US records over 3,000 COVID deaths for the first time, marks deadliest week of pandemic

The United States set a new record for COVID deaths in a single day on Wednesday, with more than 3,000 people succumbing to the disease. The U.S. recorded 3,054 deaths from the coronavirus on Wednesday beating the previous record from the spring, which was 2,769 deaths on May 7.

Deaths lag behind cases and hospitalizations, which have been spiking for weeks, and now the death toll is setting records too. The spread of the virus shows no signs of slowing down in the short term as winter weather sets in and more activity moves indoors, where the virus spreads more easily.

The COVID tracking project informed in a tweet, "[California] reported a new single-day case record at 30,851. This is the second-highest case count since 12/6.”

There are more than 106,000 active coronavirus cases which is also a record. The country is averaging a total of more than 200,000 new cases every day.

ALSO READ:Manipur footballers Bala Devi & Oinam Bembem promoted to Inspector Rank in Police Department

There is hope for the vaccines, but they likely will not be widely available until sometime in the month of April-May, which indicates that there are still several months of the pandemic to go.

Health experts are urging the public to step up precautions for a few more months until people are vaccinated. Those precautions include wearing a mask, avoiding indoor gatherings and places, staying six feet away from others, and washing your hands.

Meanwhile, The FDA authorized LabCorp’s Pixel COVID-19 Test Home Collection Kit Wednesday for use by patients 18 years and older without a prescription.

The test allows a customer to self-collect a nasal swab sample at home and then send that sample for testing to LabCorp. The company will phone the customer with the results.

The at-home test is currently available for purchase online and the company is taking requests from retailers to sell it in stores.

LabCorp told ABC News it will screen requests to limit it to people who meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria for testing in order to limit backlogs in their labs.

To support our brand of fearless and investigative journalism, support us HERE.

Download:                                                                  

The Inside Northeast app HERE for News, Views, and Reviews from Northeast India.

Do keep following us for news on-the-go. We deliver the Northeast