U.S. reportedly sets new record with over 77,000 COVID-19 cases in 1 day

The United States has reportedly set a new record for most cases of COVID-19 confirmed in a single day.

The country on Thursday reported 77,640 new coronavirus cases, according to a count from NBC News. This is the highest single-day total of coronavirus cases during the pandemic so far, surpassing the previous record from July.

The number of daily cases in the U.S. has been rising in recent weeks and on July 16 went beyond 70,000 for the first time since July. On Thursday, eight states broke their single-day records, and "13 states have added more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch," The New York Times reports.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

As daily cases rise, according to CNN, "there is nearly no place in America where COVID-19 case counts are trending in the right direction." Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this week warned of a "distressing trend" in the U.S, with cases "increasing in nearly 75 percent of the country." The CDC is also warning that "smaller, more intimate" gatherings may be driving transmission.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing a distressing trend here in the United States," CDC deputy director for infectious diseases Jay Butler said, per CNBC. "...I recognize that we are all getting tired of the impact COVID-19 has had on our lives. We're tired of wearing masks, but it continues to be as important as it has ever been and I would say even more important than ever as we move into the fall season."