New York has become the fourth state to register more than 1 million cases of Covid-19 since the coronavirus pandemic began.
On Saturday, New York had 1,014,044 confirmed cases, according to NBC News counts. California remains at the top of the list with 2.3 million confirmed cases, the highest number of all states in the country. Los Angeles County alone reported about 806,210 cases as of Saturday, according to public health officials.
Florida and Texas have 1.3 million cases and 1.7 million cases, respectively.
Also on Saturday, the US reported more than 350,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
Public health officials in New York say the official number of cases represents a significant under count, as many people in the New York City area were infected with the coronavirus last spring, when tests were virtually unavailable, reported NBC New York.
“In early 2021, I encourage all New Yorkers to look to their best angels and continue the practices we know to prevent the spread of this virus – wash your hands, distance yourself socially and wear a mask,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city plans to vaccinate 1 million residents in January alone.
The United States ended 2020 with the most lethal and infectious month since the pandemic began.
More than 77,000 people died in December, while 6.4 million people contracted the virus amid the emergence of a new variant and delays in efforts to vaccinate people. The second most lethal month was April 2020, with more than 58,000 deaths.
At least four cases of the Covid-19 variant first detected in the UK have been reported recently in Colorado, California and Florida, but public health experts believe it is likely to be circulating in other parts of the country.