US Coronavirus Cases Above 11.5 Million, Deaths Surpass 250k

By Staff, Agencies

The United States surpassed yet another grime milestone in the coronavirus fatalities, with more than 250,000 deaths, at the beginning of a cold winter, which is expected to bring new COVID-19 challenges for the nation.

The number of people, who lost their lives to the virus, reached 250,537 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The number of people hospitalized with the infection also rose to at least 78,630 by Wednesday afternoon, the highest ever for a single day during the pandemic.

The United States has reported a total of about 11.527,483 cases since the start of the pandemic and remains the only country to have reported more than 10 million cases.

The country accounts for one in every 26 infections reported worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

Health experts warn this could even get worse during the cold season.

“Unfortunately, we are entering what I think will be the worst stretch that we have experienced so far," said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

"We're seeing hot spots all across the United States and new highs for the number of cases and hospitalizations,” Rivers added.

The resurgence prompted governors and local officials to impose restrictive measures in recent days as in Cleveland, Ohio, they asked residents to stay home and wear face mask.

In New York City, entire public-school system will shut on Thursday.

The city, which was a global epicenter of the pandemic in March and April, has now registered a 3 percent test positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.