The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record number of daily coronavirus cases worldwide on Friday with the United States leading other nations at the peak.
In a daily report, the WHO reported 237,743 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, breaking the previous single-day record of 230,370 on July 12. There were 5,682 more deaths in the last day.
There have been more than 13.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide since the pandemic began.
The United States had the highest number of new cases of any other country with more than 67,000, nearly doubling the nearly 35,000 new cases in India, which had the second highest number of cases in the past 24 hours.
The all-time record comes when states in the United States, particularly in the south and west, see alarming spikes in COVID-19 cases. Texas reported approximately 10,000 new cases Thursday for the third day in a row, while California reported nearly 20,000 new cases in the past two days. Florida also saw nearly 14,000 new cases on Thursday.
The new spikes insert urgency in the latest debates about how to respond to the growing health crisis.
While at least half of the nation’s 50 states have some form of mask use requirement, other states have been more resistant to issuing such mandates. In particular, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) issued an executive order prohibiting cities and counties from requiring face covering, sparking a legal battle with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D).
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