The U.S. recorded over 100,000 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the highest daily total since the beginning of the pandemic, NBC reported.
There were 102,166 new cases, the report continued, exceeding the previous single day high of 98,583 set the last week of October. More than 230,000 have died in the U.S. from the virus.
The news comes amid a surge in cases across the Midwest, according to NBC, with cases rising in all but three states. More than 52,000 people are currently hospitalized due to the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project. (RELATED: CDC Says People With COVID-19 Can Break Quarantine To Vote)
Our daily update is published. States reported 1.2 million tests and 103k cases – the highest daily case count to date. 52k people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 and today’s death toll was 1,116. pic.twitter.com/tO1qSzn3pe
— The COVID Tracking Project (@COVID19Tracking) November 5, 2020
Top U.S. health officials have urged caution heading into the holidays, warning Americans that gatherings of any size could have unhealthy consequences.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Dr. Howard Bauchner, editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, in October that families preparing to gather for Thanksgiving need to consider the risk.
“If you are in a situation where you have people who are vulnerable and you really want to be safe with them, you might want to not bring them together into a big dinner, or a big gathering where you have the possibility of a high risk of infection,” he said.
Older adults and people with underlying health conditions are particularly at risk. “You want to take a couple of steps back and say, ‘Is it worth it for this year to bring those people together when you don’t know what the status of everybody in that pod that you’ve created is?'” Fauci said.