Coronavirus testing
Coronavirus testingReuters

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Saturday reported 44,602 new confirmed cases of coronavirus since Friday, bringing the total in the US to 2,459,472 cases.

The number of deaths, said the CDC, had risen by 651 to 124,976.

The states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Nevada reported new single-day records of new coronavirus infections on Saturday, according to Voice of America.

Coronavirus cases are also surging in the south-central US state of Texas, where more than 5,700 new cases were reported Saturday, and 42 more deaths brought the state’s total to nearly 2,400.

The US continues to lead the world in the number of confirmed infections, about one-quarter of all reported infections worldwide, according to the CDC.

Brazil follows the US with almost 1.3 million cases, while Russia comes in third with nearly 627,000. Brazil’s death toll rose to more than 57,000.

This past week, Trump administration health experts, including Anthony Fauci, warned Congress that the United States faces "historic" challenges with the coronavirus and that Americans should brace for a lengthy battle against the pandemic.

Previously, Fauci said the United States does not require more widespread lockdowns to get its COVID-19 outbreak under control.

"I don't think we're going to be talking about going back to lockdown," said Fauci when asked whether places like California and Texas that are seeing a surge in their caseload should reissue stay-at-home orders.

"I think we're going to be talking about trying to better control those areas of the country that seem to be having a surge of cases," he added.