US records 63,643 new virus cases in 24 hours
The United States recorded 63,643 new coronavirus cases on Friday, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
As of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Saturday), 774 people died of COVID-19 in the country in the past 24 hours, the Baltimore-based university said.
The worst-hit country in the world by the pandemic, the US has recorded a total of 133,969 deaths out of 3.18 million cases.
Thursday saw a record surge in cases, with 65,551 new infections. Experts fear there will soon be a spike in deaths.
In recent days, Texas and Florida reported record numbers of virus deaths.
"As a country, when you compare us to other countries, I don't think you can say we're doing great," top infectious disease official Anthony Fauci told political analysis website FiveThirtyEight on Thursday.
President Donald Trump, for his part, hit out at the respected scientist, telling Fox News: "Dr. Fauci is a nice man, but he's made a lot of mistakes."
The US leader, who continues to downplay the spike in coronavirus cases, traveled to outbreak hotspot Miami on Friday for a high-dollar campaign fundraiser and other events.
© 2020 AFP
