Patients lie on stretchers in a hallway in the congested emergency room at Providence St. Mary Medical Center amid an increase in COVID-19 patients in Southern California on January 5, 2021 in Apple Valley, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
A record number of people died of Covid-19 in the US on Tuesday and again on Wednesday when a crowd of angry rioters stormed the US Capitol.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, 3,733 people died from the virus on Tuesday, followed by 3,865 deaths on Wednesday. For the past seven days, the country has reported an average of 2,686 deaths each day – a number that is second after the record high just over two weeks ago.
Holiday celebrations have led to a predicted explosion in Covid-19 cases that overwhelmed hospitals across the country when the Covid-19 vaccine roll out got off to a rocky start. Over 361,200 people in the US have died from the disease since the virus officially arrived in the US almost 12 months ago. Since then, according to a Reuters analysis, almost every 914 US resident has died of Covid-19 since the pandemic began.
The number of new daily cases is also increasing. The country reported over 253,100 new cases on Wednesday, bringing the seven-day average to over 222,600, the highest ever, according to a CNBC analysis of Hopkins data. This is an indication of more deaths in the next few weeks as people diagnosed are hospitalized and some die.
According to Hopkins data, Arizona, California, and West Virginia all reported record deaths per day based on a seven-day average. The 7-day average of daily new cases continues to grow by at least 5% in 47 states and the District of Columbia, indicating an increasing outbreak.
Across the country, more than 132,400 are currently hospitalized with Covid-19, the highest to date, according to the COVID Tracking Project launched by journalists at The Atlantic.
The dismal numbers come as US officials try to accelerate the pace of the slower-than-expected adoption of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Federal officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci, National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, and Moncef Slaoui, Trump’s Covid vaccine czar, have confirmed they had hoped the vaccine would be rolled out faster.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 17.2 million doses of vaccine had been distributed as of Wednesday, but in fact just over 5.3 million doses had been given. High-ranking representatives from the CDC, including Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, announced that adoption will pick up pace this month.
The DC Department of Health announced Wednesday that vaccinations were stopped prematurely after a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, prompting the mayor to impose a 6 p.m. curfew across the city and the certification of the victory of President-elect Joe Biden to delay the 2020 presidential election.
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