US tops 90,000 coronavirus cases in 24 hours for first time

The United States notched a record number of new coronavirus cases on Thursday, for the first time topping 90,000 diagnoses in 24 hours, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.

The country, which has seen a resurgence of its COVID-19 outbreak since mid-October, recorded 91,295 new cases in the 24 hours up to 8:30 pm Thursday (0030 GMT Friday), according to a real-time count by the Baltimore-based school.

The US has tallied 8.94 million cases of the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, the most of any country in the world.

Within the same 24-hour period, 1,021 people died from COVID-19 in the US, bringing the country's total to 228,625 fatalities. It is the highest recorded toll in the world.

The country's previous record of daily cases was set on Saturday, with 88,973 new infections.

The virus is currently spreading most rampantly in the Midwest.

With five days to go until the election, Democrat Joe Biden has made Donald Trump's handling of the health crisis his main attack point against the president.