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US tops 8 million COVID-19 cases, deaths climb above 218,000

US tops 8 million COVID-19 cases, deaths climb above 218,000
Posted at 9:32 PM, Oct 16, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-16 22:00:24-04

There are now more than 8 million positive cases of COVID-19 in the US since the beginning of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There are more than 218,000 deaths in the country from the coronavirus.

Cases are climbing around the country, as some states report numbers of daily new positive cases as large as they saw earlier this summer.

Two states on Friday, Illinois and North Carolina, reported their highest daily COVID-19 positive case count ever. Several states are reporting a low number of available hospital beds in their ICUs, including Michigan and North Dakota.

Across the country, there have been more than 53,000 new daily cases each day for the last week. That represents an increaseof more than 55 percent in just over a month, according to CNN.

Health experts worry this surge of cases could indicate a tough winter ahead. They remind people to take precautions: wash hands, wear a mask, avoid crowds, and remain socially distant from others.

"They sound very simple, but people are not doing that and that's why we have an uptick in cases," Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, told CBS News this week.

He also shared earlier this week that his family will not be getting together for Thanksgiving to stay safe this winter. “Don't assume that because you're in your own home with your own family that you're not going to spread infection,” he said.

There are more than 39.2 million positive cases of COVID-19 recorded around the world, according to Johns Hopkins.