WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has become the first country in the world to breach 10 million COVID-19 infections mark.
With 119,940 new coronavirus cases reported in the U.S. in past 24 hours, the total number of cases in the country has reached 10.18 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 472 new deaths were reported, taking total number of deaths to 239,002.
Illinois reported the highest number of new cases during the period of 10,573; Michigan 9,235, California 8,584, Texas 7,097 and Tennessee 5,919.
The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases in the U.S. has reached an all-time high of 112,561. The US has reported nearly a million cases in the past 10 days, the highest rate of infections since the nation reported its first coronavirus case in March.
Health experts expects coronavirus cases to continue to increase rapidly.
'We are watching cases increase substantially in this country far beyond, I think, what most people ever thought could happen,' Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told CNN. 'It will not surprise me if in the next weeks we see over 200,000 new cases a day.'
Nearly 60,000 people have been hospitalized across the U.S., according to Covid Tracking Project. More than 11,500 patients are in the ICU, while nearly 3,100 are on a ventilator.
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, who in his election campaign slammed President Donald Trump for ill-management of the pandemic, has pledged to make controlling the pandemic his top priority.
Biden announced to form the Transition COVID-19 Advisory Board, which consists of a team of leading scientists and public health experts who will advise President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, and the Transition's COVID-19 staff.
'The Board will consult with state and local officials to determine the public health and economic steps necessary to get the virus under control, to deliver immediate relief to working families, to address ongoing racial and ethnic disparities, and to reopen our schools and businesses safely and effectively'.
Meanwhile, global coronavirus cases exceeded 50 million with deaths rising to 1.27 million.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX