US COVID-19 cases surpass 4.15 million: Johns Hopkins University

US: The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 4.15 million to reach 4,154,361 as of 17:33 local time, Saturday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the national death toll from the disease rose to 146,143, according to the CSSE. There were 63,299 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,080 new deaths within the past 24 hours. The United States is the hardest hit by the novel coronavirus, with the most confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in the world. Investors increasingly worried that a continued spike in U.S. coronavirus infections would threaten the country's economic recovery.

An increasing number of U.S. states have reported record daily COVID-19 infections and businesses are being restricted again and unemployment is creeping up. 

The latest data showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week for the first time in nearly four months. The U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to gauge layoffs, was 1.416 million in the week ending July 18, an increase of 109,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Flash U.S. Services Business Activity Index registered 49.6 in July as against 47.9 in the preceding month, London-based global information provider IHS Markit reported on Friday. The reading was below the analyst expectations of 50.4, according to Econoday.

Meanwhile, the IHS Markit flash U.S. manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) rose to 51.3 in July from 49.8 in the preceding month, weaker than the estimates of 51.4. "Growth was impeded, however, by an increased rate of decline of new orders, linked in part to renewed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) containment measures," said IHS Markit.