The increase comes less than two weeks after Halloween.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide.
Over 53.2 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to testing shortages, many unreported cases and suspicions that some national governments are hiding or downplaying the scope of their outbreaks. The criteria for diagnosis -- through clinical means or a lab test -- has also varied from country to country.
Since the first cases were detected in China in December, the virus has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica. The United States is the worst-affected nation, with more than 10.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 244,283 deaths.
Nearly 200 vaccine candidates for COVID-19 are being tracked by the World Health Organization, at least 10 of which are in crucial phase three studies. Of those 10 potential vaccines in late-stage trials, there are currently five that will be available in the United States if approved.
California has now passed a grim milestone of over one million confirmed cases of coronavirus.
According to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the state has at least 1,006,099 diagnosed cases.
California becomes only the second state, behind Texas, to reach this threshold.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is now more than 10.55 million, with at least 242,430 deaths.
ABC News' Ahmad Hemingway
St. Louis will ban all private gatherings with more than 10 people starting Saturday, the city's mayor announced.
"Over the last few weeks, especially after Halloween, it's no secret we continue to see a resurgence of new #COVID19 cases and hospitalizations," Mayor Lyda Krewson said in a Twitter post Thursday night announcing the limit. "In the City, contact tracing tells us transmission is primarily happening among friends, families, and neighbors via informal gatherings around homes and neighborhoods."
About half of new cases are people in their 20s and 30s, she added.
The new order applies to any private social event or gathering, including house parties, dinner parties and celebrations. It also recommends that any private gathering include at most two households.
The order, which will be in effect indefinitely, does not detail any penalties for violating the limit.
The new restriction comes as the city's positivity rate is over 10% and inpatient and intensive care unit beds in St. Louis Metropolitan Task Force Hospitals are at 90% or greater occupancy, the order noted.
The number of new COVID-19 cases hit another high on Thursday, as the country experiences record growth in cases, according to The COVID Tracking Project.
There were 150,526 new cases reported on Thursday, according to the data tracker. The seven-day average stands at nearly 130,000 cases, which is a dramatic 71% increase from more than two weeks ago, it found.
"Cases nationwide are trending up more quickly than at any point in the pandemic," The COVID Tracking Project said.
This week, 1 in every 378 U.S. residents tested positive for COVID-19, based on the tracker's data.
Current hospitalizations also hit a new high on Thursday, at 67,096. The death toll was 1,104.
An internal memo from Health and Human Services obtained by ABC News on Thursday night shows that 52 states and territories are in an upward trajectory of new COVID-19 cases.
One jurisdiction is at a plateau, and two are in a downward trajectory, the memo said.
Nationally, new cases confirmed between Nov. 5 and 11 increased 35.1% over the previous seven-day period, and deaths increased 30.5% in that time frame. The national test-positivity rate increased to 9.8% from 7.7% in week-to-week comparisons.
Across the country, 28% of hospitals have more than 80% of their intensive care unit beds filled. That number was 17% to 18% of hospitals during the summertime peak.
ABC News' Josh Margolin contributed to this report.
