U.S. Hits Highest Single-Day Number of COVID-19 Cases for Any Country, England to Enter Lockdown
New data also shows President Donald Trump's campaign rallies have led to more than 30,000 coronavirus cases
By Georgia Slater
Credit: Karen Ducey/Getty
The U.S. recently reported the highest single-day number of COVID-19 cases for any country as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to plague the nation.
According to CNN, the U.S. reported 99,321 new cases on Friday, surpassing India's daily record of 97,894 coronavirus cases in a single day on Sept. 17.
As of Saturday afternoon, more than 9,163,700 Americans have tested positive for COVID-19, and at least 230,100 have died from the virus, according to a New York Times database.
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine at George Washington University, told CNN that the increase in cases could directly translate to an increase in deaths. "The 100,000 cases yesterday two weeks from now will start to translate into massive numbers of deaths," he said. "So we're going to see not just cases continue to escalate but we're going to see perhaps 2,000 deaths per day two or three weeks from now."
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Former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen also warned that if American's don't continue to "implement targeted measures" like mask-wearing, shutting down high-risk businesses, and avoiding social gatherings, a lockdown may be in the future. "If we don't do these things now, we're going to be overwhelming our health systems and then a lockdown may be necessary," she told CNN.
On Friday, the same day that the U.S. hit its record single day statistic, a new paper by researchers at Stanford University found that President Donald Trump's campaign rallies led to a major number of the country's coronavirus cases.
According to CNBC, after looking at 18 Trump rallies held between June 20 and Sept. 22 and analyzing subsequent COVID-19 data, researchers found that the rallies led to more than 30,000 cases. "The communities in which Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death," lead author B. Douglas Bernheim wrote.
Outside of the U.S., several other countries are continuing to struggle with the pandemic, including England which will be going into its second national lockdown next week.
On Saturday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country would be entering a month-long lockdown from Nov. 5 until Dec. 2.
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Pedestrians cross a street located in the mandatory face mask zone to limit COVID infections in Bordeaux on October 28, 2020, as France is set to put tough new measures in place.
| Credit: PHILIPPE LOPEZ/AFP via Getty
"From Thursday until the start of December you must stay at home," he said in a news bulletin on BBC and on Twitter.
The country will close everything except essential shops and education settings during the lockdown. As of Saturday, there have been nearly 860,000 cases of the coronavirus in England and at least 41,132 deaths, according to the Times.
France entered lockdown on Friday, with President Emmanuel Macron ordering the country to stay home except for essential activities, like buying food or seeking medical care.
In response to Germany's second wave of cases, Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a news conference on Wednesday that, starting Nov. 2, restaurants and bars will shutter, according to the Washington Post. Public gatherings will also be limited to 10 people maximum.
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