November 3 coronavirus news

Hospitalizations for Covid-19 in the US state of Indiana reached a record high on Monday, with 1,867 patients being treated.

The state's previous record came on April 13, when 1,799 Hoosiers were hospitalized.

Cases in Indiana have climbed since September.

As of Tuesday, Covid-19 cases have exceeded 2,500 for seven days in a row, according to the state's Department of Health.

The state had 2,945 newly reported cases on Monday and 22 newly reported deaths, according to the health department's website.

The US state of Montana reported its third-highest day for new coronavirus cases since the pandemic began on Tuesday, according to the state's dashboard.

Tuesday's dashboard showed that 909 new cases were reported, with 35,159 cases reported since the pandemic began. The state recorded its highest number of cases in a single day last week. 

Montana Department of Health says that there are now 399 total deaths, up 13 since Monday's report. 

The hospital occupancy report shows that 389 patients are hospitalized with the virus statewide, with 79 of those patients in intensive care.

The Denver Broncos have revealed Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, the team's president of football operations/general manager, has tested positive for Covid-19.

The team said Elway was experiencing mild symptoms but was "doing well."

Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis has also tested positive for coronavirus. Like Elway, Ellis is quarantining at his home and continues to work. 

The team statement said Ellis was not feeling 100% on Sunday morning, so he reported his symptoms to the Broncos' medical team and watched that day's game from home.

"He continued to work from home on Monday before receiving a positive test result this morning," the statement said.

Elway immediately left UCHealth Training Center on Monday morning after experiencing minor symptoms, which he quickly brought to the attention of the team's medical staff. 

The Broncos' facilities are closed for Election Day and coaches are conducting Tuesday's game preparations remotely as a precaution.

Wisconsin recorded 5,771 new cases of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday according to the US state's Department of Health Services, a record high number. The state has a total of 238,067 cases of the virus.

The state also reported 52 more Covid-19 related deaths, bringing the death toll from the virus in the state to 2,102

According to the state's Covid-19 dashboard, on November 2, the seven-day average percent positive was 30.8%.

These numbers were released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN's database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project

Coronavirus antigen tests can yield false positives, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned clinical lab staff and health care providers on Tuesday. This includes “when users do not follow the instructions” for using antigen tests for rapid detection of the virus, the FDA said.

Antigen tests are not as accurate as molecular, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, but they are faster and are often used as a screening tool for the virus in settings like nursing homes. False positives can occur with any laboratory test, the FDA said, and labs should expect them when screening large populations with low rates of infection, even when using a very accurate test.

To ensure accurate reporting, the FDA advised providers and lab staff to follow guidance from the��US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) when performing tests. The FDA noted that it is working with manufacturers to ensure test instructions are as clear as possible.

The FDA advised that, when necessary, providers should consider the potential occurrence of false positives and follow up with molecular tests.

Hospitals in the US state of Nebraska are under strain due to a recent surge in Covid-19 cases according to local health officials.

The chief medical officers of three major hospital systems in Nebraska told the press that coronavirus hospitalizations had increased 91% in the Omaha metro area from October 17 to October 31 and that hospital capacity and staff are approaching their limits.

Dr. William Lydiatt chief medical officer for Methodist Health System said the Methodist system has “the highest number of Covid patients since the pandemic began.” Lydiatt also said that hospitals had started “paring back surgical cases” on October 29. 

Dr. Carey Ward Chief Medical Officer of CHI Health said staff are approaching their limits. “We have seen a doubling of Covid positive patients in the last several weeks. No doubt if this trend continues, not just our hospitals, but every hospital in the state could be at capacity and apparently short period of time,” Ward said.  

Ward also said that surgeries that are considered non-urgent could be postponed to free up beds for patients.

The health officials emphasized the importance of wearing masks. “There's no room for further debate about the efficacy of masks. Please continue all you can do to keep yourself in those that you love healthy,” Ward said. The officials also asked the public to trust medical professionals.

When asked about gatherings over the holidays, the health officials said that while the decision was personal, they asked the public to exercise discretion and that it would be wise to follow the coronavirus guidelines. 

Nebraska has 72,620 confirmed coronavirus cases according to the state's Department of Health and Human Services.

There are at least 9,358,469 cases of coronavirus in the United States and at least 232,374 people have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

So far today, Johns Hopkins has reported 67,405 new cases and 884 reported deaths.

The totals include cases from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and other US territories, as well as repatriated cases. 

The US has the highest Covid-19 case count in the world.

CNN is tracking the spread of coronavirus across the US here:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

As of November 1, there have been 46 million coronavirus cases and 1.2 million deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization’s weekly Covid-19 update.

An age and gender analysis shows younger people account for more coronavirus cases over the course of the pandemic, with the proportion of cases among 15- to 24-year-olds increasing from 4% in the beginning stages of the pandemic to 14% more recently, and from 50% to 65% among 25- to 64-year-olds. Among those 65 and older, the proportion of cases decreased from 40% to 15%.

The WHO also notes increasing reports of long-term effects of coronavirus, including among younger people.

While the trend in cases is shifting among age groups, older people remain the most vulnerable to illness and death from Covid-19.

Background: As CNN previously reported, the median age of people diagnosed with coronavirus keeps getting lower. In May, the median age of confirmed cases was 46. By July, that number had dropped to 37.

According to a September report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), by August, 1 of every 5 confirmed cases in the US is a person in their 20s, and from June to August, Covid-19 incidence was highest in people ages 20 to 29.

New Mexico's Department of Health recorded its highest number of daily new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday according to the US state's dashboard and the Johns Hopkins University Covid Tracking Project.

With 1,141 new cases, this is the third time the southwestern state has reported over 1,000 new cases since Thursday.

There are now 49,240 cases statewide since the start of the pandemic and 1,045 deaths.

There are 401 patients hospitalized with the virus, but the health department notes that the figure includes residents of other states who may have been hospitalized in state. It also says the number of hospitalizations does not include New Mexicans who have been transferred to hospitals in other states. 

The number of patients in hospital care is the most since the pandemic began, according to the state's dashboard. 

NOTE: These numbers were released by the New Mexico Department of Health and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project.