“Some of it is a catch-up after the holidays, and the delays to signing the aid package. So people didn’t know if they could apply for aid retroactively or not. But the reality is just really hard,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton. The number is 965,000 pepole signing up for benefits after layoffs, and it’s more than a million when you don’t include seasonal adjustments. “Every region in the country is now seeing cases surge,” Swonk said. “And that’s prompting more state and local governments to take on more containment measures because hospitals and morgues are literally being overwhelmed.” That brings context to President-elect Joe Biden’s expected announcement today on more federal pandemic relief.