As U.S. pandemic intensifies, North Dakota becomes 35th state to require masks

FILE PHOTO: Registered nurse Dana Simmers' glasses fog up as she dons a 3M N95 protective mask before beginning her shift at a drive-thru testing site inside the Bismarck Event Center as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues in Bismarck, North Dakota, U.S., October 26, 2020. REUTERS/Bing Guan/File Photo

(Reuters) - North Dakota has become the 35th U.S. state to require face coverings be worn in public, as governors across the country grapple with a surge in coronavirus infections that threatens to swamp their healthcare systems.

North Dakota joined 38 other states this month in reporting record daily jumps in new cases, 17 others with record deaths and 25 others with a record number of COVID-19 patients in hospitals, according to a Reuters tally.