US Covid Cases Top 24mn Ahead Of Biden's Inauguration

Reaching yet another grim milestone, the overall number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US, currently the hardest-hit country, has surpassed the 24 million mark, about 24 hours ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.

In its latest update on Tuesday morning, the Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed that the country's total caseload and death toll stood at 24,073,555 and 398,977, respectively.

With the two new figures, the US currently makes up for more than 25 per cent of the global caseload and over 19 per cent of the fatalities.

With 3,005,830 cases reported, California turned to be the first US state to have more than 3 million cases.

Texas identified 2,127,745 cases, followed by Florida with 1,579,281 cases and New York with 1,255,971 cases. Illinois also registered more than 1 million cases.

Other states with over 630,000 cases include Ohio, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona and New Jersey, the CSSE data showed.

A CNN report said on Monday that just a little more than halfway into January, the US has managed to add a staggering 3.9 million new Covid-19 cases and more than 51,000 deaths.

It took the US 304 days to reach 12 million Covid-19 cases, according to data by the Johns Hopkins University.

While the second 12 million cases were registered in only 59 days.

The latest projections of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 16,200 to 29,600 new deaths will likely be reported in the week ending February 6.

A total of 440,000 to 477,000 Covid-19 deaths will be reported by this date.

Though vaccinations are underway in the US, containing the pandemic is one of the gravest national challenges Biden's new team faces as it takes office on Wednesday.

Biden hopes to administer 100 million doses of two-stage coronavirus vaccines in his first 100 days.

He also plans to sign an executive order requiring masks on federal property and during interstate travel and is urging all Americans to wear face coverings for 100 days.

The rollout of vaccines for Covid-19 has been slower than expected in the country.

Outgoing President Donald Trump's administration planned to inject 20 million Americans by the end of 2020.

However, only about 12.28 million doses have been administered as of January 15, according to the CDC.