US reaches second-highest daily total of over 75,000 coronavirus cases

The United States on Thursday reported at least 75,049 new coronavirus cases, the second-highest daily total across the country since the onset of the pandemic, according a database from The New York Times.

There has been an average of 62,166 cases per day over the past week, an increase of 32 percent from the average two weeks earlier.

The spike is the highest daily count since July, when more than 77,000 infections were recorded in one day.

As of Friday morning, more than 8.4 million people in the country have been infected with the coronavirus. At least 828 new coronavirus deaths were also reported, bringing the country’s total death toll to at least 223,000.

Eight states set single-day case records, and 13 states have added more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day period. 

In addition, the Midwest and the Rocky Mountains have emerged as new hot spots in recent days. 

Officials in Kentucky and Colorado reported single-day records of more than 1,470 and 1,300 cases, respectively. In Ohio, more than 2,425 new cases were reported.

The bleak figure comes after President Trump on Thursday night claimed once again on the presidential debate stage that the virus would soon be “gone.”

“It will go away and I say we’re rounding the turn. We are rounding the corner. It is going away,” Trump said, insisting that a COVID-19 vaccine is only weeks away.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden fired back by placing the blame on Trump, accusing him of having no plan to address the health crisis.

“Anyone who is responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America,” Biden said. “Even today he thinks we’re in control. We’re about to lose 200,000 more people.”

At one point, Trump said “we’re learning to live with” the coronavirus.

“We’re learning to die with it,” Biden fired back.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday granted full approval to the antiviral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19, making it the only FDA-approved treatment for the virus. It is now available in more than 50 countries.

The drug, administered in a hospital setting through an IV, was found in a study to reduce the likelihood of patients requiring new or more intensive oxygen support.