A record daily high of coronavirus cases was reached in the United States on Friday while President Donald Trump was on the campaign trail promising voters a quick end to the pandemic.
Nearly 80,000 new Covid-19 infections over the course of a day were reported, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University, with 79,963 infections recorded between 8.30 pm Thursday and the same time Friday.
The pandemic has killed more than 224,000 and nearly 8.5 million cases have been recorded in the US. It has also cost millions more their jobs and has become the dominant issue of the presidential campaign, with Mr Trump on the defensive over his administration's handling of the crisis.
Mr Trump told supporters in Florida that the pandemic would end soon and accused Democratic rival Joe Biden of overstating the health crisis to scare Americans into voting for him.
Mr Biden earlier in the day said Mr Trump had given up on containing the virus and promised if he wins the November 3 election he will ask Congress to pass a comprehensive Covid-19 bill that he would sign within the first 10 days of taking office.
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