WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Coronavirus continues to wreak havoc in the country with more people being hospitalized than at any other point during the pandemic.
As per the latest update published by COVID Tracking Project, nearly 119,500 COVID-19 patients nationwide were receiving treatment in hospitals on Wednesday, the second consecutive record-setting day.
Meanwhile, the country reported 228,131 new coronavirus cases in past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 18.46 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The number of new cases is above the seven-day average for new coronavirus cases in the U.S. of 209,598.
California reported the highest number of new cases during the period of 43,986; followed by Texas 21,955; New York 11,937; Florida 11,384; and Pennsylvania 9,687.
3,359 new deaths were reported, taking total number of deaths to 326,124.
On the positive side, more than 1 million people have reportedly received their first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Reports says that the number is low as many doses administrated in recent days have yet to be tabulated in the figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
'With cases of COVID-19 continuing to surge nationwide, this achievement comes at a critical time and will help to protect those on the frontlines -- our healthcare providers treating COVID-19 patients -- as well as our most vulnerable: elder individuals living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities,' CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said.
The government intends to distribute 20 million first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in the coming weeks. So far, about 9.5 million doses have been distributed.
The British government has confirmed that a second new and potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus has emerged in the United Kingdom.
'Thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we've detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK,' British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told reporters on Wednesday.
'This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible, and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK,' he said.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX