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WASHINGTON: The United States reported new record cases of COVID-19 for the third day in a row, as Joe Biden vowed to act against the pandemic on “day one” if he wins the presidential election in the world’s worst-hit nation.
More than 127,000 new infections were reported in the United States on Friday, the third consecutive day of record cases, while votes from the tight elections were still being counted.
No winner has been declared, but Biden has vowed that he will not waste time addressing the pandemic if he is victorious.
“I want everyone, everyone to know from day one that we are going to put into action our plan to control this virus,” said the Democrat.
READ: US counties with worst COVID-19 waves overwhelmingly voted for Trump
The infection figures came as President Donald Trump, who survived a COVID-19 attack in October and has been widely criticized for his handling of the crisis, followed his Democratic rival in the vote count.
Cases in the United States are fast approaching 10 million, with more than 236,000 deaths, and the pandemic has hit the world’s largest economy, leaving millions out of work.
READ: Trump’s chief of staff Meadows was diagnosed with COVID-19
Trump has openly opposed the lockdown measures, citing their impact on the economy, and has repeatedly clashed with experts from his own administration about coronavirus policy.
Unlike Biden, Trump held massive campaign rallies ahead of the Nov. 3 vote, insisting that the United States was “turning around” despite waves of viruses.
Senior officials in his administration recently contracted the virus and Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows was the last to test positive, media said Friday night.
The pandemic has been cited as one of the factors behind the delay in the results of the US elections, with state authorities inundated with millions of ballots submitted by citizens unwilling to risk being infected by voting in person.
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