US surpasses 50,000 daily coronavirus cases for the first time, according to The Washington Post

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• The US on Wednesday recorded its highest number of daily new coronavirus infections, according to counts by The Washington Post and Johns Hopkins University.
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• According to The Washington Post, the US recorded 52,770 cases, while data from Johns Hopkins University reported 46,853 new daily cases. Both would indicate an all-time high.
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• Several states are reporting spikes in the numbers of hospitalizations and positive coronavirus tests as the country begins to lift lockdown measures, according to The Post.
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The US on Wednesday recorded 50,000 new daily coronavirus infections, according to a tally by The Washington Post.

According to The Post, the US recorded 52,770 cases on Wednesday, the first time it has surpassed 50,000 new daily cases. Texas, Arizona, California, North Carolina, and Georgia all reported record numbers of new infections, contributing to the national swell.

Several states are reporting spikes in the numbers of hospitalizations and positive coronavirus tests as the country begins to lift lockdown measures, according to The Post.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the US reported 46,853 new daily cases on Wednesday - less than the number reported by The Post but still a record high.

The US has recorded at least 2.6 million coronavirus cases and over 128,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

It took a few weeks for the impacts of reopenings to become evident. That's because several weeks can pass between when somebody comes into contact with the virus, and when they start to show symptoms or seek a test. From there, processing a test can take up to a week.

This spike in coronavirus cases is probably not a reflection of increased testing. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards has said that the rise in cases is "more than can be fairly attributed to the growth in testing," especially since hospitalizations have risen steeply alongside case counts.

What's more, the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive is now increasing in many states that are seeing the biggest surges, such as Arizona, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and Nevada - a sign that rising rates of infection, rather than increased testing, are driving the surge. Nationwide, the rate of positive tests has increased daily since June 16, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

That means hospitals could become overburdened again.

"When you see percent positivity rising, that usually means that not every case is being captured by this system," Johns Hopkins University's Dr. Adalja told Business Insider. "It really underscores the need for states to get robust case contact tracing teams in place because that's the way you keep those chains of transmission from spilling into your hospital."