NEW YORK — The U.S. now has 9 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as infections continue to rise in nearly every state.
It took two weeks to reach the mark from 8 million, the fastest jump of 1 million yet. It had taken more than three weeks for the total to rise from 7 million to 8 million.
Confirmed U.S. cases are on the rise in 47 states. Deaths are up 14% over the past two weeks, averaging more than 800 every day. The virus has now killed more than 229,000 Americans.
As of Friday afternoon, data from Johns Hopkins University had the U.S. at 9,007,298 COVID-19 cases.
On Thursday, the United States recorded more than 88,000 new cases of COVID-19, marking a new single-day record high for the country. It passed the previous high of 83,731 set on Oct. 23.
Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Adm. Brett Giroir said earlier his week the proof of the uptick is the rising numbers of hospitalizations and deaths.
The U.S. leads the world in confirmed number of cases.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, often cited by the White House, now projects the U.S. will have an additional 100,000 deaths between now and Jan. 1 if mask usage remains at its current level. That number can be reduced by 1/3 if there is universal mask use.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated.
