Washington: The US has set a new record for the number of daily coronavirus cases, after more than 125,000 people tested positive for the disease in a 24-hour period, the highest since the onset of the pandemic, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
On Friday, the country reported 125,596 new cases, which increased the overall tally to 9,727,345, CNN reported citing figures by the University.
Friday’s spike also marked the third consecutive day that the country has surpassed the 100,000 mark for single-day cases, the University said in its latest update.
The country also reported at least 1,137 new fatalities, the country’s overall death toll surged to 236,025.
The two tallies are currently the highest in the world, making the US the worst-hit country.
According to the Johns Hopkins University, 13 states have reported their highest numbers of new cases: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia.
Meanwhile, 38 states have reported more new cases than the previous week.
Additionally, more than 54,000 infected people were currently hospitalized all across the country, with about 11,000 of them in intensive care, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
Hospitals have warned about running out of capacity due to the unabated resurgence, adding that the death toll may increase as the number of people in intensive case was also increasing.
The resurgence had been predicted by experts months ago, Xinhua news agency reported.
In June, with daily cases hovering around 40,000, Anthony Fauci, Director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had warned the country was on track to hit 100,000 daily cases if the nation did not work harder to stop the spread.
Currently more than 252,000 confirmed cases have been reported across more than 1,700 US colleges and universities, according to The New York Times.
More than 50 campuses have marked 1,000 Covid-19 infections while 400 colleges have reported at least 100 cases.
The majority of infections occurred as students returned to school for the fall semester.
While young adults are at lower risk for severe disease and death compared to older adults and those with pre-existing conditions, experts are concerned young adults could transmit the virus to those at higher risks and can also become seriously ill themselves.
