In the United States, more than 144,000 people have died from COVID-19.
The new coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 633,000 people worldwide.
More than 15.5 million people worldwide have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. The actual numbers are believed to be much higher due to a paucity of evidence, many unreported cases, and suspicions that some governments are hiding or minimizing the extent of their nations’ outbreaks.
The United States has become the most affected country, with more than 4 million diagnosed cases and at least 144,305 deaths.
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This is how the news is unfolding today. All eastern times. Check back for updates.
5:40 am: US COVID-19 death count 18.7% higher than last week
The deadly impact of the new coronavirus continues to show no signs of slowing down in the United States. Last week, the national death toll rose 18.7%, according to an internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency obtained by ABC News. The US COVID-19 death toll, as of Friday morning, now stands at 144,305.
The US reported 1,039 new coronavirus deaths on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
A large part of the new deaths occur in the south, where the number of cases and hospitalizations has increased for weeks. The staggering number of cases also means that hospital beds are scarce for various states and cities.
In Alabama, the state is seeing many health care facilities reach capacity as staffing shortages put pressure on the system, according to the FEMA memo. COVID-19 patients in Arizona are being transferred to New Mexico due to lack of beds.
Some Louisiana hospitals are also at capacity. The facilities in Lake Charles and Lafayette are transferring patients to New Orleans for treatment, according to the memo. And in Texas, Hidalgo County warned for weeks that its hospitals are full. The county crematorium, according to the FEMA memo, has a two-week waiting list. Now it depends on refrigerated morgue trucks.
Meanwhile, Georgia and Kentucky saw their largest case totals in a single day in a week that also saw California (157), Florida (173) and Texas (197) all reports of daily death tolls.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their projection of coronavirus fatalities Thursday, saying they now expect 175,000 deaths by August 15.
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