The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 recorded in the U.S. since the pandemic began rose to 19 million on Sunday, according to figures tabled by Johns Hopkins University.
The outbreak in the United States is growing rapidly, with one million cases added in the last five days and one million cases added in the previous six days. After registering more than 100,000 cases in one day for the first time in early November, the nation registered 226,274 cases on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins. The COVID Tracking Project says the U.S. did an average of 185,000 cases a day between Dec. 19 and 26.
The nation has recorded 332,502 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The latest milestone comes when health experts warn that there is likely to be an increase in cases in the coming weeks as a result of travel and people’s meetings for holidays. Anthony Fauci
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“As we move from late fall to early winter, the numbers are really worrying,” Fauci, a member of the White House’s COVID-19 response team, said Sunday in the State of the Union “of CNN.
“With more than 120,000 hospitalizations, we’re really at a critical stage,” he continued before adding Christmas gatherings: “While we advise you not to, it will happen.”
India, the country with the second-highest number of total cases, had recorded just over 10 million coronavirus infections as of Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker. Brazil has more than 7.4 million cases.
A more infectious strain of the virus also spreads mainly to the UK, even as the United States and the United Kingdom begin distributing two vaccines against COVID-19. Officials have decided to impose strong restrictions on travel from the UK, but have warned that some people carrying the new strain may have arrived in the US.