Holiday season starts under pall of more than 100,000 new Covid-19 cases. And 20 states did not report numbers on Thanksgiving Day

Traditionally the start of a time of shopping and giving, the final days of November have seen record highs in the worsening pandemic -- surpassing previous surges and showing no signs of slowing down in the precarious winter months.
The US on Thursday marked the 24th day in a row with more than 100,000 new cases. Hospitalizations hit a new high -- for the 17th consecutive day -- with more than 90,400 Covid-19 patients nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The country's death toll since the pandemic's start is now more than 263,000. And nearly another 60,000 people could lose their lives over the next three weeks, according to an ensemble forecast published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week.
 
The number of daily deaths will likely double in the next 10 days, prolonging a sense of loss and isolation in a season traditionally spent with family and friends.
"So, we'll be seeing close to 4,000 deaths a day, which is how you get another 60,000 deaths in only about 20 days," Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, said Wednesday.
Thanksgiving gatherings could fuel the already ferocious surge, officials had warned, urging Americans to avoid travel and celebrate with immediate household members only. Many listened, a poll showed this week, but millions boarded planes across the country since last week.
"In a week, more likely two weeks, we will see a surge upon a surge," Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, said Wednesday. "We're in for a tough time."
Statistics reported in the days right after the holiday will likely show a relative dip in Covid-19 case numbers, followed by a surge. This reflects government agencies' lag in reporting over the long weekend. And given coronavirus' incubation time and how long it takes someone to test positive, cases related to Thanksgiving are unlikely to showing in public data until the first full week of December at the earliest.