The United States reached a record of 90,000 confirmed infections in a single day, which is equivalent to
more than one case per second
, and exceeded 9 million infections since the pandemic began.
The new coronavirus is not hitting just a few areas of the country this time: More than
30 states reported more than 10,000 infections a
day on Thursday, according to a tally by our sister network NBC News.
Of these states, 13 are the so-called decisive states, in which neither Donald Trump nor his opponent Joe Biden have yet a clear victory and which could define the presidential election.
But the impact that the advance of the pandemic will have on the polls is still uncertain, according to experts.
[Every two minutes a person dies from COVID-19 in the US]
The COVID-19 numbers have skyrocketed in a matter of days.
The record of 90,456 daily infections was recorded on Thursday, after there were more than 80,000 on Wednesday and the barrier of 70,000 was surpassed at the weekend.
At that rate, the United States added more than 500,000 new cases in the last week.
The rise began in the upper central region of the country and the rural west, but has spread far beyond, with peaks in places as disparate as El Paso, Texas, and Chicago and Rexburg, Idaho.
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The World Health Organization advised governments to keep positive case rates at 5% or less for 14 days before reopening businesses and economic activities.
The guide has not been followed by a good part of the American authorities.
In all, 35 states and territories were above this threshold on Friday, the Hopkins University analysis indicates.
Likewise, the United States reported
982 deaths from COVID-19
yesterday
, bringing the total victims to more than 230,000, according to data from John Hopkins University.
The death toll is still far below that of the spring, when an average of 800 people per day died.
But it has started to rebound.
South Dakota, for example, had a record 19 deaths on Thursday;
and Wyoming, 10.
The impact of the pandemic at the polls
Voters in several key states must elect a president
as the virus rages in their communities and hits the local economy
, raising the question of how it will affect them when they go to the polls.
Some electoral battlegrounds, like Michigan and North Carolina, are seeing record numbers of new cases and deaths.
Hospitals in Wisconsin and other hard-hit areas are reaching capacity.
Other states such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona also add cases, but to a lesser extent.
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Specifically, in 13 states considered competitive by the analysis site Cook Political Report, the weekly average of new cases reported daily increased 45% in the last two weeks.
The jump went from less than 21,000 on October 14 to more than 30,000 on October 28, The Washington Post reported.
Nationally, President
Donald Trump is failing to win popular approval
for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak: Since late May, more and more Americans have disapproved of his measures, according to polls.
As the virus spreads through Wisconsin, for example, Trump loses popular support.
His overall approval rating is now 41% positive and 58% negative, according to a poll by the Washington Post and ABC News from October 20-25.
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However,
the president continues to downplay the threat of the virus
.
Before a crowd in Bullhead City, Arizona, the Republican candidate repeated once again that the United States is overcoming the pandemic.
Experts indicate that voters who fear the new coronavirus could avoid the polls on November 3.
"It will all come down to a calculation of risk and aversion to that risk," Kevin Arceneaux, professor of political science at Temple University, told NBC News.
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Yet a record of more than 80 million Americans have already opted to vote early, by mail or in person.
They represent more than half of those who voted in 2016, and it is estimated that they would be in favor of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.
In states not yet defined, that percentage is even higher: about 61% of the 2016 electorate, 34.1 million people, have already cast their vote.
With information from NBC News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Texas Tribune.