Timothy Moore
With surges in the US and spikes elsewhere, the global number of confirmed cases has risen through the 11 million mark, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The death toll continues its slow and steady rise: it's now at 523,777.
The US continues to extend its lead in both cases and deaths: 2.7 million cases and more than 129,000 deaths.
The Washington Post reported that the United States tallied its largest single-day total of coronavirus infections on Friday local time since the start of the pandemic, 57,497 confirmed cases.
Friday’s record is the seventh reported high in nine days, the Post also said. With the rate of new coronavirus cases rising in nearly 40 states, Fourth of July celebrations across the United States have been cancelled or scaled back as anxious governors and mayors urge people to take a more restrained approach to the holiday.
Separately, at least five states set single-day case records on Friday: Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to data compiled by The New York Times. [ yes Republican states ! ]
The Times reported: "In South Carolina, where more than 1800 new cases were announced Friday, the positivity rate has hovered around 20 per cent this week, up from about 10 per cent in early June.
"In Kansas, where at least 770 new cases were announced, daily reporting totals vary widely because the state government only releases new data three times a week. The state reported positivity rates exceeding 10 per cent for the first three days in July, a significant uptick from mid-June when the rate hovered between 5 and 7 per cent."
