A man wearing a mask walks down the sidewalk in the Manhattan borough of New York City, US, Jul 1, 2020.
WASHINGTON: New COVID-19 cases in the United States rose by more than 50,000 on Thursday (Jul 2), setting a record for a third consecutive day, according to a Reuters tally.
New infections rose in 37 out of 50 US states in the past 14 days compared with the two weeks prior in early June, according to a Reuters analysis.
Florida reported the biggest increase of any state so far on Thursday, recording more than 10,000 new cases in a single day. Florida, with 21 million residents, has reported more new daily coronavirus cases than any European country had at the height of their outbreaks.
In the first week of June, the US was adding about 22,000 new COVID-19 cases each day. As the month progressed, hotspots began to emerge across the Sun Belt and began accelerating at an alarming rate.
Over the last seven days of June, daily new infections had almost doubled to 42,000 nationally.
Brazil is the only other country to report more than 50,000 new cases in one day.
The daily increase in new cases could reach 100,000 unless a nationwide push was made to tamp down the fast-spreading virus, Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a US Senate committee on Tuesday.
The rise in cases is not just the result of more testing. Hospitalisations are also skyrocketing, along with a rise in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus.
Nationally, 7 per cent of coronavirus diagnostic tests came back positive last week, up from 5 per cent the prior week, according to a Reuters analysis. Arizona’s positivity test rate was 24 per cent last week, Florida’s was 16 per cent. Nevada, South Carolina and Texas were all at 15 per cent, the analysis found.
