US reports 69,000 new COVID infections in just 24 hours - the highest daily increase since JULY - leaving hospitals across the Midwest struggling to handle the surge
The United States has recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases in almost three months, with infection numbers soaring across the Midwest.
On Friday, 69, 156 Americans tested positive to the virus - the most in a single day since July.
The number marked a shocking ten percent increase from the day before, where just under 63,000 Americans tested positive.
Cases are up 29 percent in the past 14 days, however the total number of deaths continues to trend downward nationally.
The average number of Americans dying per day from COVID-19 has been averaging around 740 in the past two weeks, down from a peak of 2,000 deaths per day back in April.
On Friday, the US surpassed 8 million infections, and 218,000 deaths.
Cases are surging in New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wisconsin - a state where one in every four COVID-19 tests is currently coming back positive.
Health officials blame the spike on residents not taking the threat of the virus seriously.
Andrea Palm, Secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, told CBS that 'retirement parties, birthday parties, baby showers and weddings' are causing a rapid spread of the virus.
President Trump has scheduled a rally to be held in Wisconsin on Saturday night, but some doctors are urging him to stay away.
'His rallies endanger public health and they have become platforms for him to spread medically inaccurate information,' Wisconsin Dr. Bob Freedland told CBS.
A medical staff member performs a Covid-19 test in North Dakota on Thursday. The state is seeing a huge surge in infections
The number of new infections in states like Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Dakota have doubled in the last four weeks compared to the previous four weeks
Meanwhile, rural counties across the Midwest are bearing the brunt of the new spikes, putting strain on resources that are already in short supply.
Rural counties across Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana sit among the top in the nation for new cases per capita over the last two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
In counties with just a few thousand people, the number of cases per capita can soar with even a small outbreak - and the toll hits close to home in tight-knit towns.
'One or two people with infections can really cause a large impact when you have one grocery store or gas station,' Misty Rudebusch, the medical director at a network of rural health clinics in South Dakota called Horizon Health Care, told The Associated Press.
'There is such a ripple effect.'
Cars line up at a drive-thru testing center in Wisconsin. About one in four COVID-19 tests in that state is currently returning a positive result
As cases surge, hospitals in rural communities are having trouble finding beds. In most rural areas, seriously-ill COVID-19 patients are transferred to larger hospitals, which are better equipped to treat the virus.
But with cases on the rise, some fear that small hospitals - with around a dozen beds - may be stuck with dying COVID-19 patients.
Blair Tomsheck, interim director of the health department in Toole County, Montana, told The Associated Press that the region's small hospitals would need to start caring for serious COVID-19 patients after cases spiked to the nation's highest per capita.
One out of every 28 people in the county has tested positive in the last two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins researchers.
'It's very, very challenging when your resources are poor - living in a small, rural county,' Tomsheck stated.
Some politicians have been reluctant to acknowledge the consequences of a spike in infections.
A nurse is pictured performing a COVID test at a drive thru clinic in Wisconsin this month
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who has carved out a reputation among conservatives by foregoing lockdowns, blamed the surge in cases on testing increases, even though the state has had the highest positivity rate in the nation over the last two weeks, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
In Wisconsin, conservative groups have sued over Democratic Gov. Tony Evers mask mandate.
Whether the requirement survives doesn't matter to Jody Bierhals, a resident of Gillett who doubts the efficacy of wearing a mask.
Bierhals, a single mother with three kids, is more worried about the drop in business at her small salon. The region depends on tourists, but many have stayed away during the pandemic.
'Do I want to keep the water on, or do I want to be able to put food on the table?' she told The Associated Press.
'It's a difficult situation.'
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