U.S. Coronavirus Update: California Overtakes Texas As Most Infected State In Nation As America Reaches 15M Cases

UPDATED with latest: In early November, Texas overtook California as the state with the greatest number of Covid-19 infections in the U.S. But after skyrocketing positivity rates in recent weeks, the Golden State has retaken that ignominious distinction.

As cases in its two most-populous states skyrocketed, the country at large broke the staggering mark of 15 million cases on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins Data In Motion. The U.S. reported 215,850 new infections on Wednesday alone.

More than one million Americans were newly infected with Covid-19 in the first five days of December, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

As the United States commemorated the attack on Pearl Harbor this week, it found itself facing an even greater loss of life.

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In the five days leading up to December 7, the average number of daily deaths in America related to Covid-19 was 2,566. That surpassed the tragic loss of 2,403 American lives on that Day of Infamy 79 years ago. On Wednesday, the number of American lives lost to the pandemic was 2,546.

What’s more, Covid-19 became the leading cause of death in the U.S. last week. And it is projected to get worse, with the country’s most populous states leading the way into what Dr. Anthony Fauci termed “a really dark time for us.”

On Wednesday California, with 1,420,558 Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began, had overtaken Texas, 1,346,643 cases to date, according to Johns Hopkins.

California’s resurgence comes amid a week of record daily numbers in the state. It reported 30,851 new Covid-19 infections on Wednesday. That’s the highest number the state has ever seen. The previous high, on Monday, was 30,075. For perspective, that was a leap frog from 25,068 on Friday and 22,018 on Thursday. That makes four all-time highs in cases in the past week and puts the state’s new high 140% above the summer wave’s daily case record.

PREVIOUSLY on November 25:The United States on Wednesday reported the biggest one-day jump in Covid-19 related deaths since the height of the spring surge. According to Johns Hopkins University, 2,146 new American deaths due to the virus were reported on Wednesday. That works out to a grisly one death every 40 seconds.

Covid deaths have been on the rise for about a month, swinging up and down but climbing ever higher with each upswing. The number of deaths reported Tuesday was a relatively low 889. Wednesday’s tally was over twice that.

Below is the daily Johns Hopkins video delivering quick facts on the current state of the pandemic.

Deaths were rising in 44 states this week, most markedly in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. The fewer number of deaths per capita in some of the country’s most populous states like California and Texas was little consolation.

Texas saw a near-record number of new cases on Wednesday, with about 20,000. California notched all all-time high today with 18,350 new cases. That’s up 17% from a near-record of 15,329 on Tuesday. The Golden State’s previous all-time high of 15,442 was seen on Saturday. Unfortunately, those increased cases will turn into a big increase deaths in 3-4 weeks.

The nation has recorded 262,080 deaths total in the 300-odd days since the virus was first discovered in the U.S. There have now been close to 13 million cases stateside. The U.S. saw 172,935 new cases on Wednesday, very nearly an all-time daily record.

Amid warnings about Thanksgiving gatherings and reports that millions of Americans are on the move during the holiday, President-elect Joe Biden sought to redirect the nation on Wednesday.

Putting the surging pandemic front and center, Biden pledged to tap the “vast powers” of the federal government and to “change the course of the disease.” Given the fact that he does not assume the office for about two more months, that may be easier said than done as every day the virus increases its hold on the nation.

“I know the country has grown weary of the fight,” Biden said. “We need to remember we’re at war with the virus, not with one another. Not with each other.”

You can watch Biden’s Thanksgiving address to the nation below.