Several US states, many of them in the midwest, have reported record single-day increases in COVID-19 infections, further evidence the pandemic is accelerating anew as cooler weather takes hold in many parts of the country.
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Indiana, North Dakota, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Ohio posted daily records on Thursday, according to a Reuters analysis, while Florida reported more than 5500 new cases, its highest single-day increase since August 15.
Twenty-eight states have reported their daily record high of COVID-19 cases in the month of October alone.
On Wednesday, the number of coronavirus deaths reported across the country reached its highest in two months. Increases in deaths tend to trail spikes new infections by several weeks.
The US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday formally approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir, which has been in wide use under an emergency authorisation, for treating patients hospitalised with COVID-19. It is the first drug officially approved for the disease in the United States.
Since the pandemic reached the United States earlier this year, the nation has lost more than 222,000 lives, the world's highest total as well as one of the highest per capita death rates, especially among developed nations.
The autumn resurgence and dire predictions that the spread would further accelerate in the cold winter months have once again cast a harsh spotlight on President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic.
A report released on Wednesday by Columbia University estimated that between 130,000 and 210,000 COVID-19 deaths could have been avoided in the United States, calling the federal government's response to the pandemic an "enormous failure".
White House spokesman Judd Deere blamed the pandemic's toll on China, where the virus originated, and the World Health Organisation - two favourite Trump targets - and said Trump's actions saved American lives.
Along with spikes in cases and deaths, the number of COVID-19 patients in US hospitals climbed to a two-month high. There are now more than 40,000 hospitalised coronavirus patients across the country, up 33 per cent from October 1, according to a Reuters analysis.
In Wisconsin, a COVID-19 hotspot and a pivotal battleground state that could help decide the presidential election, hospitals were feeling the strain from the surge in cases.
Australian Associated Press
