U.S. Adds Almost 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 1 Day As Colder Weather Sets In

A medical worker administers a rapid Covid-19 test in Oakland, Calif. on Oct. 12, 2020. Coronavirus cases are once again surging across much of the country, reaching almost 100,000 on Friday.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

The U.S. is edging ever closer to 100,000 new daily cases of the coronavirus. According to data released Saturday by Johns Hopkins University, the country added 99,321 cases and 1,030 deaths to its tally on Friday.

It’s the greatest single-day increase of the pandemic so far — a sentence likely to be repeated in the coming weeks as the U.S. experiences a third surge in infections that’s expected to dwarf the previous two. Experts have long warned of a devastating increase with the changing of the seasons, as colder weather forces a pandemic-weary public inside and social distancing restrictions become harder to enforce.

Health experts say the current increase is being driven in large part by people who don’t have any symptoms. It’s a “silent epidemic,” Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told the SiriusXM show Doctor Radio Reports on Friday, according to CNN.