⁍ The White House coronavirus task force has warned of a persistent and broad spread of COVID-19 in the western half of the United States.

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⁍ The hardest-hit areas include a number of battleground states that will play an important role in Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.

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⁍ ‘We are on a very difficult trajectory. We’re going in the wrong direction,’ said Dr. Anthony Fauci, task force member and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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– The number of cases of coronavirus, which has killed nearly 228,000 people worldwide and is surging in the US, hit 45,457 on Thursday, the highest level since August, reports Reuters. Seven states reported record-high one-day increases in cases, including Indiana, Ohio, Maine, Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, and North Carolina, reports CNN. “We continue to see unrelenting, broad community spread in the Midwest, Upper Midwest, and West. This will require aggressive mitigation to control both the silent, asymptomatic spread and symptomatic spread,” says one state report. The report from the White House coronavirus task force warns of a “persistent and broad spread” in 47 states and warns that if things don’t change, “there’s gonna be a whole lot of pain in this country with regard to additional cases and hospitalizations, and deaths,” says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Health experts believe the virus is surging because of private social gatherings, colder temperatures driving people indoors, and Americans’ letting their guard down due to fatigue with coronavirus restrictions. As cases soar across Utah, the chief medical officer at University of Utah Health Plans says there is a dire need for specialized medical professionals to handle the surge. “We have adequate PPE (personal protective equipment), our big issue is the humans, the people you need,” he says. “It’s not about hospital beds. It’s about trained, specialized providers to take care of those patients.’