- The United States reported more than 69,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday, bringing the country’s total count to over 8 million reported cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
- The last time the U.S. reported a daily count that high was in late July as the coronavirus swept through Sun Belt states.
- The surge in cases comes as infectious disease experts warn the U.S. could face a “substantial third wave” of infections this winter.
Now on to the third wave!
The U.S. is averaging roughly 55,000 new coronavirus cases every day, based on a weekly average to smooth out the reporting, a more than 16% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data. New cases were growing by 5% or more in 38 states as the number of infections in the Midwest continues to surge.