Medical staff US COVID
Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) transport a COVID-19 patient at Stamford Hospital. Image Credit: AFP

Washington: For the third day in a row, the United States on Saturday notched a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours, reaching nearly 230,00 new infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

In that same stretch the US recorded 2,527 coronavirus-related deaths, according to real-time data provided by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0130 GMT Saturday).

The United States - the country with the most coronavirus cases and deaths in the world - has seen a dramatic resurgence in its epidemic in recent weeks.

US health officials warned of a surge after millions of Americans travelled to celebrate last week’s Thanksgiving holiday despite pleas from authorities to stay home.

For two weeks, the US has regularly topped 2,000 deaths per day, as it had in the spring at the height of the first wave of the country’s outbreak.

The number of people hospitalised with COVID-19 is also steadily increasing, especially in the most populous states of California, Florida, New York and Texas, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

The United States has recorded more than 14.6 million cases and more than 281,000 related deaths since the start of the pandemic.