The latest on the coronavirus pandemic

6 min readNov 25, 2020

They include bans on gatherings of people who don’t live in the same household, except for outdoor church services and protests. Reductions are also planned in the occupancy levels of retail stores, grocery stores and libraries.

And the county has continued warning against holiday travel and large gatherings. On Wednesday, its Twitter page shared a video of intensive care units crowded with covid-19 patients and advised, “Don’t make this your home for the holidays.”

California, the country’s most populous state, has recorded more infections than anywhere but Texas. However, adjusted for population, California ranks among the 12 lowest states and territories in cases per capita. States in the Midwest and the Plains — places where fewer people live, but fierce outbreaks have fueled recent virus spikes — lead the country in cases per 100,000 residents.

Swedish life expectancy likely to fall this year due to pandemic, government says
By Adam Taylor
Life expectancy in Sweden this year is expected to fall because of the pandemic, the country’s statistics agency announced on Wednesday.

Statistics Sweden said that preliminary data from the first half of the year suggested that life expectancy had already declined from 84.7 to 84.4 years for women and 81.3 to 80.8 years for men.

It was unlikely that the final months of the year would reverse this trend, the agency said.

The report noted that there were significant regional differences, with Stockholm County among the worst hit.

“Life expectancy has increased steadily in Sweden during the period of 1900–2019,” Statistics Sweden said. “That it sinks stands out.”

Deaths from covid-19 in 2020 were one big factor in the new calculation, the agency said.

During the first six months of the year “almost 6,500” more deaths had occurred than during the same period in 2019. The agency said that the continued spread of the coronavirus may mean the calculations will have to be changed again.

The current spread of the virus “may well lead to more surplus deaths during the last two months of the year, which may result in even lower life expectancy in 2020,” said Örjan Hemström, a demographer at Statistics Sweden.

Sweden has recently ranked near the top among developed nations for life expectancy, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Stocks dipped Wednesday after consecutive winning days and a rally that has propelled devastated markets from the depths of March to record highs, even as coronavirus infections are surging with fierce intensity as Thanksgiving arrives.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 174 points, or 0.58 percent, at the closing bell. The S&P 500 slipped 6 points, or 0.16 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 57 points, or 0.47 percent, to finish the last full trading day of the week.

In a remarkable reversal from earlier this year — when the initial outbreak of covid-19 and the first wave of public health restrictions triggered staggering losses on Wall Street — the major indexes have staged a robust comeback.

Compared with their March 23 lows, when markets plummeted, the S&P and the Dow have roared back, climbing about 60 percent. The Nasdaq, buoyed by technology companies whose products and services have thrived in the stay-at-home environment, has leaped 75 percent since its March bottom.

But as with upward swings this summer, the market optimism is accompanied by profound economic suffering and the deadly toll of the virus. Images of hundreds and even thousands of cars lining up at food banks across the country underscore that the celebrated recovery has not reached many Americans.

Tuesday, when the Dow surpassed 30,000 for the first time, also marked the country’s deadliest day of the pandemic: About 2,100 people lost their lives to covid-19.

Markets will close on Thanksgiving Day. Trading will resume for a shortened session on Friday.

Germany has recorded a record number of deaths from covid-19 over 24 hours, according to the country’s national disease and control center.

The record-breaking toll — over 400 for the first time — comes as German leaders debated whether to extend virus restrictions over the Christmas holiday season.

The death toll from the virus stood at 410 on Tuesday, the Robert Koch Institute announced, marking the highest daily toll since the outbreak began.

The number is a significant increase from Nov. 2, when Germany introduced a month-long partial shutdown because of rising cases. The number of deaths on that day was 49.

Chancellor Angela Merkel met with leaders of the country’s 16 federal states Wednesday to determine whether to extend the restrictions. Leaders in France and Britain announced Wednesday that they would ease their nations’ restrictions over the Christmas period.

Merkel pushed for more-strenuous restrictions last week but found herself rebuffed by federal leaders.

As restrictions stemming from the coronavirus pandemic continue to limit their opportunities to play in California, several teams from the Oceanside Breakers youth soccer organization have found a new solution in recent weeks. Families have traveled several hours from their homes in San Diego County to tournaments in Arizona, where less strict guidelines have mostly allowed youth teams to play on.

“We’re doing it because other clubs in our area have been doing it for a while, and if we don’t do it, our players will leave for other clubs,” said Anthony Benvenuto, president of the Oceanside Breakers. “That’s the last thing we want. But we also don’t want to put any kid in harm’s way.”

Those teams will continue to push the boundaries this weekend at the Desert Super Cup tournament in the Phoenix area, which is expected to draw more than 500 teams — including hundreds from out of state — even as Arizona and most of the country face a sharp increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.

The latest on the coronavirus pandemic

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