More Americans are being infected with the coronavirus than at any time during the pandemic, but people are too tired to care

The US recorded 83,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday and again on Saturday — the highest daily totals since the beginning of the pandemic.

The US has entered the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Kiyoshi Hijiki/Getty Images

By Inyoung Choi

Over the weekend, the US recorded more new coronavirus cases than on any other day since the pandemic began.

On Friday, the country recorded 83,757 new infections, according to Johns Hopkins University. On Saturday, another 83,718 Americans were added to the total. More than 8.6 million people have now contracted the virus in the US, the most of any country.

Those daily totals are like adding the entire population of Sioux City, Iowa, per day to the count. One expert told CNN that new daily cases in the US could “easily” reach the six digits soon.

But the landscape of the pandemic looks nothing like it did in March. Then, states and cities rushed to enact public health orders telling people to stay home and allowing in-person work only if it was essential.

Today most states aren’t under lockdown orders. Many are letting people go to places like restaurants, bars, places of worship, offices, and salons — even though we know the virus spreads easiest…