'This Is the Worst Moment of the Pandemic So Far'

On Wednesday, 3,054 people died of COVID-19, per the COVID Tracking Project. That's the highest single-day total yet. "It is also the first time that US deaths surpassed the number of Americans killed on 9/11," Daily Intelligencer reports. The seven-day average of daily deaths, 2,276, is also a new high, the Atlantic reports, as is the seven-day average of new cases (204,356). "There is no doubt now: This is the worst moment of the pandemic so far," Sarah Laskow and Alexis C. Madrigal write.

The number of people hospitalized with the coronavirus, 106,688, is also a record for the country, meaning Wednesday's death toll may not remain the all-time high for long. It has not yet been three weeks from Thanksgiving, meaning the current fatality numbers are not yet reflecting increased spread from holiday gatherings, Laskow and Madrigal note. The country is expected to surpass 300,000 deaths from the virus in the next week; indeed, the CDC director said last week that Americans should expect 200,000 more COVID deaths by February. (More coronavirus stories.)