Washington, Dec 21 (UiTV/IANS) – The total number of Covid-19 cases registered in the US since the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 has surpassed the 100 million mark, accounting for the highest number in the world, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.
As of Wednesday, the country’s overall caseload stood at 100,003,814, while the death toll increased to 1,088,236, also the highest in the world.
California topped the state-level caseload list, with more than 11.6 million cases.
Texas came in the second place with 8.1 million cases, followed by Florida with over 7.3 million cases and New York with more than 6.5 million cases.
With the highest number of cases and deaths, the US remains the worst-hit country in the world.
It accounts for more than 15 per cent of the global caseload and over 16 per cent of the overall fatalities.
The country’s Covid caseload reached 50 million on December 13, 2021, crossed 60 million on January 9, 2022, exceeded 70 million on January 21, topped 80 million on March 29, and surpassed 90 million on July 21.
US experiences severe Covid community transmission amid holiday season
US Covid-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths continue to rise in the midst of the holiday season, stressing the healthcare system and resulting in staffing shortages.
More than 44 per cent of counties are experiencing medium to high Covid-19 Community Levels, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The country is now averaging about 65,000 new cases, 5,000 hospitalisations and 390 deaths each day, a significant rise compared with the last few months, Xinhua news agency quoted the CDC as saying.
Currently about 80 per cent of sites across the US are reporting moderate to high SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater.
About 53 per cent of sites reporting wastewater data are seeing some of the highest levels since December last year, according to CDC data.
The country continues to see a surge in respiratory illnesses among young children, including Covid-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). It prompted large pharmacies to limit the purchases of children’s medications.
The “tripledemic” is straining the healthcare system, resulting in decreased hospital capacity and staffing shortages.
Public health officials are urging the public to update their Covid-19 boosters and flu shots, masking indoors, testing before gatherings, and staying home when sick to limit the spread of the virus during the holiday season.
Recent study showed the updated bivalent booster doses provided additional protection against Covid-19-associated emergency department or urgent care encounters and hospitalizations.
However, uptake of the bivalent booster has been low in the country, according to CDC data.
About 150 million people ages 5 years and older are eligible for the updated booster but have not yet got it.
Among adults ages 65 years and older, who are at highest risk of becoming severely ill with Covid-19, 28 million people are eligible but have not yet got an updated booster.
US drug agents seize enough fentanyl ‘to kill every American’
The US’ Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has claimed to have seized 379 million potentially deadly fentanyl doses so far this year, which is “enough to kill every American”.
The DEA described the highly addictive substance, which is 50 times more powerful than heroin, as the deadliest drug threat facing the US, reports the BBC.
The DEA said that it seized more than 4,500 kg of fentanyl, as well as over 50.6 million fentanyl pills that were made to resemble different prescription painkillers.
That is more than double what they seized in 2021.
Most of the drugs were mass-produced at secret factories in Mexico by the Sinaloa and Jalisco drug cartels, which use chemicals sourced in China, the agency said.
The amount of fentanyl seized this year was enough to kill all 330 million residents of the US, said the drug agency.
“DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels — the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels — that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today,” the BBC quoted DEA Administrator Anne Milgram as saying.
Fentanyl is so powerful that a lethal dose is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil.
In addition to the fentanyl, the DEA also seized 131,000lb of methamphetamine, more than 4,300lb of heroin, and over 444,000lb of cocaine.
More than 100,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, and two-thirds were attributed to fentanyl.