In U.S., 2,909 people die of COVID-19 in 24 hours, highest daily death toll in the U.S. yet

This seems like an extremely bad time for various U.S. states to be lifting restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus, but what do I know?

The U.S. saw 2,909 people die of Covid-19 in 24 hours, according to public health data collected as of 4AM ET on Friday. This is the single highest daily death toll in the U.S. yet.

From CNBC:

The U.S. saw 2,909 people die of Covid-19 in 24 hours, according to the data, which was collected as of 4 a.m. ET on Friday. That's the highest daily Covid-19 death toll in the U.S. yet, based on a CNBC analysis of the WHO's daily Covid-19 situation reports.

Before May 1, the next highest U.S. daily death toll was 2,471 reported on April 23, according to the WHO. State officials have previously warned that data on Covid-19 deaths are difficult to analyze because they often represent patients who became ill and were hospitalized weeks ago.Representatives of the WHO did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

The country's deadliest day comes as state officials weigh reopening parts of the economy and easing stay-at-home orders. Public health officials and epidemiologists have warned that as the public grows fatigued by restrictions and businesses reopen, the virus could spread rapidly throughout communities that have yet to experience a major epidemic.

Protesters in at least 10 states on Friday demanded that the government lift stay-at-home orders and other emergency measures put in place to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Among the states that saw protests are California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee and Washington.

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The US just reported its deadliest day for coronavirus patients as states reopen, according to WHO