Coronavirus: US death toll at world record 250,000 after highest daily fatalities in months
- New York closes public schools as testing positivity hits 3 per cent
- The Midwest has become the country’s crisis epicentre, reporting almost a half-million cases in a week
The death toll from Covid-19 in the United States passed 250,000 on Wednesday, the day after the country recorded the highest number of victims in nearly four months, a chilling sign for a health care system already struggling to cope.
On Tuesday, the pandemic claimed 1,596 lives in the United States, more than on any single day since July 27.
For weeks, health officials and health care workers have warned that hospitals in all regions could soon become overwhelmed, with widespread community transmission of the virus evident in many places.
“I’m the most concerned I’ve been since this pandemic started,” Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of Johns Hopkins Centre for Health Security, told CNN on Wednesday.
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US coronavirus death toll hits record 250,000 after highest daily fatalities in months
New York City’s school district, the largest in the United States, will halt in-person learning starting on Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced, the latest major restriction as the nation’s Covid-19 infections soar.