U.S. hits record COVID-19 cases as election looms
A record surge of coronavirus cases in the United States is pushing hospitals to the brink of capacity and killing up to 1,000 people a day, according to the latest figures as of Friday.
"Things are very, very bad in the United States right now. We are having some of the largest outbreaks that we've had during the entire pandemic."
Dr. Ashish Jha -- Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health -- says the current spike is different than in the spring
"It was localized to a few areas. It was localized in the Northeast or parts of the Midwest, but it wasn't the whole nation. This surge is really happening in every region of the country, almost every single state. And we, of course, know so much more. And we saw this coming. We knew it was coming. And we still have not adequately prepared for it."
The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus infections on Thursday, reporting over 91,000 new cases as 21 states reported their highest daily number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients since the pandemic started, according to a Reuters tally of publicly reported data.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly downplayed the virus, saying for weeks that the country is "rounding the turn," as the virus sweeps states that will be crucial to next week’s presidential election, such as Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The president's oldest son also tried to minimize the crisis, telling Fox News on Thursday deaths have dwindled to 'almost nothing,' speaking on the same day more than 1,000 people died of COVID-19 in the United States.
The coronavirus -- which has killed roughly 229,000 people in the United States and hammered the economy -- has dominated the final days of the campaign.
Since overcoming his own COVID-19 infection, Trump has maintained a frenetic pace, holding up to three rallies a day with thousands of attendees despite concerns the events could spread the virus.
Biden has held smaller events, including "drive-in" rallies where supporters remain in their cars for safety.
