Texas and Oklahoma recording new highs and 67,632 new cases had been reported across the country in the previous 24 hours

LOS ANGELES • The number of new coronavirus cases and fatalities continued to mount across the US on Wednesday, with Texas and Oklahoma recording new highs.

Johns Hopkins University, which tracks the spread of the disease, said on Wednesday that 67,632 new cases of the disease had been reported across the country in the previous 24 hours, a new national record.

The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 10,791 new cases and 110 new fatalities (at press time), saying in a tweet that both numbers “are new highs” for the state.

Oklahoma — where the governor, Kevin Stitt, announced on Wednesday he had tested positive for the virus — recorded 1,075 new cases, a single-day record. And Alabama also hit a grim milestone, recording 47 deaths, the highest in one day.

The disease has also been spreading rapidly in other states, notably Florida, which has people are being hospitalised at a faster rate than ever before,” Ferrer said.

The latest research models show the number of US deaths projected to rise to over 150,000 by next month. The death toll currently stands at more than 136,400 and there have been more than 3.5 million people (at press time) infected in the US since the outbreak began.

Though the number of new cases slowed in late spring, they began to climb again in mid-June as states lifted restrictions and the wearing of a mask became a political dividing line.

US President Donald Trump finally wore a mask publicly last week for the first time during the pandemic as he visited a military hospital.

Facial coverings have been recommended by health officials as a precaution against spreading or becoming infected by coronavirus, but many US states have been slow in imposing the wearing of masks in public. — AFP