People wait in line for coronavirus tests in Los Angeles this week. The United States one-day death toll from the virus topped 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday.

People wait in line for coronavirus tests in Los Angeles this week. The United States one-day death toll from the virus topped 3,000 for the first time on Wednesday. / AP

The coronavirus pandemic pushed the U.S. past another dire milestone Wednesday, the highest daily death toll to date, even while the mortality rate has decreased as health experts learn more about the disease.

The Covid Tracking Project, which tracks state-level coronavirus data, reported 3,054 COVID-19 related deaths — a significant jump from the previous single-day record of 2,769 on May 7.

The spread of the disease has shattered another record with 106,688 COVID-19 patients in U.S. hospitals. And overall, states reported 1.8 million tests and 210,000 cases. According to the group, the spike represents more than a 10% increase in cases over the last 7 days.

Additionally, California nearly topped its single-day case record at 30,851. It is the second highest case count since December 6, the organization reported.

The staggering spike in fatalities and infections has overwhelmed hospitals and intensive care units across the nation, an increase attributed by many experts to people relaxing their precautions at Thanksgiving.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags: death toll  COVID-19  coronavirus  Series: The Coronavirus Crisis