Selangor Journal
A 3D-printed coronavirus model is seen in front of a world map and the words “CoronaVirus Disease (Covid-19)” on display in this illustration taken March 25, 2020. — Picture by REUTERS

US Covid-19 deaths top 250,000 — Johns Hopkins University

NEW YORK, Nov 19 — United States Covid-19 deaths surpassed 250,000 on Wednesday, according to the Centre for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University, reports Xinhua news agency.

With the national caseload topping 11.4 million, the death toll across the US rose to 250,029 as of 5.25 pm local time (2225 GMT), according to the CSSE data.

New York state reported 34,173 fatalities, at the top of the US state-level death toll list. Texas recorded the second most deaths, standing at 20,147. The states of California, Florida and New Jersey all confirmed more than 16,000 deaths, the tally showed.

States with more than 9,000 fatalities also include Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

The US remains the nation hit the worst by the pandemic, with the world’s highest caseload and death toll, accounting for more than 18 per cent of the global deaths.

The US reached the grim milestone of 200,000 coronavirus deaths on September 22 and the number climbed to a quarter of a million in nearly two months.

US daily fatalities caused by Covid-19 hit 1,707 on Tuesday, the highest rise in coronavirus deaths in a single day since the country reported 1,774 daily deaths on May 14, the CSSE chart showed.

Furthermore, an updated model forecast by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington shows that a total of 438,941 Americans may have died of Covid-19 by March 1, 2021, based on current projection scenario.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio decided to close public school buildings on Wednesday as the city has reached the threshold of 3 per cent Covid-19 testing positivity rate on a 7-day average.

Public school students in the largest US city will transition to remote learning starting from tomorrow until further notice. The schedule of resuming in-person learning is still unknown.

Since the start of the fall semester, the United States has seen an upward trend in new cases on campus.

Experts warned students returning from college and those who travel for family gatherings during Thanksgiving holiday may lead to a new wave of coronavirus infections.


— Bernama

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