Another day, another record shattered. The United States reported more than 128,000 new coronavirus cases Friday as the number of fatalities nationwide exceeded 1,000 for the fourth consecutive day.
The seven-day average of new cases was nearly 100,000, almost 20,000 higA third day of six-figure case counts pushed the total number of infections reported in the United States to more than 9.7 million Friday, according to The Post’s data. At least 235,000 fatalities have been reported to date.
No region of the country is being spared from the onslaught. Twenty states reported record single-day increases Thursday, spanning New England, the Midwest, the Great Plains and the Pacific Northwest. Those witnessing the most dramatic increases over the past week include Maine, Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota and Nebraska.
Illinois joined an undesirable club Friday: the now-five states that have logged more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases in a day. Florida, California, New York and Texas have also reached that mark.
But nowhere looked more bleak than North Dakota, which broke records Thursday for the number of new infections and fatalities reported in a single day, as well as the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients. Adjusted for its population, North Dakota has reported more coronavirus-related deaths over the past week than has any other state, and its seven-day average for new cases set a record Friday.