Coronavirus cases in the U.S. surpassed 20 million on Friday, a gloomy milestone that arises when new screening data shows that hospitals are facing an increasing number of patients seeking treatment for the disease.
The number of cases is almost a quarter of the more than 83 million COVID-19 cases reported worldwide during the new year, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Coronavirus deaths have also increased in the country, now totaling more than 346,000.
CORONAVIRUS MEANS THAT LIFE WILL NOT RETURN TO NORMAL UNTIL FALL 2021, IN spite of VACCINES: FAUCI
At least 3,460 coronavirus deaths were reported in the United States on Thursday, according to data compiled by The New York Times. It marked a drop in deaths in a single day, after a historical record of more than 3,700 the previous day. Globally, more than 1.8 million deaths have been confirmed.
Hospitalizations in the U.S. have also increased steadily over the past five days, exceeding the current 125,000 patients for the second consecutive day on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
The increases occur as authorities rush to vaccinate millions of Americans, while the virus continues to affect the country and the world.
President-elect Joe Biden criticized the Trump administration on Tuesday for the pace of distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines and promised to increase the current speed of vaccinations. However, Biden acknowledged that “it will still take months for most Americans to be vaccinated”.
Meanwhile, a new strain of the virus that experts believe is most contagious and was first identified in the UK has also been reported in at least three states in the United States, Canada and Japan.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION
Experts said that the current COVID-19 vaccines will still be effective against this new variant.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.