US coronavirus cases rise by over 70,000 for second day in a row

President Donald Trump, foreground left, wears a face mask as he walks with others down a hallway during a visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Saturday, July 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Show less

For a second day in a row, US coronavirus cases rose by over 70,000 as Americans clashed over wearing masks and whether to reopen schools in a few weeks.

Cases on Friday rose by at least 70,674 after climbing by a record 77,499 on Thursday, the largest increase posted by any country since the pandemic started.

US deaths on Friday rose by at least 912, the fourth day in a row that fatalities have risen by over 900 a day.

Coronavirus cases are rising in 41 of 50 states, according to a Reuters analysis of cases the past two weeks compared with the previous two weeks. Deaths are rising in 19 states.

Experts believe the United States never emerged from its first wave of infections, and cases have been surging again in recent weeks, particularly across the south and west in states that pushed to lift lockdown restrictions early.

Texas on Friday reported a record daily increase in deaths for the third day in a row with 174 lives lost, bringing its death toll to a total of 3,735.

In addition to rising deaths and cases, six states reported a record number of Covid-19 patients in their hospitals. Texas reported over 10,600 Covid-19 patients were hospitalized and Alabama, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina and South Carolina also reported record hospitalisations on Friday.

In California, Los Angeles County reported 4,592 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, a single-day record.

"Without aggressive action on the part of every person, we will not get back to slowing the spread," Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement.

In Texas and Arizona, which are dealing with stark surges in virus cases and deaths, authorities are bringing in refrigerated trucks to cope with the body count.