The number of daily coronavirus cases in the United States hit the highest in 54 days Thursday. With a whopping 81303 new infections, the U.S. total increased to 31002572, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
This is far higher than the 7-day average of 66118. And this is the highest figure recorded in a day in the country since February 13.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said the number of new Covid-19 cases is at a “disturbingly high level” in the United States, and warned that the country is at risk of a new surge.
With 995 additional deaths reporting nationwide on Thursday, the national total reached 560116.
As usual, most number of new cases was recorded in New York – 8,731. California accounted for the highest number of COVID fatalities – 139 – in the country.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the number of Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine shots allocated to states by the federal government is expected to drop 84 percent next week. However, allocations of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines for next week will remain steady.
The Pentagon said it is rapidly administering COVID-19 vaccines in a tiered priority process to service members, DOD contractors and civilians and their families who are stationed overseas. Lt. Gen. Ronald J. Place, director, Defense Health Agency, said at a news conference that defense personnel deployed abroad face shortage in vaccine supply because of the loss of about 15 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Those doses were reportedly contaminated at a Baltimore factory about a week ago and are therefore unusable.
Meanwhile, new COVID cases continue to break record every day in India. On Friday, nearly 132,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the country, the highest single-day rise since the pandemic broke out. India is only the third country in the world to cross the 13 million mark in total cases, behind the United States and Brazil. Several Indian states have declared strict lockdown in the wake of the second wave.
Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the Senate to investigate the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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