People walks past the Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 7, 2021 in New York City. (Photo: AFP)

The United States counted a record number of daily coronavirus deaths Thursday at nearly 4,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The 3,998 deaths were recorded over the 24 hour period ending at 8:30 pm local time (0130 GMT Friday), during which the US notched 265,246 new infections, according to the university.