The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in the United States since the pandemic began exceeded 19 million on Sunday, according to figures tabulated by Johns Hopkins University.
The outbreak in the United States is growing rapidly, with one million cases added in the past five days and one million cases added in the previous six days. After registering more than 100,000 cases in a day for the first time in early November, the country registered 226,274 cases on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins. The COVID Tracking Project says the U.S. averaged 185,000 cases a day between December 19 and 26.
The country has recorded 332,502 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
The latest gloomy milestone comes when health experts warn that an increase in the number of cases is likely to occur in the coming weeks, as a result of people traveling and meeting for the holidays. Anthony Fauci
Anthony FauciSunday shows the preview: relief from COVID-19 awaiting Trump’s signature; government continues launching vaccine first aid Fauci Serenade with ‘happy birthday’. AIDS activists recruit Barbra Streisand for Fauci’s surprise birthday party at Zoom MORE, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, predicted that hospital systems in many cities could reach a breaking point.
“As we move from late autumn to early winter, the numbers are really worrying,” said Fauci, a member of the White House’s COVID-19 response team, on Sunday at CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“With more than 120,000 hospitalizations, we are really at a critical stage,” he continued before adding the Christmas parties, “Although we advise you not, it will happen.”
India, the second country with the second highest number of total cases, registered just over 10 million coronavirus infections as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brazil has more than 7.4 million cases.
A more infectious strain of the virus is also spreading mainly in the United Kingdom, while the United States and the United Kingdom are starting to distribute two vaccines for COVID-19. Officials acted to impose severe restrictions on UK travel, but warned that some people with the new strain may have already arrived in the U.S.