New York — The coronavirus is surging across the country. For the first time, all 50 states are seeing a rise in daily COVID-19 cases, according to a CBS News analysis. Governors across the country are practically begging residents to follow health safety guidelines.
“It’s a very dangerous situation, and our hospitals have been sounding the alarm,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown said.
In New Mexico, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham ordered all non-essential businesses to close for the next two weeks. Residents have been ordered to shelter in place.
Idaho Governor Brad Little had issued a stark warning for residents. “We are in the middle of an unprecedented and dangerous time in our state’s history,” he said. “With every day that passes, we are breaking records for the number of COVID deaths.”
Colorado is again shattering records for new cases and hospitalizations. “These are our darkest days as a nation. They are our darkest days as a state,” Governor Jared Polis said.
In New York City, the positivity rate is on the brink of the 3% threshold, which would shift all public schools to in-person learning. Mayor Bill de Blasio told parents on Friday to “have an alternative plan beginning as early as Monday.”
The city is also implementing a 10 p.m. curfew for restaurants and gyms. The governor there is also limiting gatherings in private homes to 10 people. Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned that tighter restrictions are looming.
California is now passing an unsettling threshold with more than 1 million COVID-19 cases. It’s the second state to do so after Texas.
In hard-hit El Paso, a city with more hospitalizations per capita than any single state in the country — the health care system is overwhelmed. “There’s not a single patient that made it. Y’all when I say this assignment here like literally almost destroyed me,” nurse Lawanna Rivers said in a video after finishing a shift.
In Minnesota, health officials want all 18- to 35-year-olds to get tested. They’re seeing a disproportionate spread among young people.
Ella Winston, 17, of Minneapolis, was hospitalized for 10 days and just got home. “Being in the hospital was so scary,” she told CBS News. “Seeing my mom so sad, too, was really hard for me.”
After everything they have been going through, the family said they plan to have a small, tight-knit Thanksgiving for themselves.