US Covid-19 death toll passes 300,000
More than 300,000 people in the United States have died from Covid-19, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally about Monday (Tuesday in Malaysia), as the country started its desperately-awaited vaccine method.
The grim milestone was reached on the day that New York nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person in America to get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, live on television. The country has recorded a lot more than 16.3 million Covid-19 cases.
Over the last two weeks, the Johns Hopkins database has often registered a lot more than 2,500 deaths from Covid-19 each day, hitting over 3,000 on equally Wednesday and Saturday.
The shocking number of fatalities - by much the highest on earth - underlined the US's struggle to control the pandemic as authorities have given sometimes combined messages on mask-wearing, physical distancing and shutdowns.
President Donald Trump and senior officials have also repeatedly downplayed the risks even while cases have spread across the country.
Authorities had warned a spike in deaths was approaching after millions traveled around the country for the Thanksgiving holiday last month.
A short 2.9 million vaccine doses are set to be delivered to 636 sites about the US by Wednesday, with officials declaring 20 million Us citizens could receive the two-shot regimen by year end, and 100 million by March. - AFP
