Colorado reported 3,369 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, the highest daily count since the pandemic began, Governor Jared Polis said during a news conference.
The state also reported the highest number of hospitalizations, with 894 patients currently in the hospital for the virus.
“We have now surpassed the hospitalization level we had in March and April and we need to do better, getting back to what we know works. You know it, I know it, we just need to do it,” Polis said.
The governor urged Coloradans to wear masks and avoid gatherings with people outside of their households.
According to the governor, Colorado has reported 121,000 coronavirus cases to date and 2,158 total deaths.
Utah also reported its largest single daily increase in new Covid-19 cases with 2,807 new cases on Thursday according to Utah State Epidemiologist Dr. Angela Dunn.
Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R) said the report was “grim news and it’s discouraging” and that Utahns would see higher numbers in the upcoming days and weeks, warning that “we’ll continue to see this dramatic increase, unless we modify and change our behavior.”
When asked if he would consider closing businesses to curb the spread, Herbert said, “We don’t want to close down the economy… we think that’s maybe the wrong direction to go. Maybe some modifications of behavior that need to take place to keep those businesses open.”
Utah has a total of 124,292 confirmed coronavirus cases and 632 deaths according to Utah’s Department of Health.
As more states see record-high numbers of daily Covid-19 cases, the United States reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections in a single day — 102,831 on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The state-level numbers were released by the Colorado governor’s office and Utah Department of Health respectively and may not line up exactly in real time with CNN’s database drawn from Johns Hopkins University and the Covid Tracking Project