U.S. reports nationwide coronavirus case record heading into July 4

The United States reported a daily record in new coronavirus cases on Friday, with roughly 55,000 people confirmed to have been infected with the virus ahead of the July 4 holiday weekend, according to a Johns Hopkins University coronavirus tracker.

More than a dozen states, including Florida, California, Texas and Arizona, broke single-day records in new coronavirus cases this week. Those four states accounted for just under half of all new coronavirus cases reported Thursday, but most states are seeing infections climb.

The U.S. leads the world in confirmed infections and deaths, exceeding 50,000 new cases for the first time on Wednesday. Nearly 130,000 people have died in the U.S. since its first confirmed coronavirus case in January, and nearly 2.8 million people have been infected.