Washington – The United States notched a record number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday (Oct 29), topping the grim milestone of more than 90,000 diagnoses in 24 hours, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
The country, which has seen a resurgence of its COVID-19 outbreak since mid-October, saw 91,295 new cases in the 24 hours up to 8.30pm on Thursday, according to a real-time count by the Baltimore-based school.
The US has tallied 8.94 million cases of the novel coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, the most of any country in the world.
Within the same 24-hour period, 1,021 people died from COVID-19 in the US, bringing the country’s total to 228,625 fatalities. It is the highest recorded toll in the world.
The country’s previous record of daily cases was set on Saturday, with 88,973 new infections.
The virus is currently spreading most rampantly in the Midwest.
At least nine states – Indiana, Ohio, Maine, Minnesota, Illinois, North Dakota, North Carolina, Michigan and Oregon – reported record one-day increases in COVID-19 cases on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally.
Indiana also reported a record number of hospitalisations, which are soaring across the country, a metric independent of how much testing is being done.
With five days to go until the election, Democrat Joe Biden has made Donald Trump’s handling of the health crisis his main attack point against the president. – Agencies
