The US recorded 195,000 new Covid-19 cases in a day. An expert says spread is now

On Friday, more than 195,500 new infections were reported — a number many considered unheard of just weeks ago. The highest number of single-day cases during the country’s summer surge was a little more than 77,100 in July.

The numbers offer just a glimpse at the devastation the pandemic has unleashed across American communities, with some cities ordering mobile morgues to handle the excess deaths, while hospitals in other parts have reported overwhelmed ICUs and exhausted staff.

The spread is ‘faster’ and ‘broader’ than ever

Despite the alarming numbers, multiple experts this week predicted things will likely get worse before they get better.

The virus is still running unabated in the US and the rate of rising cases is now “dramatically” different from what it was before, White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx told CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

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“This is faster. It’s broader. And what worries me, it could be longer,” she said.

Louisiana’s health department announced that about 90% of new cases reported were community spread, while 10% of them were in congregate settings. Colorado officials said a new modeling report estimates about one out of every 49 residents in the state is infected with Covid-19 — by far the highest prevalence since the virus arrived there. In Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee said the “state is on fire,” with the virus “raging” across its communities.

Those announcements come ahead of Thanksgiving week, when health officials fear many Americans will opt to visit family and friends and further fuel the spread of the virus — many times, without knowing it.

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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which this week urged against holiday travel — has previously estimated about 40% of Covid-19 infections are asymptomatic. In newly updated guidance, the CDC now says most Covid-19 infections are spread by people who have no symptoms.

“CDC and others estimate that more than 50% of all infections are transmitted from people who are not exhibiting symptoms,” the agency said on its website.

“This means at least half of new infections come from people likely unaware they are infectious to others.”

What this means for the country

The rising numbers have brought some hospital systems to their knees and prompted state leaders to take action to help curb the spread.

At least 24 hospital leaders warned the American Hospital Association they are experiencing staffing shortages, Nancy Foster, the association’s vice president for quality and patient safety policy, said. Those concerns have been raised in states including Texas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and North and South Dakota, all of which have recently seen infections climbing, she added.

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And those shortages are hard to fix when pulling from a workforce of health care employees “justifiably experiencing a significant emotional and physical toll due to the impact of the pandemic,” Foster said in a statement to CNN.

And in rural parts of the country, the challenge is often greater.

Of about 2,000 hospitals considered to be rural, about 1,700 have 50 beds or fewer and about 1,300 of them have 25 beds or fewer, according to Tom…