With a third surge of the Covid-19 pandemic hitting the U.S., many public-health authorities are warning the coronavirus is now so widespread that it will take pervasive new measures to contain it. New infections surpassed 177,224 on Friday, setting a daily record that eclipsed the highest daily case counts of previous peaks in the spring and summer. The number of new infections was lower Saturday at 166,555, while new deaths numbered nearly 1,300, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The number of people hospitalized with Covid-19, meanwhile, reached 69,455 on Saturday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. In earlier surges, infections were concentrated in cities such as New York and Chicago, or populous states like Florida and Texas. Many of the outbreaks then were linked to travelers returning from overseas or so-called superspreading events such as conferences, weddings and rallies. Now, it is everywhere. People are becoming […]