George W. Contreras

Special to the USA TODAY NETWORK/lohud

On Oct. 26, there were more than 8.6 million cases of COVID-19 and nearly 226,000 deaths in the United States. At the global level, there are more than 42 million cases and nearly 1.2 million deaths. Eight countries have now surpassed the one million mark of cases: the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, France, Argentina, Spain and Colombia. Across the nation, there are numerous states that are struggling with the surge of cases. States such as Wisconsin are experiencing more cases and hospitalizations and have established field hospitals in response to the surge. New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York have seen clusters leading to additional restrictions. In New York, there are currently two main issues occurring simultaneously — early voting and COVID-19 testing.

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George W. Contreras a professor in the MCNY School for Public Affairs and Administration, Emergency and Disaster Management program, assistant director of the Center for Disaster Medicine and assistant professor at the Institute of Public Health, at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. He also works as a paramedic in New York City.