US sets new world record with 100,000 daily infections
The United States set a new record for coronavirus cases confirmed in a single 24-hour period on Friday with just over 100,000 new infections.
That surpassed the record total of 91,000 on Thursday, 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.
Five times over the past 10 days, the US has exceeded its previous one-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 pandemic, which has killed nearly 230,000 Americans, has dominated the final stretch of the campaign.
The US hit 9 million cumulative cases on Friday, representing almost 3pc of the population, according to a Reuters tally of publicly reported data.
On Friday, 16 US states reported their highest one-day coronavirus infections while 13 states were at record levels of hospitalised Covid patients.
So far in October, 31 states have set records for increases in new cases, including five considered key in Tuesday's 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.
For every 10,000 people Americans, more than 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.
