WASHINGTON, July 17 (AFP) - The United States marked a record number of coronavirus cases on Friday (Jul 17) for the third consecutive day, notching 77,638 new infections in 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The country also recorded 927 deaths in one day, according to the count by the Baltimore-based university at 8.30pm (Saturday 8.30am, Singapore time).

The country, the hardest-hit by the coronavirus in the world in absolute terms, has suffered 139,128 total fatalities out of 3.64 million confirmed cases.

Experts believe the United States never emerged from its first wave of infections, and cases have been surging again in recent weeks, particularly across the south and west in states that pushed to lift lockdown restrictions early.

In California, Los Angeles County reported 4,592 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, a single-day record.

"Without aggressive action on the part of every person, we will not get back to slowing the spread," Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement.

In Texas and Arizona, which are dealing with stark surges in virus cases and deaths, authorities are bringing in refrigerated trucks to cope with the body count.