Coronavirus Cases Hit New Record of 77,000 — One Month After Pence Declared ‘No Second Wave’

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Exactly one month after Vice President Mike Pence declared there would be “no second wave” of the coronavirus pandemic, the United States hit another record high of 77,000 cases, and reported 940 new confirmed deaths.

As Pence joins President Donald Trump in trying to force schools to reopen beginning next month, the virus itself has been weighing in with record case numbers in hotspots like Florida, Arizona, and Texas. And on Thursday, the U.S. hit another new national record for cases. From CNN:

There were 77,255 new cases reported Thursday, topping a previous high set two days ago, according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 943 people were reported dead that day.

More than 138,000 people have died from coronavirus nationwide, and experts warn that number will likely go up as hospitalizations rise in several states. In Texas and Arizona, morgues are filling up in the hardest-hit areas and officials are bringing in coolers and refrigerated trailers to store bodies.

It was on June 16 that Pence declared there would be  no second wave in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, and stood by that claim in an interview with Sinclair’s Eric Bolling two days later.

The Trump administration has falsely argued that the increased case count is due mostly to increased testing, but in the month since Pence’s declaration, the average number of reported deaths has also begun to rise significantly from a low point of about 500 a day.