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- The US reported 170,333 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, breaking the single-day count for the fourth day in a row, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
- On Friday, shortly after the record number of new cases was reported, Trump tweeted an unsubstantiated claim about the election, saying, “we win the State of Pennsylvania!”
- Insider and other major outlets have projected President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of Pennsylvania.
- In addition to the new cases, The Covid Tracking Project reported 1,301 new deaths and 68,516 current hospitalizations, which also broke the previous current hospitalizations record that was set the day before.
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The US reported 170,333 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, breaking the single-day count for the fourth day in a row, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
President Donald Trump has not acknowledged the unprecedented surge in cases on his Twitter, instead sending out a flurry of tweets with unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud — claims some of his own government officials have disputed.
In addition to the new cases, The COVID Tracking Project reported 1,301 new deaths and 68,516 current hospitalizations, which also broke the previous hospitalizations record that was set the day before. Daily new case counts have repeatedly broken records, rising each day this week from 130,989 on Tuesday, 144,499 on Wednesday, and 150,526 on Thursday.
On Friday, shortly after the record number of new cases was reported, Trump tweeted an unsubstantiated claim about the election, saying “700,000 ballots were not allowed to be viewed in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh which means, based on our great Constitution, we win the State of Pennsylvania!”
Insider, along with major news broadcasters and newspapers, has projected President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of Pennsylvania, based on voter tallies. It is unclear what exactly he was referring to, and Twitter attached a fact check label that says official sources called the election differently.
Since the election was called for Biden last week, Trump has not conceded but has instead requested recounts, pushed unproven claims of voter fraud, and mounted legal challenges in battleground states.
Trump's appointed chief election administrator told Business Insider there is "no evidence of widespread voter fraud." The Department of Homeland Security called the election "the most secure in American history."
While not addressing the case numbers surging throughout the week, the president appeared at a news conference on Friday to discuss the development of a vaccine. Trump acknowledged the rising case numbers and hospitalizations during his remarks, saying the rise was due to the increase in testing, a claim that has been disputed, as case numbers rise faster than testing.
Trump had also addressed the coronavirus vaccine earlier in the week on Twitter.
After Pfizer announced Monday its vaccine was found to be 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, Trump claimed, without evidence, that the drugmaker, and his own Food and Drug Administration, had purposefully waited until after the election to announce the news. Pfizer has pushed back on these claims.