US logs a record 3,157 coronavirus deaths in one day

The US recorded its highest daily number of coronavirus deaths on Wednesday, as the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the pandemic began.

According to the Johns Hopkins University tracker, there were 3,157 new deaths recorded on Wednesday. The previous high was the 2,607 deaths recorded on 15 April, at the beginning of the pandemic.

There were 200,070 new cases on Wednesday, only the second time that new cases had exceeded 200,000. With the total caseload now standing at 13,911,728, the US is expected to record its 14-millionth case on Thursday.

Dr Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), speaking at an event hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, said that about 90% of hospitals in the country were at stretched capacity.

“We are at a very critical time right now about being able to maintain the resilience of our healthcare system,” he said. “The reality is December and January and February are going to be rough times. I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult in the public health history of this nation, largely because of the stress that’s going to be put on our healthcare system.”

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Hospital admissions grew over the course of November, setting new records nearly every day. The American Ambulance Association referred to a 911 emergency call system “at a breaking point”.

The White House coronavirus taskforce coordinator, Dr Deborah Birx, urged Americans who had travelled over the recent holiday weekend to behave as though they had the virus. “If you are under 40, you need to assume you became infected during the Thanksgiving period if you gathered beyond your immediate household. Most likely, you will not have symptoms; however, you are dangerous to others.”

April’s peak of cases and deaths was concentrated mostly in the states of New York and New England, but the current spread of the virus is across the whole country, and shows no sign of slowing down. Over 1.1m new cases have been recorded in the last seven days alone, and 273,621 people have died in total.

The vice-president, Mike Pence, who has been leading the Trump administration response to the pandemic, will participate in a coronavirus response roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday.