WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - New infections and deaths in the past 24 hours were lower than the average for the previous week, however, health experts expect the numbers to rise after as Americans return to their homes after the holiday weekend.
With 138,903 new coronavirus cases reported in the U.S. in past 24 hours, the total number of cases in the country has reached 13.38 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. 826 new deaths were reported, taking total number of deaths to 266,873.
California reported the highest number of new cases during the period of 14,831; followed by Texas 11,541; Minnesota 8,946; Ohio 7,729; and Florida 7,363. The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases in the U.S. were 157,732.
The number of Americans hospitalized from coronavirus infections hit yet another all-time high on Sunday with Over 93,000 people have been hospitalized across the U.S., according to Covid Tracking Project. At least 18,198 patients are in the ICU, while nearly 6,250 are on a ventilator.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, has warned that the U.S. should prepare for a 'surge upon a surge' in coronavirus cases as millions of Americans will return home after the Thanksgiving holiday.
'There almost certainly is going to be an uptick because of what has happened with the travel,' Fauci told CNN's 'State of the Union'. 'We may see a surge upon a surge in two or three weeks. We don't want to frighten people, but that's the reality.'
Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday that nearly one-third of U.S. residents could ultimately be infected by the coronavirus at the end of 2020.
'We're going to probably have by the end of this year, 30% of the U.S. population infected,' Gottlieb said on 'Squawk Box.' 'You look at states like North Dakota and South Dakota, it's probably 30%, 35%. Maybe as high as 50%,' he added.
Further, Health Secretary Alex Azar on Monday announced that Americans may get two Covid-19 vaccines before Christmas. The announcement comes after drugmaker Moderna announced it would apply on Monday to the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
'With today's announcement from Moderna, we'll now have two potential COVID-19 vaccines being reviewed by US FDA for emergency use authorization,' Azar tweeted.
The Food and Drug Administration's advisers will meet on December 10 to discuss about authorizing Pfizer Inc's Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, global coronavirus cases are nearing 63 million, with deaths rising to 1.46 million.
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