A healthcare worker prepares to swab a man at a Covid drive-thru testing location in Houston, Texas. Photo: ReutersUS health authorities are bracing for further increases in Covid-19 infections, hospitalisations and deaths, capping a week in which the spread of the virus sped up ahead of next week's Thanksgiving holiday. Daily Covid-19 deaths surpassed the 2000 mark for the first time since late June on Thursday. THANKSGIVING FEARSUS officials have pleaded with the public to avoid unnecessary travel and exercise caution as the winter holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas approach. With cases and deaths increasing steadily in most states, the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation updated its widely cited model.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 20, 2020 18:45 UTC