The U.S. broke another record of daily coronavirus cases Thursday, topping 118,000 new infections in the second straight day with more than 100,000 new cases.
Health officials have warned that the cold and flu season would spur alarming six-digit figures of cases, though the numbers have spiked sooner than expected, CNN reported.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an ensemble forecast update Thursday, estimating 266,000 total U.S. fatalities by the end of November.
The exact number of cases Thursday was 118,629, Johns Hopkins University data reported.
There were also around 1,187 reported deaths, a nearly 20 percent increase from the same day last week.
The U.S. states that topped daily case records included Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin, with some states, such as Connecticut, reinstating some restrictions.
In the 10 months since the outset of the pandemic, more than 9.6 million people in the U.S. have been infected with coronavirus and more than 234,000 have died.
Hospitalizations are also surging throughout the country, with Ohio reporting the highest number of patients in intensive care units (ICU). The state also reported record-setting cases Thursday, with 4,961 new COVID-19 infections, 2,075 hospitalizations and 571 in the ICU.
In Texas, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego ordered a two-week shutdown of nonessential services last week as over 1,000 COVID-19 patients have been hospitalized throughout the city.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) challenged Samaniego’s lockdown order, filing an injunction to stop the judge’s “unlawful lockdown order, which flies in the face of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive orders on COVID-19.”
In the eastern parts of the U.S., partial restrictions are underway in Massachusetts as Gov. Charlie Baker (R) announced a stay-at-home advisory this week that will take effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.