Grand Ordeal For Trump: US Breaks Record For Daily Covid-19 Cases A Week Before Election

JAKARTA - The United States (US) broke a record for daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, October 29, with over 91,000 new cases. At the same time, hospital admissions are at their highest in many states.

The surge in cases occurs a week before the US election on Tuesday, November 3. The states hardest hit by the latest spike in COVID-19 include Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

These regions play a key role in deciding whether Republican President Donald Trump will continue a second term or his Democratic rival Joe Biden will become president.

The coronavirus is also rapidly spreading to record levels in Europe, with France and Germany announcing national lockdowns this week. Previously, the US recorded a record 84,169 COVID-19 cases on October 23. Globally, India reported a record daily new infection of COVID-19, with 97,894 cases as of September 17.

The White House COVID-19 Task Force said the US was heading in the wrong direction and warned that the spread was "endless", so aggressive action was needed to curb new infections.

On Thursday, October 29, 12 states reported record new infections with COVID-19, namely Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio and Oregon.

Mortality and hospital occupancy also increased. For the third time in October, more than 1,000 people died from COVID-19 in one day on Thursday. More than 229,000 COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in the US, the highest number of deaths in the world.

Meanwhile, hospitalized COVID-19 patients rose above 50 percent in October to 46,000, the highest since mid-August.