The United States of America has become the first country to record 100,000 deaths from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The US achieved the grim record on Wednesday as its death toll stands at 100,276, according to Johns Hopkins University, which has been tracking the pandemic.
The North American country has recorded more fatalities than any other country, while its 1.69 million confirmed infections account for about 30 per cent of the world’s total number of confirmed cases.
The first US infection was reported in Washington state on 21 January.
But on a per capita basis the US ranks ninth in its mortality rate behind the likes of Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and Ireland, according to the university.
During the peak of the crisis in the country, the daily death toll, especially in the state of New York, was in the hundreds.
A total of 21,000 persons were said to have died in New York alone, as hospitals were overwhelmed and makeshift morgues were built outside health facilities.
However, some hard-hit states are seeing a drop in death rates.
US President, Donald Trump, has insisted that without his administration’s actions the death toll would be 25 times higher, though critics have accused him of a slow response.
State governors have also been blamed for failing to grasp early enough the lethal threat that the virus posed to nursing homes.
President Trump also argued this month it was “a badge of honour” that the US had the world’s highest number of confirmed infections “because it means our testing is much better”.
A study from Columbia University in New York suggested about 36,000 fewer people would have died if the US had acted sooner.
Joe Biden, President Trump’s likely Democratic opponent in November’s US presidential election issued a message directly to grieving families on Wednesday.
“To those hurting, I’m so sorry for your loss,” the former vice-president said via tweet. “The nation grieves with you.”
BBC
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