Coronavirus Cases Rise To Highest Level Since Late July

New daily COVID-19 cases (as of October 17)

Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

With coronavirus outbreaks picking up speed in dozens of states, the U.S. is now climbing steadily toward a new peak in cases that may soon rival the summer surge — when the country hit more than 60,000 infections on average a day for weeks in a row.

On Friday, U.S. cases surged higher than they had since late July, hitting nearly 70,000 in one day. The seven-day daily average is now more than 55,000 cases a day. New cases have gone up by nearly 30% from two weeks ago.

Last week, 17 states — primarily in the Midwest and Great Plains — posted new daily records, according to the COVID Tracking Project.