U.S. reports more than 88,900 new coronavirus cases in 1 day

People wear masks in Washington, D.C. — (Image credit: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

On Thursday, the United States recorded 88,979 new coronavirus cases, the highest single-day count since the pandemic started.

The previous record was set on Saturday, when 83,734 cases were reported. Most regions are seeing a huge spike in cases, with Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio among the nine states shattering their records for new infections on Thursday. South Dakota and Wyoming also reported new highs for their seven-day average of deaths counted daily.

As of Thursday, there are more than 44,500 people hospitalized with the virus in the United States, an increase of 14,000 since the beginning of October, The Washington Post reports. In Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert (R) tweeted that the state is "in a very serious situation. COVID-19 is the most devastating when hospitals are overwhelmed and unable to provide good care to everyone who needs it. We have seen this in Italy. We have seen this in New York. We could see this in Utah if things do not change."

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Nearly nine million COVID-19 infections have been reported in the United States since January, with about 228,300 Americans dying from the virus.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.