Coronavirus cases skyrocket: Over 116,000 new cases, 53,000 hospitalized

Enlarge / Coronavirus testing in Wisconsin, November 2. (credit: Getty | Star Tribune)

The United States on Wednesday reached an alarming milestone in its failed pandemic response: a day's tally of new coronavirus cases reached over 100,000 for the first time. But the record was short-lived. Today, Thursday, new cases surpassed 116,000.

The country's third spike in cases is now towering over those before it, which saw peaks of daily new cases no higher than around 76,500. It's unclear how high the new peak will ultimately get, but it's likely that Friday will see yet another frightening record.

Overall, the country has seen a 20-percent jump in cases since last week, according to The COVID Tracking Project. While nearly every state in the country is seeing cases increase to some extent, the areas propelling the rise are the Midwest and the Mountain West. In fact, the Midwest's current number of cases per capita are well above that of any other region during the pandemic, the Project notes in a blog post Thursday.

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