WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - As COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States hit new high, new cases on a daily basis rose above the dreaded 200000 mark and daily deaths increased to 2000-plus level after a short break.
As per the latest update published by COVID Tracking Project, a total of 104,600 patients are currently admitted in U.S. hospitals with coronavirus infection. 20,483 of them are in ICU, and 7,245 others are in ventilator, according to the U.S. collaborative volunteer-run effort to track the pandemic.
This is the seventh consecutive day that the country is surpassing 100,000 hospitalizations.
The South has now surpassed its hospitalization peak from the summer. And many states have topped or are moving towards their summer peaks.
With 2,17,603 new cases reporting in the last 24 hours, the total number of patients infected with the disease increased to 15171935, as per latest data from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
In the same period, 2576 additional deaths were reported nationwide, taking the national total to 286319.
Nearly every state in U.S. has reported its peak number of cases in recent days.
'Two of the earliest states in this wave, North Dakota and New Mexico, are showing decreased case numbers', COVID Tracking Project said on Twitter. Everywhere else is steady or rising, it added.
The United States is in the worst stage of the pandemic that has infected almost 15 million Americans - one out of every 22 people - often with devastating consequences to their health.
In other COVID-19-related developments in the country, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed the safety and efficacy of Pfizer's vaccine candidate. However, the U.S. drug manufacturer has said that it cannot provide substantial additional doses of its vaccine until June or July next year.
Meanwhile, Florida police raided the house of an ex-Florida Covid data scientist who accused the state government of manipulating statistics about the disease.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
