IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Covid-19 cases break record for second day in a row, topping 120,000

A total of 120,048 people tested positive Thursday, nearly 16,000 more than were reported Wednesday, according to NBC News tallies.
Get more newsLiveon

A record number of coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, breaking a record set Wednesday of more than 100,000 cases in a single day.

A total of 120,048 people tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, nearly 16,000 more than on Wednesday, according to an NBC News tally.

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world. More than 236,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the U.S., according to NBC News data.

Hospitalization and case counts have surged across much of the country, with the Midwest and the Southwest getting hit the hardest. Doctors and officials have warned people that hospitals could quickly become overwhelmed with Covid-19 patients.

Wisconsin had one of the largest single-day increases in the country Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Image: Aerial views of drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Madison, Wisconsin
Vehicles queue at a drive-thru Covid-19 testing site in Madison, Wis., on Nov. 5, 2020.Bing Guan / Reuters

"While the state and country turned its eyes to the presidential election, Wisconsin had another record-setting day for Covid-19 cases, with 5,935 Wisconsinites testing positive on Wednesday," Gov. Tony Evers said Thursday in his Democratic radio address.

Download the NBC News app for full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

"Folks, this pandemic isn't happening some place else or to somebody else," he said. "Wisconsinites in every corner of our state know firsthand the tragedy and loss of this virus."

The virus continues to spread in other key battleground states in the election. Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina each recorded more than 2,000 cases in a single day.