COVID-19 Daily Cases On The Rise In Nearly Half Of U.S. States

The number of new daily coronavirus infections in the U.S. continued to rise this past week, driven by upward trends in nearly half the states that have pushed total cases in the country past 7 million. At the same time, a recent study suggests the vast majority of Americans haven't been exposed, far below what's required to quell the virus's spread through "herd immunity."

Daily cases were largely on a downward trend through August and early September from highs in July, but are now going up again.

According to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Tracker, the U.S. reported more than 55,000 new cases on Friday. In total, the U.S. has more than 7,074,000 infections with 204,000 dead as a result of COVID-19.

Overall, about two-dozen states and territories reported an upward trend in new infections, with some states setting and breaking records in days.

In Wisconsin, the state's Department of Health said it had identified 2,817 new infections on Saturday — its highest daily total since the pandemic begin. It broke the record of 2,533 new infections from Sept. 18.