US: Daily COVID-19 Record Shattered with 90,000 New Cases

The U.S. surged past 9 million positive cases Thursday as experts predict death rates more than doubling by mid-January.

The pandemic is veering further out of control as U.S. President Donald Trump and his son continue to dismiss the gravity of the virus, despite sobering data and a scientific outlook that significantly varies from that coming out of the White House.

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According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. hit 9,018,000 positive COVID-19 infections and 228,677 deaths on Friday, the world's highest figure by a wide margin.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, hospitalizations are soaring in all but 11 states, and more than 46,000 people are currently hospitalized in U.S. medical facilities for the virus. 

In the past week alone, the U.S. has reported more than half a million cases, and half of all U.S. counties saw cases peak in the past month, whereas nearly 1 in 3 has witnessed peaks in the past week alone. 

Former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)Scott Gottlieb told CNN: "This is the hardest point in this pandemic right now – the next two months.” 

In Utah, Gary Herbert, the governor, said hospitals “cannot keep up” with the infection rate, tweeting, “you deserve to understand the dire situation we face.” He warned that the state could face a similar fate to Italy's parts back in March or New York when the Big Apple became the world hotspot in the early spring.

Meanwhile, Trump denied the surge by responding in a tweet Friday that “More Testing equals more Cases. We have best testing. Deaths WAY DOWN. Hospitals have great additional capacity! Doing much better than Europe. Therapeutics working!”