further stress hospitals and frontline health workers.

Read the full story:

US reported more than 10,000 Covid-19 deaths in four days. And the impacts of Thanksgiving will only make things worse, experts warn

12:14 a.m. ET, December 6, 2020

The US reports more than 200,000 new Covid-19 cases for the fourth day in a row

From CNN's Hollie Silverman

The United States has reported more than 200,000 new Covid-19 cases for the fourth day in a row, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As of 8 p.m. ET Saturday, 200,067 new cases and 2,189 deaths had been reported in the US.

A total of 14,567,529 cases and 281,121 deaths have been reported in the country since the pandemic began.

More than 1 million new cases were reported in the first five days of December.

Here's a rundown of the US cases in the past four days:

Sat, Dec 5 - 200,067 as of 8 p.m. EST
Fri, Dec 4 - 227,885
Thu, Dec 3 - 217,664
Wed, Dec 2 - 200,055

11:18 p.m. ET, December 5, 2020

The majority of California will soon be under a stay-at-home order

From CNN's Paul Vercammen and Jon Passantino

Customers dine along Manhattan Beach Blvd. in Manhattan Beach Friday as a lockdown is looming in L.A.County due to the rise in coronavirus cases, on December 4. Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times

Southern California and San Joaquin Valley residents are bracing for a stay-at-home order. Intensive care unit capacity in the two regions has fallen below 15%, triggering a mandate issued by the governor earlier this week that aims to bring down the soaring number of Covid-19 hospitalizations.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced that any region that fell below the 15% ICU capacity threshold would be placed under a stay-at-home order.

The order goes into effect Sunday at 11:59 p.m. PT for the some 27 million people in the regions, which includes Los Angeles and San Diego.

That follows a proactive order issued by six San Francisco Bay Area jurisdictions on Friday for its almost 6 million residents, which also goes into effect Sunday.

Read the full story:

Tens of millions in California under stay-at-home order starting Sunday night

11:15 p.m. ET, December 5, 2020

US tops 1 million cases in first 5 days of December

From CNN's Hollie Silverman and Chuck Johnston

More than one million new cases of Covid-19 were reported in the United States within the first five days of December, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Here's a rundown of cases in the past five days:

Sat, December 5: 200,067 as of 8 p.m. EST
Fri, December 4: 227,885
Thur, December 3: 217,664
Wed, December 2: 200,055
Tues, December 1: 180,637

11:14 p.m. ET, December 5, 2020

California reports more than 25,000 new Covid-19 cases

From CNN's Chuck Johnston

California has reported a new record high of 25,068 new coronavirus cases on Saturday.

The state also reported that an additional 325 Covid-19 patients are hospitalized. That brings the statewide total to 10,273 people across the state in hospitals.

There are 209 new deaths reported as well today. The state total is now 19,791 deaths.

The statewide 14- day positivity rate has jumped to 7.6%.