Coronavirus latest: US struggles with pandemic as caseload tops 5m

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US struggles with pandemic as caseload tops 5m

Peter Wells in New York

Total coronavirus cases in the US topped 5m on Monday as the country worst hit by Covid-19 has struggled to get the pandemic under control.

Johns Hopkins University data showed that cumulative cases reached the milestone on Sunday, while the death toll was in excess of 162,000 people in America.

The volume of daily cases has been decreasing slowly across the country but remains elevated at about 50,000 and the daily death count from the virus has risen steadily to average more than 1,000 per day over the past week, according to calculations by the Financial Times.

California, Texas and Florida are the three states that have been recording the highest number of daily cases and deaths over the past month, although case numbers appear to be trending downwards.

California reported an above-average increase in new coronavirus cases on Monday in the wake of fixing a glitch in the state’s data system. A further 7,751 people tested positive for Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the state’s health department said, down from 8,373 on Sunday and higher than the 6,716 cases a day California has averaged over the past week.

The website for the state government’s Covid-19 dashboard noted that “recent issues found in the state’s electronic laboratory reporting system that contributed to delays have been corrected” and today’s data include some cases from previous days.

Florida reported its smallest number of new coronavirus infections since the state reversed its reopening about seven weeks ago. A further 4,155 people tested positive for the disease over the past 24 hours, down from 6,229 on Sunday. It was the smallest daily increase in cases since June 23, just three days before governor Ron DeSantis ordered bars across the state to close.

Arizona on Monday reported its smallest daily increase in new Covid-19 cases since early June and its smallest daily rise in deaths in a month. A further 600 people tested positive for coronavirus over the past 24 hours,state data revealed on Monday, down from 816 yesterday.

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