Coronavirus: US cases top 13 million, Black Friday shoppers stay home
- New York infections top 8,000 for first time since April; Minnesota reports record daily deaths
- Experts warn that testing numbers are likely to be erratic over the next week or so, as fewer people get tested during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend
Total US coronavirus infections passed 13 million on Friday, as infections in New York state, the early epicentre of the US outbreak, topped 8,000 for the first time since April.
Americans stayed home on Black Friday as infections continued to climb, with the usual post-Thanksgiving shopping crowds conspicuously absent.
On Fifth Avenue in New York City, the line outside the Philippine consulate was longer than the tiny queue to get into Zara. At Macy’s Herald Square, the biggest department store in the US, it looked more like a normal day than the busiest shopping event of the year.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that of a record 219,442 tests reported in the state on Thursday, 8,176 were positive, or 3.72 per cent of the total. The average positivity two weeks ago was 2.86 per cent.
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“We’re seeing an increase with the numbers across the country and within our own state,” Cuomo said in a press release. “It started with the fall, and it’s going to continue and probably worsen in the winter.”
