US records quarter of a million deaths from coronavirus as cases once again surge

Healthcare workers test patients in their car at a drive-thru coronavirus testing site in Las Vegas
AP

The US has now recorded more than 250,000 deaths from Covid-19 as cases once again surge across the nation.

The country has now reported 250,029 deaths and almost 11.5 million cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More infections and deaths have been recorded in the US than anywhere else in the world.

The number of people hospitalised with the virus rose to at least 78,630 by Wednesday afternoon, the highest ever for a single day during the pandemic.

Governors and local officials have brought in a range of measures in recent days to try to damp down the surge.

Cleveland asked residents to stay at home, and mask mandates were passed in places that had previously resisted them.

New York City's school district, the largest in the United States, is halting in-person learning from Thursday.

Over a seven-day average, the US is reporting 1,176 daily deaths, more than the daily average deaths in India and Brazil combined - the two countries next most affected.

The US has reported a total of about 11.4 million cases since the start of the pandemic and remains the only country to have reported more than 10 million cases.

With nearly 158,000 cases per day, it accounts for one in every 26 infections reported worldwide, according to a Reuters tally.

The Midwest is currently the hardest-hit region, based on the number of cases per capita.

North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska are the top five worst-affected U.S. states.

The record number of total new cases reported by any state in any 24-hour period was recorded by Illinois on Friday, with 15,433 new cases, surpassing the previous all-time high of 15,300 set by Florida in July.

New York, which was the first major US coronavirus epicentre in March and April, remains the state with the highest overall number of deaths since the pandemic began - over 33,000.

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