Coronavirus Updates: President-elect Biden to begin on COVID plan as grim milestone nears

COVID-19 Live Updates, News and Information

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Monday, November 9, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden intends to begin working on COVID plan Monday

Biden added that his team of scientists and experts will work on a plan that's built on "bedrock science."

NEW YORK (WABC) -- President-elect Joe Biden says he will immediately get to work on battling the novel coronavirus, as worldwide cases of COVID-19 approach yet another grim milestone.

Biden said his team of scientists and experts will work on a plan that's built on "bedrock science," after Saturday marked the fourth day in a row the United States broke its case count record with 128,000 new cases, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Globally, there are at least 49,956,606 diagnosed cases of coronavirus, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The US continues to lead the world, with at least 9,861,983 cases and 237,123 deaths.

What to know about coronavirus:

How coronavirus changed the New York region

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NYC COVID-19 positivity rate tracker

Here are more of today's headlines:

Staten Island seeing decline in COVID cases

While COVID cases across the city are on the rise, there is a sigh of relief after cases on Staten Island are declining.

There is a sigh of relief on Staten Island as an uptick in COVID cases is seeing a decline. Last week, city officials say two zip codes were above the three percent infection rate. This weekend, that number has dropped to below three percent. Increased safety measures, however, are still in place.

NY reports 3,500+ COVID-19 cases, highest daily case count since May

New York reported 3,587 new COVID-19 cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday. It's the highest daily count in the state since May. Also concerning, the state's positivity rate was 2.19%. Hospitalizations also continue to inch up, 1,381 patients were reported in New York's hospitals, up from 1,277 the day before. Cuomo also said there were 18 COVID fatalities yesterday.

New Jersey surge continues

New Jersey reported 3,207 new positive coronavirus tests Saturday, the highest single day numbers since late April when the state was still in the midst of its initial peak. There were also 11 new deaths. Governor Phil Murphy said the state is considering new restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

"This pandemic is real, and these numbers are going in the wrong direction. Wear a mask. Social distance. Stay safe," Murphy said in a tweet announcing the latest figures.

As cases rise in US, new restrictions put in place

New restrictions are being put in place across the country as cases surge. In El Paso, Texas, the rolling positivity rate is over 24%. The death toll there is 653 lives lost, and 300 more deaths are still being determined whether they may be coronavirus-related. Another hot zone in Ohio, where more than 5,000 new cases were reported on Friday. The governor of Colorado believes one in every 100 residents is currently contagious with the virus, while residents in Denver are being urged to be home by 10 p.m. In Massachusetts, new stay at home orders are now in effect statewide between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and residents must wear masks in public even if they're more than six feet from others.

Know your NYC COVID Zone

You can find your COVID zone at NYC.gov/covidzone.