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HEALTH-VIRUS-US-CASES
US daily Covid-19 cases hit new record, topping 120,000
WASHINGTON, Nov 6, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – More than 120,000 coronavirus cases
were reported in the US in the past 24 hours, smashing a daily record set the
day before, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The country reported 123,085 new infections between 8:30 pm Wednesday and
8:30 pm Thursday (0130 GMT), and 1,226 more deaths, the tally by the
Baltimore-based school showed.
On Wednesday, 99,660 new cases of the virus were reported. Thursday’s tally
shatters that record by 23,425 cases.
While deaths remain lower than their worst levels in the spring, Thursday
was also the third day in a row that fatalities were above 1,000. The last
time people were dying at that rate of Covid-19 in the US was early
September.
More than 9.6 million people have been infected and 234,000 have died in
the United States so far during the pandemic, by far the highest tolls in
absolute terms globally.
The new record comes as US President Donald Trump, who survived a bout with
Covid-19 in October and insists the virus will “disappear,” was fighting for
his political life Thursday with vote-counting from Tuesday’s presidential
election still ongoing.
His Democratic election rival Joe Biden has sought to turn the vote into a
referendum on Trump’s handling of the crisis, and vowed to listen to
scientific recommendations on handling the pandemic should he take the White
House.
With coronavirus cases surging across the country since mid-October, more
than 100 million voters cast their ballot by mail or in person before
Election Day — the highest number of early voters ever — as many Americans
sought to avoid crowded polling booths.
The final election results have been partly delayed by the high number of
mail-in ballots, which Trump alleges without evidence are fraudulent.
Health officials in some states have already sounded warnings about their
ability to handle an influx in hospitalizations as the winter flu season
looms.
The pandemic has also slammed the US economy, fueling a historic
contraction in growth and tens of millions of job losses.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0915 hrs