The U.S. experienced its largest single-day increase in new COVID-19 cases on Thursday according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Johns Hopkins public database reports that about 40,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus were reported to local health departments on Thursday. The previous one-day record for newly reported cases occurred on April 24, when about 36,000 were confirmed to have contracted the virus.
According to Johns Hopkins, 2.4 million Americans have contracted the virus, and more than 124,000 have died after contracting it.
A graph showing the number of new cases of COVID-19 reported each day in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins)
New cases of the coronavirus are currently on the rise in several regions throughout the country. While top federal officials, including President Donald Trump, have maintained that the increase in cases can be attributed to an increase in testing, other concerning statistics, like hospitalizations linked to the virus, are also on the rise.
On Thursday, Texas paused efforts to lift lockdown restrictions put in place earlier this year to prevent the spread of the virus. Other local governments have enacted mandates requiring masks in public.
Vice President Mike Pence will hold a press conference along with the White House coronavirus task force on Friday in response to the rising case numbers.
