U.S. exceeds 100,000 new COVID-19 cases for first time
05 November 2020
Data: Covid Tracking Project; Chart: Axios Visuals
The U.S. reported 103,087 new daily coronavirus infections on Wednesday, setting a single-day record for cases, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
Why it matters: This is the first time the U.S. has reported over 100,000 new cases in a single day — a reminder of the high stakes of the election as votes continue to be tabulated.
- Wednesday's record comes a day after Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Ohio set their own state records as voters went to the polls.
The state of play: The U.S. set its previous daily record for cases — 97,000 — on Oct. 30.
- COVID Tracking Project recorded 1,116 new deaths and 2,802 new hospitalizations over the past 24-hour stretch.
What to watch:Public experts have warned of heightened risk for increased cases and deaths as the U.S. heads into the winter months, and the pandemic intersects with the season flu.
- Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said last Sunday that his "view is the inflection point will be Thanksgiving," when states could start seeing exponential growth.
Go deeper:The pandemic is getting worse again
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.