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HEALTH-VIRUS-US-TOLL
US Covid-19 death toll hits new daily record of nearly 4,500: Johns
Hopkins
WASHINGTON, Jan 13, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – The US death toll from Covid-19 hit a
new daily record of nearly 4,500, Johns Hopkins University said Tuesday
evening.
As the health crisis rages out of control in the US, this was the first
time the toll in the country hardest hit by the pandemic surpassed 4,000 in
24 hours.
The US recorded more than 235,000 new cases of coronavirus infection and
4,470 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tally as of 8:30 pm (0130 GMT).
Around 131,000 people are now hospitalized in the US with Covid-19, said
the Covid Tracking Project.
The weekly average of fatalities is at its highest level since the
pandemic started, it said.
Faced with these grim numbers and the presence of the new, more contagious
Covid variant, authorities announced Tuesday that people wishing to fly to
the US must show proof of a negative Covid test prior to departure.
The country, where health restrictions vary drastically between states and
compliance can be spotty, is ultimately counting on a massive vaccination
campaign begun in mid-December to bring the health crisis to an end.
But the effort is running behind, with just 9.3 million people having
received the first of two injections of the two vaccines authorized in
America. That is less than 10 percent of the population.
The nation with the world’s largest economy has now recorded 22.8 million
coronavirus cases and more than 380,000 deaths since the start of the
pandemic.
BSS/AFP/MSY/0853 hrs