The US hit another record high Thursday in new daily coronavirus cases at 39,061, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The previous high was recorded just one day earlier at 38,706 confirmed infections across the country.
Records kept by Johns Hopkins University showed the national total was even higher, reaching 40,000 infections on Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
(The COVID Monitoring Project and Johns Hopkins are widely cited when reporting coronavirus infections and deaths.)
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California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida are among the particularly affected states.
Texas reported 5,996 new daily cases and 47 more deaths on Thursday, while Arizona recorded 3,056 new cases and 27 additional deaths. Arizona’s case rate per 100,000 people is around 877. Meanwhile, Florida health officials reported 5,004 new cases and 46 deaths on Thursday.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday that his state is pausing its reopening process amid a surge in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
Utah recorded its second highest daily number of new cases Thursday at 590 since the pandemic began.
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The latest California figures include 5,349 additional cases and the state’s positivity rate tends “modestly upward” in the 14-day average, with long-term hospitalization rates showing a “slight spike” in the 14-day average, according to an update from the state department of public health.
While some experts and state governors link rising infections with expanded testing, other health officials point out that community transmission is the leading cause.
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Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a conference call Thursday with reporters noted that the majority of cases come from younger populations. Similarly, Dr. Paul Byers, an epidemiologist for the state of Mississippi, said the new cases are predominantly young in the 18-29 age group, one outlet wrote. Mississippi reported 1,092 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the state total to 24,516.
People drink outside a bar during the reopening phase after the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the East Village neighborhood of New York City, USA, June 12, 2020. Photography taken on June 12, 2020. REUTERS / Jeenah Moon
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Although young and asymptomatic individuals have a lower risk of COVID-19 complications and death, they do present a risk of “unintentional” transmission of the virus to the elderly and people with underlying medical conditions, said Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director.
For each reported COVID-19 case, 10 additional infections were likely not reported, according to CDC’s best estimates.
“It is so selfish for people to go out and do things, perpetuating this pandemic for nothing more than a lobster boil,” Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi state health officer, told WAPT 16 ABC. “People behave recklessly.”
The data is provisional and is subject to change. Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.
