BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — Health experts say the latest explosion of COVID-19 cases is happening faster, and more widespread than at any time since the pandemic began in March.
There is a new grim milestone, as the United States surpasses 12-million cases, and counting.
The number of positive cases in this country also reached record highs for the second day in a row.
Health officials reported more than 193,000 new coronavirus cases Friday.
That beats the previous single-day record that was set Thursday.
Cases are now spreading in every single state.
Here in New York, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 continues to go up.
34 people died Friday, with nine of them in Erie County.
That's the highest number in the state by far.
Well over 26,000 New Yorkers have now died since March.
The current seven day rolling average in the Erie County orange zone is 7.25%.
That's down slightly from the previous day.
The bad news comes from Erie County's yellow zone, where the infection rate jumped by a whole percentage point between Thursday and Friday.
The current seven day rolling average is 7.58% compared to 6.57% on Thursday.
