us US goes over 2000 deaths a day again Death toll reached 2,157 on Tuesday, while hospitalizations reached a record 88,000 on Wednesday Americans defied pleas from state and local officials to stay home for the Thanksgiving holiday in the face of the surging coronavirus pandemic, triggering fresh warnings from health officials with the release of vaccines still weeks away at the earliest. U.S. president-elect Joe Biden joined in the calls for safety, urging people to forgo big family gatherings, wear protective masks and maintain physical distancing. "I know we can and we will beat this virus," Biden said in a speech delivered in a near-empty Wilmington, Del., theatre to a handful of staffers and reporters wearing masks sitting inside physically distanced circles on the floor. Biden did not wear a mask. calgary Calgary announces local state of emergency due to pandemic Mayor Naheed Nenshi says the move allows the city to move quickly in order to respond to COVID-19 Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the city is in a local state of emergency as of Wednesday afternoon, one day after the Alberta government announced new restrictions as COVID-19 cases soar. On Tuesday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declared a state of public health emergency along with a slate of new restrictions, including banning indoor social gatherings in private homes, public spaces or workplaces, sending many students home, closing or further restricting businesses and making masks mandatory in many indoor workspaces. The move came as the Alberta government tries to slow a surging pandemic on a day when the province reported 1,115 new cases and 13,349 active cases of the disease, by far the highest number yet.

australia How Australia succeeded in lowering COVID-19 cases to near-zero When infections surged in July, restrictions were draconian and immediate in some regions