For the first time since the COVID outbreak began, Alabama has recorded more than 6,000 new cases in a single day.

The Alabama Department of Public Health reported on Saturday that 6,210 additional cases had been diagnosed, bringing the cumulative total for the pandemic to 659,750. The daily count broke the old record of 5,498 cases set Jan. 5.

The 7-day moving average of new cases also reached a new all-time high, with 4,549.29 cases per day tallied over the past week. The previous peak of 4,280 cases was set Jan. 10. Saturday’s average jumped by a whopping 887.14 cases over Friday’s report, the largest day-over-day increase since the pandemic began.

The longer-term 14-day average is still below its highest mark, after reaching 3,752.93 cases per day Saturday.

The state’s cumulative death count for the pandemic now stands at 12,000, with 58 fatalities reported Saturday. The 7-day average is now up to 33.57 deaths per day, a level not seen since March 5.

Hospitalizations across Alabama were down slightly Saturday with 2,693 inpatients infected with COVID, down by nine from Friday’s report. It’s the second straight day the bed count has fallen. However, intensive care units are at or over capacity in almost every city.

The numbers are more troubling for pediatric COVID inpatients, as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Alabama led the nation with 260 children aged 17 and younger admitted to hospitals with the virus for the week ending Aug. 16. That’s an average of 37.14 per day.