US Daily Tally Breaks World Record

By Staff, Agencies

The number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide passed 12 million on Thursday, as cases continue to grow by roughly one million a week.

Thursday’s milestone was spurred by the United States recording the highest one-day increase in cases anywhere in the world since the pandemic began, with just over 60,000 cases reported in 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.

The US, with a total of 3 million cases and 132,299 deaths, accounts for roughly a quarter of the world’s 12,012,720 cases and 548,914 deaths.

At least 35 US states see growing numbers of new cases since last week, CNN reported. Intensive care units at 56 hospitals in Florida have reached capacity. California hospitalizations are at an all-time high, and Texas hospitalizations have broken state records for the 10th day in a row, according to the health department.

In Mississippi, at least 26 legislators and 10 others working at the state Capitol tested positive for the coronavirus, a public health official said on Wednesday, as the governor implored residents to take precautions amid a rapid rise in confirmed cases statewide.

In Ohio, Tulsa City senior health official Dr. Bruce Dart said US President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa in late June – which drew thousands of participants and large protests – “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in new cases.

Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the 20 June rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday.