The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus infections on Thursday, reporting over 91,000 new cases, as hospitalisations also hit new highs in many states, according to a Reuters tally.

The spike in cases comes less a week before the presidential election.

Among the hardest hit by the latest Covid-19 surge are hotly contested states such as Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that will play an important role in deciding whether Republican President Donald Trump gets a second term or Democratic challenger Joe Biden becomes president.

The previous one-day record for US cases was 84,169 on October 23. Globally, India holds the record for new cases in a single day at 97,894 infections on September 17.