The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has hit yet another record high with 3,775 fatalities reported in a day, which is the equival...
The COVID-19 death toll in the United States has hit yet another record high with 3,775 fatalities reported in a day, which is the equivalent of 2.6 Americans dying every minute.
Daily deaths have now surged above the 3,700 mark three times within the past week. More than 357,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out.
Cases and hospitalizations also continue to surge with 131,195 patients being treated for the virus yesterday, which is an increase of more than 5,600 in just two days, and 229,055 new infections reported.
The number of people hospitalized nationwide has exceeded 100,000 for 35 days.
As cases surges, Arizona, California and Rhode Island are currently seeing higher rates of infections per capita than any country in the world.
Arizona leads the nation with 827 new infections per 100,000 people in the week ended Tuesday, followed by California with 671 per 100,000 and Rhode Island with 666 per 100,000, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from the COVID Tracking Project.
By comparison, the country with the world's highest per capita infection rate, the Czech Republic, reported 653 new cases per 100,000 people in the same period.
Cases are currently rising in 47 US states and territories and the country faces a new threat from a mutant strain of coronavirus that has now been detected in at least 37 individuals across seven states, according to the CDC. The strain, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, is said to be up to 70 percent more transmissible than the original.
The majority of cases of the mutant strain have been reported in California, where the tally jumped from six on Sunday to 32 on Tuesday - less than a week after the first case was diagnosed in the state.
Arizona, California and Rhode Island are seeing higher rates of COVID-19 infections per capita than any country in the world as the US grapples with skyrocketing cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Pictured: Patients wait on gurneys outside the overcrowded LAC USC Hospital emergency room in Los Angeles on Tuesday
The US has recorded more than 200,000 new coronavirus cases on 20 days since Thanksgiving, for a total of nearly 21 million
Hospitalizations broke a record for a third day in a row on Tuesday with 131,195. That number represents an increase of more than 5,600 from two days ago
A refrigerated truck to be used as an overflow morgue is seen at Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California, on Tuesday
Cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to surge amid the train wreck vaccine rollout across the country.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Wednesday addressed the slow rollout and called on governors across the country to relax their guidelines in order to get more Americans vaccinated.
'We always knew this was going to be difficult... It is by no means as good as we would want it to be. I want the American people to keep this in perspective: (It's) the most difficult vaccine rollout in history, it's ramping up and you'll see things rapidly increase over the next couple of weeks,' he told ABC's Good Morning America.
'We're quickly ramping up. We're approaching 500,000 per day.'
One in 930 Americans have now died from COVID-19 and the seven-day rolling average for fatalities is now at just over 2,600 per day. Experts have predicted that January will far outpace December for fatalities, as the US continues to set records for hospitalizations and the effects of holiday activities come to fruition.
The health crisis continues to be especially dire in California, which reported 31,440 cases, 368 deaths and 22,485 hospitalizations on Monday.
Nearly two-thirds of the Golden State's latest deaths came from Los Angeles County, where 224 were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to date to 11,071.
Los Angeles County, the nation's largest with a quarter of California's 40 million residents, has seen a more than 1,000 percent spike in hospitalizations since early November, with 7,898 currently admitted.
Ambulance crews in the county have been advised to conserve oxygen and not to transport patients who have virtually no chance of survival to the hospital because resources need to be reserved for those with better prognoses.
Health officials are now calling the situation in Los Angeles a 'human disaster' as they warn the risk of getting COVID has never been higher.
'Everyone should keep in mind that community transmission rates are so high that you run the risk of an exposure whenever you leave your home,' Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. 'Assume that this deadly invisible virus is everywhere, looking for a willing host.
'The anticipated surge from the winter holiday gatherings is done. And tens upon tens of thousands of people are paying the price with new COVID-19 infections. The increases in cases are likely to continue for weeks to come, as a result of holiday and and returning travelers.'
While the situation in California continues to spiral, Arizona is currently the worst affected state for cases per capita.
Cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Arizona have been surging since last month. In the last week alone, all three metrics have hit single-day highs amid the pandemic.
Arizona's hospitals have been stressed by the surge, with some stopping elective surgeries and turning away ambulance runs and hospital transfers while still accepting walk-in patients needing emergency care.
Meanwhile, deaths per capita are currently the worst in Kansas where an average of 1.7 deaths per 100,000 residents have been recorded, CDC data shows. Rhode Island follows with 1.5 deaths, Pennsylvania with 1.4 deaths and Indiana with 1.3 deaths.
The health crisis continues to be especially dire in California, which reported 31,440 cases, 368 deaths and 22,485 hospitalizations on Monday. Pictured: Patients are wheeled into the ER at LAC USC Hospital in Los Angeles
Ambulance crews in Los Angeles County have been advised to conserve oxygen and not to transport patients who have virtually no chance of survival to the hospital because resources need to be reserved for those with better odds
Refrigerated storage units are seen outside a funeral home in Los Angeles on Tuesday
A line of cars is seen outside Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California, on Tuesday
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