Coronavirus: US reports world record of more than 100,000 cases in single day

The US set a new all-time high for coronavirus cases confirmed in a single 24-hour period on Friday, reporting just over 100,000 new infections to surpass the record total of 91,000 posted a day earlier, according to a Reuters tally.

The daily caseload of 100,233 is also a world record for the global pandemic, surpassing the 97,894 cases reported by India on a single day in September.

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Five times over past ten days, the US has exceeded its previous single-day record of 77,299 cases registered in July. The number of daily infections reported during past two days indicates that the nation is now reporting more than one new case every second.

The spike comes just four days ahead of the US presidential election on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed nearly 230,000 people in the US, has dominated the final stretch of the campaign.

The US crossed 9 million cumulative cases on Friday, representing nearly 3 percent of the population, according to a Reuters tally of publicly reported data.

Lena Landaverde, assistant director of the Precision Diagnostics Center, heads to the new COVID-19, on-campus testing labs after donning personal protective equipment, Thursday, July 23, 2020, at Boston University in Boston. (AP)

On Friday, 16 US states reported their highest one-day coronavirus infections while thirteen states were at record levels of hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

So far in October, 31 states have set records for increases in new cases, including five considered key in the Nov. 3 presidential election: Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden held rallies in Florida on Thursday, showcasing their contrasting approaches to the pandemic.

The nationwide surge in cases seen in the past week is pushing the US towards the grim mark of 100,000 daily cases. India holds the record of most number of daily coronavirus cases – 97,894 cases, it reported on Sept. 17.

Healthcare workers collect a test sample at a drive-through coronaviurs testing center on September 29, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (AFP)

For every 10,000 people in the US, over 272 coronavirus cases have been reported and about seven people have died, according to a Reuters analysis. In Europe there have been 127 cases and four deaths per 10,000 residents.

More than 1,000 people died of the virus on Thursday, marking the third time in October that milestone has been passed in a single day. The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 has risen more than 50 percent in October to 46,000, the highest figure since mid-August.