The Country Goes Viral, Con't

The next wave of COVID-19 infections is underway in the US, and most likely it will be the worst so far.

The daily rise in coronavirus cases set new records in six U.S. states and worldwide.

Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia all had record single-day increases in cases on Friday, according to NBC News' tally.

The World Health Organization meanwhile announced that 350,766 new infections were reported Friday, surpassing by nearly 12,000 a record set earlier in the week. The new cases include more than 109,000 from Europe alone.

In the United States, the governor of Ohio told reporters Friday that he believes there is no single reason why cases are rising, but he believes people aren't taking enough precautions against infection.

"We're sick of wearing masks, we're sick of all of this, and I get it, but we've got to hang in there for our kids. We've got to hang in there for ourselves," Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said.

"The best way to summarize it, I think, is that people are simply not being cautious," the governor said. "They're going about their family life and meeting with people."

Ohio set a single-day record of 1,840 new cases, and Oklahoma of 1,524.

Missouri recorded just under 3,000 new cases, according to NBC News' tally. The state also set a new single-day record for deaths at 129.

Cases have also risen in West Virginia with 382 new cases Friday; Montana with 722; and North Dakota with 656, according to the tally.

In Montana, cases have more than doubled in the last two weeks, compared to the two weeks before. There has also been a staggering 230 percent jump in Covid-19 related deaths in just over two months, according to Gov. Steve Bullock.

"Disregarding expert advice from state and health officials, as well as the pleas of our frontline health workers and neighbors, is leading us down this concerning path," he said in a series of tweets Friday.

"We need to listen to our health care workers. The path forward is simple if only Montanans follow the guidelines and restrictions we have in place. This is the pathm that will save lives, and it will keep our schools, our main street businesses, and our communities open and safe."

 

We have an executive branch that refuses to take safety precautions, refuses to enforce them, and refuses to do anything to help states. The official position of the American government is your decision to protect yourself and others from COVID-19 is entirely optional. More than 210,000 Americans are dead, and still after eight months half the country refuses to believe that the pandemic even exists.

Even if Joe Biden was president tomorrow and had the CDC issue mask directives, tens of millions of Americans would simply ignore them.

Hundreds of thousands of people are going to die as a direct result.

I honestly don't know what to say other than protect yourself.