This Week in Coronavirus: October 30 to November 5

Here’s our recap of the past week in the coronavirus pandemic from our tracking, policy analysis, polling, and journalism.

The U.S. saw an increase of over 662,000 cases and about 6,300 deaths this week and crossed its highest daily total for new cases since the pandemic began on Wednesday at 102,831.

While we waited to see whose administration may manage the coronavirus response in 2021, our new analysis looks at the challenge of distributing a COVID-19 vaccine across states by examining last season’s flu vaccination rate variation. Rhode Island had the highest vaccination rate at 61%, while Nevada had the lowest at 44%.

An examination of Medicaid and CHIP enrollment trends this year shows that that total enrollment in the programs grew to 75.5 million in July 2020, an increase of 4.3 million from actual enrollment prior to the coronavirus pandemic in February 2020. This likely reflects changes in the economy and provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act that require states to ensure continuous coverage to current Medicaid enrollees in order for the states to access a temporary increase in the Medicaid match rate.

Here are the latest coronavirus stats from KFF’s tracking resources:

Global Cases and Deaths: Total cases worldwide are over 48 million this week – with an increase of approximately 3.7 million new confirmed cases in the past seven days. There were over 52,000 new confirmed deaths worldwide and the total for confirmed deaths is over 1.2 million.

U.S. Cases and Deaths: Total confirmed cases in the U.S. is over 9.6 million this week. There was an increase of roughly 662,400 confirmed cases between October 30 and November 5. Approximately 6,300 confirmed deaths in the past week brought the total in the United States to nearly 235,000.

State Reports of Long-Term Care Facility Cases and Deaths Related to COVID-19 (Includes Washington D.C.) as of 11/6

• Data Reporting Status: 48 states are reporting COVID-19 data in long-term care facilities
• Long-term care facilities with known cases: 22,788 (across 47 states)
• Cases in long-term care facilities: 616,646 (across 47 states)
• Deaths in long-term care facilities: 91,578 (in 48 states)
• Long-term care facility cases as a share of total state cases: 7% (across 47 states)
• Long-term care facility deaths as a share of total state deaths: 40% (across 48 states)

State Social Distancing Actions (includes Washington D.C.) that went into effect this week:

Extensions: AL, CO, DE, FL, ID, IN, KY, LA, MD, RI, TX, VA, WY

New Restrictions: CT, IL, ME, MA, RI

Rollbacks: DE

Enhanced Face Mask Requirement: ME

The latest KFF COVID-19 resources:

• State Variation in Seasonal Flu Vaccination: Implications for a COVID-19 Vaccine (News Release, Issue Brief)
• Analysis of Recent National Trends in Medicaid and CHIP Enrollment (Issue Brief)
• Updated: COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker – Updated as of November 5 (Interactive)
• Updated: State Data and Policy Actions to Address Coronavirus (Interactive)
• WHO Resumes World Health Assembly Cut Short In May, Hears Calls To Include Taiwan, Votes To Hold December Summit On COVID-19 Pandemic (KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report)

The latest KHN COVID-19 stories:

• How COVID Death Counts Become the Stuff of Conspiracy Theories (KHN, PolitiFact)
• ‘Is This Worth My Life?’: Traveling Health Workers Decry COVID Care Conditions (KHN, The Guardian)
• Lost on the Frontline: New This Week (The Guardian)
• The Best COVID Warning System? Poop and Pooled Spit, Says One Colorado School (KHN, USA Today)
• Seniors Form COVID Pods to Ward Off Isolation This Winter (KHN, CNN)
• Lions and Tigers and Anteaters? US Scientists Scan the Menagerie for COVID (KHN, CNN)
• His Lies Are Killing My Neighbors’: Swing-State Doctors Target Trump (KHN, The Guardian)
• They Work in Several Nursing Homes to Eke Out a Living, Possibly Spreading the Virus (KHN, NPR)
• VA Joins Pentagon in Recruiting Volunteers for COVID Vaccine Trials (KHN)
• How Escalating COVID Cases Forced One State to Change Its Masking Strategy (KHN)
• Search for a Snakebite Drug Might Lead to a COVID Treatment, Too (KHN, Los Angeles Times)