The number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day hit a new high on Friday after numerous states began pausing or rolling back their reopening plans.
At least 40,173 new cases were reported, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The previous daily high was reported on Thursday.
More than 30 states are battling rising numbers and the US is averaging more daily new cases than ever. But Vice President Mike Pence said Friday “we’ve all seen the encouraging news as we open up America again.”
“To one extent or another, the volume of new cases coming in is a reflection of a great success in expanding testing across the country,” Pence said.
At least nine other states have announced they are not moving ahead to the next phase of reopening. Those states are Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina.
“This is a problem. We can spin it in all sorts of different ways. But the reality is that not only are things bad, they’re as bad as they’ve ever been right now with regard to daily new infections,” said CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
In Texas, one of the earliest states to begin reopening, Gov. Greg Abbott has “paused” the state’s phased economic reopening. On Friday, he ordered further restrictions on businesses, including a requirement that bars remain open only for delivery and take-out and requiring local officials to approve any gatherings of 100 people or more.
The nation’s second most-populous state, Texas reported a record 5,996 new cases on Thursday and another 5,707 cases on Friday.
