COVID: U.S. records 4,000 COVID-related deaths in a day for the first time

The United States, in a single day, recorded an all-time high of 4,000 coronavirus related deaths for the first time, according to the records from Johns Hopkins University.

According to the tally from Johns Hopkins University, a total of 4,085 deaths were recorded, along with nearly 275,000 new cases of the virus — a strong evidence that the crisis is growing worse after family gatherings and travel over the holidays, and the onset of winter, which is forcing people indoors.

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What you should know

• As at date, there are over 365,000 deaths in the U.S. and nearly 22 million confirmed infections, with more than 132,000 people nationwide hospitalized with COVID-19.
• The census of the Americans that have gotten their first shots of the COVID-19 vaccine rose to almost 6.7 million, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention — a robust one-day gain of about 800,000 after a slow start to the campaign.
• The ultimate goal of Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is to vaccinate hundreds of millions in the U.S., though health care workers and nursing home residents are most prioritized.
• New York will be rolling out a wider inoculation programme that will allow a much wider swath of the public to get inoculated, including anyone 75 years of age or older, teachers, and first responders.
• New Mexico is responding as well by expanding the eligibility to the elderly as well as people with certain underlying medical conditions.
• In Arizona, there is a capacity to vaccinate over thousands of people each day as Oregon plans to dispense thousands of shots at the state fairgrounds in Salem.
• In Utah, there is a plan to increase the number of shots administered to 50,000 persons per week.

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