WASHINGTON – The US yesterday far exceeded its previous daily record of new Covid-19 cases, adding 201,961 infections in 24 hours, according to a tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The high number, partly due to data delayed over the weekend, took total cases in the country to 10,238,243, with a total of 239,588 deaths, as of 8.30pm (0130 GMT).
In the 24-hour period, 1,535 deaths from the virus were registered, a record in recent months as the US struggles to contain the spread of the pandemic.
For a week now, the number of new infections has trended at more than 100,000 each day.
Coronavirus hospitalisations have also hit an all-time high, with more than 60,000 people admitted across the country, according to the Covid-19 Tracking Project.
Donald Trump, who has refused to concede defeat in the November 3 presidential election, has repeatedly mocked people for wearing masks and claimed the virus will go away by itself.
But, his victorious opponent Joe Biden has vowed to take a more proactive approach, telling the nation this week that face coverings are the single best way to get the disease under control.
US pharma giant Pfizer and German partner BioNTech on Monday announced that their vaccine candidate is 90% effective in preventing the coronavirus, marking a major breakthrough in the search for a vaccine. – AFP, November 11, 2020
