Major Surge In U.S. COVID Deaths, Infections

A sudden rise in two key metrics that measure the pandemic’s severity was reported in the United States on Tuesday.

With 3,756 additional fatalities reporting in the last 24 hours, the total U.S. death toll from the deadly disease rose to 357,377, as per latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.

During the same period, 227,365 new cases were reported across the country, taking the total number of patients infected with the disease to 21,050,708.

“We are almost at our 7-day average peaks for cases and deaths,” COVID Tracking Project said on Twitter. The next few days are likely to be worse, as the pandemic continues to rage across most of the country and states catch up on posting holiday-delayed data, according to the U.S. collaborative volunteer-run effort to track the pandemic.

More than 20 percent increase has been reported in 7-day average of daily cases in most of the states.

The national average Covid test positivity rate slightly fell to 13.30 percent.

The number of people hospitalized with coronavirus infection rose to a new record of 131,195, as per the latest update published by COVID Tracking Project on Wednesday. Out of this, 23,509 patients are admitted in Intensive Care Units.

Hospitalizations in the South and West are now worse than the Midwest’s peak. And the East is close and rising, too, it added.

A large chunk of the South experienced record hospitalizations Tuesday.

California’s Public Health Officer Tomás Aragón said the state is experiencing an unprecedented and exponential surge in COVID-19 cases, and that staffing and other resources are becoming strained.

On Tuesday, 3,087,100 vaccines were distributed to the American people. This brings the total number of doses distributed in the country over the last 21 days to 19,141,175, Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said in a statement.

About one in 50 people in England are now infected with coronavirus, according to the country’s chief medical officer. England is under national lockdown since Tuesday.

With 17,278 new cases identified on Tuesday, the Czech Republic reported a new record for the number of daily cases.

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