Record Covid-19 cases force US to cut Independence Day festivities.

Byline: Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON -- The United States recorded more than 48,000 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, the country's highest single-day infections so far.

The New York Times (NYT) reported on Wednesday that this was the country's fourth daily record for infections in a week, forcing health officials to call for scaling back the Independence Day festivities. The three-day 4th of July festival begins on Saturday.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre (JHCRC) reported that during the last two weeks, infections had increased in 35 of the 50 US states. Eight of these states have set new records for single-day infections.

'We don't want any more closures, but our numbers are going through the roof,' Dr Cameron Kaiser, a public health officer in California, told NYT. 'Please do not mix households, (stay) with the people you live with.'

Congress told 'disturbing surge' can bring up to 100,000 new cases per day

Federal health officials reminded Americans that the Memorial Day festivities in May had caused a sudden hike in Covid-19 cases, but they did not want another jump after the Fourth of July.

An NYT database showed that California added more than 8,100 new cases, Georgia added more than 2,400 and Texas added more than 7,900, all records.

America's official health agency, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recorded 35,664 new cases in the US on Tuesday,

adding that at least 40 jurisdictions had reported more than 10,000 cases a day.

Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told Congress on Tuesday that this 'disturbing surge' could bring the US up to 100,000 new cases per day.

He also urged the US administration to 'prepare for a long game' and stressed the need for maintaining social distance and wearing masks.

CDC Director Robert Redfield told young people specifically that they 'are not exempt from wearing a mask'. The two officials also supported...