The latest on the coronavirus pandemic

The United States recorded 102,831 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. 

It marked the first time the country's daily new cases reached six figures -- and is the highest single-day jump in infections since the pandemic began.

The US also recorded 1,097 more coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday.

Weekly high: It comes after the country reported more than 600,000 new cases in a week for the first time, as experts warn that the surge in infections could continue to worsen as winter arrives.

The US has now reported a total of 9.48 million confirmed cases and more than 233,000 related deaths.

CNN is tracking US cases live:

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Tracking Covid-19 cases in the US

Germany has reported 19,990 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, the country’s disease control and prevention agency said on Thursday -- its highest single-day tally since the pandemic began.

The related death toll also rose by 118, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Germany has now reported 597,583 total cases and 10,930 related deaths, according to RKI.

In an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19, more than 2,200 prisoners in New Jersey were released on Wednesday under a new law.

The law, passed by the state legislature in September, allows for sentencing credits to be rewarded to inmates within a year of completing their sentence during a public health crisis like the coronavirus pandemic.

Another 1,167 people will be released on a rolling basis before March 4, 2021, New Jersey Department of Corrections spokesperson Matt Schuman told CNN.

How it works: Under the bill, inmates -- including eligible juveniles -- are awarded public health emergency credits that can cut up to eight months off their sentence during any declared emergency period.

Inmates serving sentences for murder, aggravated sexual assault or who have been deemed a repetitive, compulsive sex offender are not eligible for early release, according to the law.

This is the first bill of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Read the full story:

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New Jersey releases more than 2,200 eligible inmates under nation's public health crisis sentencing law

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved a new test that can detect both Covid-19 and seasonal flu from one sample, the country's health authority announced in a briefing yesterday. 

Through this method, patients can get results on COVID-19 and seasonal flu from a single test within three to six hours, said South Korean health official Yoon Tae-ho.

South Korea's cases: On Thursday, South Korea reported 125 cases of coronavirus -- the highest daily increase since Oct 23, according to the Korea Disease Control Prevention Agency (KDCA).

Of these 125 cases, 17 were imported.

The new figures raised the country's total to 27,050 confirmed infections and 475 deaths, according to KDCA.

China's far western Xinjiang region reported 10 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, according to the Xinjiang Municipal Health Commission.

The new cases include eight symptomatic cases and two asymptomatic cases, and were all reported in Shufu county in Kashgar city, the office said in a statement.

China keeps a separate count of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases and does not include asymptomatic carriers of the virus in the official tally of confirmed cases.

The latest figures follow a recent cluster in the region; on Tuesday, Shufu county alone reported 118 new cases, according to the Xinjiang Information Office. 

The outbreak began in late October, when an asymptomatic case was identified in Kashgar, prompting the city to launch a citywide mass testing program for millions of residents.

As of Wednesday midnight, Xinjiang has reported 339 asymptomatic cases and 72 symptomatic cases since October.

Australia has secured another 50 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines, bringing the country’s total purchase to more than 134 million doses, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in a press release on Thursday. 

Forty million of the new doses will be supplied by Novavax, while Pfizer and BioNTech will supply 10 million doses, he said. 

Prime Minister Morrison said investing in different vaccines will be crucial to ensure the country gains early access to a vaccine.

“We aren’t putting all our eggs in one basket and we will continue to pursue further vaccines should our medical experts recommend them,” he added. 

Supply deals between countries and vaccine makers have so far favored developed countries and territories including Australia, the UK, US, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Switzerland and Israel, as well as the European Union.

Developing countries including India, Bangladesh, China, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico have also secured vaccine deals, but the Serum Institute of India (SII) recently predicted it will take four to five years for the vaccine to reach everyone around the globe.