Hello and welcome to the Oster Home Update, COVID-19, a weekly podcast on the COVID-19

pandemic with Dr. Michael Oster Home. Dr. Oster Home is an internationally recognized

medical detective and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy

or CITRAP at the University of Minnesota. In this podcast, Dr. Oster Home will draw on

more than 45 years of experience investigating infectious disease outbreaks to provide

straight talk on the COVID-19 pandemic. I'm Chris Doll, reporter for CITRAP News.

I'm your host for these conversations.

Over the last several episodes of this podcast, we've talked a lot about the expected surge in COVID-19

cases as the country moves into the colder months and people start spending more time indoors.

It's now October 22nd and whether you want to look at it as the third wave or just the spread of

the forest fire, we are well into this new phase of the pandemic. This past weekend, the US reported

more than 70,000 new infections in a single day. The highest number we've seen since July.

And the moving seven-day average of new cases is now climbed above 50,000. And in states across the

Midwest and the Mountain West, hospitals are rapidly filling up with COVID patients. We're going

to talk about this new phase of the pandemic and what the coming months will look like on this

episode of the Oster Home Update. We're also going to discuss the targeted lockdown measures

that some European countries are experimenting with. Deltback into the Great Barrington Declaration,

examined COVID-19 racial disparities in the workplace, and saw a listener email on what Halloween

should look like this year and share our latest celebration of life. So we have a lot to get to on

this episode of the podcast, but before we get started, we'll begin with Dr. Ostrums, welcome and

dedication. Thanks, Chris. And welcome everyone to this edition of the podcast. As I say, with every

podcast and meant with sincerity each and every time, as we appreciate very much you've been with

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