Noah Higgins-Dunn
Published Sat, Oct 17 202010:38 AM EDT
The United States reported more than 69,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest daily count the nation has reported since late July.
The U.S. has now reported more than 8 million Covid-19 cases and at least 218,600 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The surge in coronavirus cases comes as infectious disease experts warn the U.S. could face a “substantial third wave” of infections that will be further complicated this winter by the spread of seasonal influenza, which causes many similar symptoms to that of the coronavirus.
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The U.S. is averaging roughly 55,000 new coronavirus cases every day, based on a weekly average to smooth out the reporting, a more than 16% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data. New cases were growing by 5% or more in 38 states as the number of infections in the Midwest continues to surge.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, has warned for weeks that the daily number of new cases has remained “unacceptably high” heading into the end of the year. However, it’s not too late to “vigorously apply” recommended public health measures, such as wearing a mask and maintaining a physical distance from others, Fauci told Johns Hopkins University on Thursday.
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He added that the positivity rate, or the percentage of tests that are positive, is “going in the wrong direction” in more than 30 states.
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