US Endures Pandemic’s Deadliest Day, Overshadowed by Washington Mob Assault on Capitol
As the events that unfolded in Washington on Wednesday captured the nation’s attention, the raging coronavirus pandemic claimed its highest U.S. death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, according…
As the events that unfolded in Washington on Wednesday captured the nation’s attention, the raging coronavirus pandemic claimed its highest U.S. death toll yet, killing more than 4,000 people in a single day, according to a Reuters tally.
COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 132,051, stetting a grim record for the fourth day in a row as of late Wednesday night, a Reuters analysis of public health data showed.
As thousands of mostly unmasked supporters of President Donald Trump laid siege to the U.S. Capitol building, daily reported cases of the novel coronavirus soared again past the 250,000 mark, taking the total case tally to 21.2 million.
The deadly virus surging in most of the nation is hammering parts of California most severely, including the Los Angeles metropolitan area, pushing hospitals to their limits.
Earlier this week, public health officials ordered the suspension of elective surgeries for at least three weeks in more than a dozen southern and central counties.
Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania logged their highest single-day death toll on Wednesday.
The latest surge is compounded by the rapid spread of a new, highly transmittable COVID-19 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom in December and has now spread to several U.S. states, including New York .
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Thursday announced the first confirmed case of the variant in Dauphin County, where an individual tested positive “after known international exposure.”
With the strain on stretched healthcare systems increasing across the country, federal and local officials announced steps to speed the sluggish pace of inoculating eligible residents with two authorized coronavirus vaccines.
On Wednesday, top health officials announced plans to start distributing COVID-19 vaccines through pharmacies around the country earlier than expected this week as states have struggled to use up the supplies they have been allocated.
The lack of a federal blueprint for the crucial final step of getting the vaccines into tens of millions of arms has left state and local officials in charge of the monumental effort, creating a patchwork of different plans across United States.