Confirmed cases of coronavirus pass 25 million in the US

More than 418,000 people have died of the virus in the United States
Members of the National Guard assist people at Manhattan’s Javits Center which recently opened as a Covid vaccination site
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April Roach @aprilroach2824 January 2021

The US has passed the grim milestone of more than 25 million confirmed cases of coronavirus.

The new milestone means the US accounts for roughly one in four cases reported worldwide and one in five deaths.

According to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the total number of infections since the pandemic began is 25,077,155.

Earlier this week the US coronavirus death toll passed 400,000. It means the number of people who have died from Covid-19 is nearly equal to the number of Americans killed in the Second World War.

But the number of infections has shown signs of slowing recently, with an average of 176,000 reported daily in the past week, down from 244,000 in early January.

India has recorded the second most cases, with about 10.7 million.

The US government’s top infectious diseases expert said on Sunday that Joe Biden’s goal of administering 100 million vaccinations in the first 100 days actually means about 67 million Americans should be protected from Covid-19 during that time.

The World on Coronavirus lockdown

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Anthony Fauci said the president’s goal refers to 100 million jabs, not people as the Covid-19 vaccines require two doses.

Dr Fauci acknowledged that goal could be difficult to meet even though the US has recently been able to administer jabs to about a million people a day.

He said it will be harder to reach people once vaccines are given outside hospital and nursing home settings.

Dr Fauci also said he supports a national commission to understand some of the problems in co-ordinating a Covid-19 response on state and local levels because states should not just be told, “You’re on your own’.

Hundreds of the nation’s intensive care units are running out of space and supplies, and competing to hire temporary travelling nurses at soaring rates, particularly in the South and West.

An Associated Press analysis of federal hospital data shows that since November, the share of hospitals nearing breaking point has doubled.

More than 40 per cent of Americans now live in areas running out of ICU space, with only 15 per cent of beds available.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

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