With hospitals overwhelmed in much of the United States, the number of coronavirus cases jumped to record levels on Wednesday. The total of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported on Wednesday was 144,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
There were also at least 1,900 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the US in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins, marking the deadliest day of the pandemic since May 6, when 2,300 Americans died of the virus.
Wednesday's case increase was the highest single-day total since the pandemic began and broke a record that stood for one day. The previous record of 140,000 new cases was set on Tuesday.
Wednesday marked the ninth consecutive day in which there were at least 100,000 new cases reported.
The news comes as governors and public health experts throughout the country have pleaded with citizens to wear masks and follow social distancing recommendations. A number of states were looking to re-impose restrictions in hopes of keeping hospitals from filling up with COVID-19 patients.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine threatened to close restaurants, bars and gyms in his state again if things don’t change. The state had more than 6,000 coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking a one-day record.
“I am very well aware of the burden this will place on employees and the owners, but these are places where it is difficult or impossible to maintain mask-wearing, which we know now is the chief way of slowing this virus,” he said.
In neighboring Indiana, the state is limiting the size of social gatherings, depending on the county.
“Unfortunately, too many of us have let our guards down,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday.
Across the country in Nevada, the state’s governor issued a similar warning.
"We don't have much time to act to avoid a dangerous hospital surge and keep our economy going and keep people at work," said Gov. Steve Sisolak.
The COVID Tracking Project, a project led by The Atlantic, shows that current coronavirus-related hospitalizations hurdled the 60,000 mark in the US on Tuesday for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has more than doubled in the last six weeks throughout the US.
While state governors have been doing what they can to fight the virus, the White House has been silent on the virus since Election Day.
The US is not alone in seeing a surge in cases. There has also been a significant surge of cases in much of Europe after going most of the summer and fall with a minimal number of cases.