As the new coronavirus infections continue to rise despite the vaccine rollout, California surpassed New York on Monday as the state with the most coronavirus fatalities. As of Tuesday, more than 35,000 people have died in California, the most populous of the fifty states and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic.
On the other hand, the state of New York that remained the worst-affected in the early days of the outbreak has reported a total of 44,693 coronavirus-related fatalities. During the end-year surge in new infections and hospitalizations, California became the epicenter of the pandemic outbreak.
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However, when considered in terms of the deaths per capita, the state ranks 32nd with 113 fatalities per 100,000 residents, while New York with 248 fatalities ranks second only to New Jersey, which has recorded 230 deaths.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, the daily hospitalization and coronavirus cases have dropped steadily nationwide, while the fatalities have plateaued. So far, the US as a whole has recorded more than 27.25 million cases with 468,559 deaths. But the situation in California remains grim with daily hospitalizations and new cases far higher than they were in last summer.
While talking to the media reporters, California’s Governor Newsom said that the deaths in the state have declined but added that the situation remains critical with as many as 500 deaths per day. Besides, numerous health experts have maintained that Sunday’s Super Bowl celebrations and the new variants of the COVID-19 could cause another surge in infections across the country.
Joe Biden, who assumed the presidential office in January, announced on Tuesday that his administration would increase the number of vaccine shots in a bid to halt the outbreak. The White House said in a statement that part of the vaccines due to arrive on February 15 will be sent to community health care centers to ensure vaccine access to the poor. As of Tuesday, a total of thirty-three million American residents have received the coronavirus shots to fight the respiratory disease, the US CDC noted.
