One day after breaking its single-day record of confirmed coronavirus cases, the U.S. broke that record Thursday.
According to data compiled by The New York Times, the nation recorded more than 121,000 new cases, breaking Wednesday’s number of 100,000. The resurgence is not confined to any one part of the country, as 23 states have recorded more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch.
On Tuesday, Georgia passed 8,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths since the pandemic began. On Thursday, the state Department of Public Health said 368,368 people have been hospitalized. The state now has 8,126 confirmed coronavirus deaths, as of Friday morning.
According to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of coronavirus cases — more than 9.6 million — and deaths, with almost 235,000.
In the last week, 18 states have broken daily records for new infections overall, CBS News reported, with hospitalizations up in 43 states.
Globally, nearly 49 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and more than 1.2 million deaths.
As the U.S. remains gripped in a long-predicted autumn coronavirus surge, the nation is also reportedly experiencing a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), including important N95 masks.
Cases and hospitalizations are setting records all around the country just as the holidays and winter approach, demonstrating the challenge that either President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden will face in the coming months.
On Thursday, the nation broke another record in the seven-day rolling average for new cases, hitting nearly 90,000. Daily new cases were also on track for another day above 100,000, with surging numbers reported all around the country, including a combined nearly 25,000 in Texas, Illinois and Florida.
Public health experts fear potentially dire consequences, at least in the short term. Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association, said there are things Americans can do now to help change the trajectory.
"Regardless of the outcome of the election, everyone in America needs to buckle down,″ Bailey said. “A lot of us have gotten kind of relaxed about physically distancing, not washing our hands quite as often as we used to, maybe not wearing our masks quite as faithfully. We all need to realize that things are escalating, and we’ve got to be more careful than ever.”
Federal health officials have said they believe a vaccine could get emergency-use authorization before the end of the year. The first limited supplies of doses would then be immediately distributed to the most vulnerable populations, which likely will include frontline health care workers. Doses would then gradually become more widely available.
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