U.S. reports highest number of covid-19 deaths in one day since mid-May

The United States on Wednesday recorded its highest Covid-19 death toll for the month of August, with states reporting a total of 1,485 deaths, the highest number of daily deaths reported since mid-May.

The national Covid death toll had most recently come close to breaching 1,500 on July 29 and 30, with Wednesday’s numbers being the worst since 1,507 deaths recorded on May 15, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project.

According to an update on New York Times, however, the spikes reported in late July were primarily due to states like Texas, New York and New Jersey reporting a large number of previously unreported deaths from unspecified days, which would mean that Wednesday’s figures reflect the highest number of daily COVID deaths since mid-May. Wednesday’s spike was primarily driven by states in the south and the west with Texas reporting more than 300 deaths, Florida more than 200 deaths and Arizona, California and Georgia all reporting in excess of 100 deaths each. The United States reported 55,742 new cases on Wednesday, a significant decline from the 75,000 plus figures being reported in mid-July, but the decline in cases comes with a caveat that daily testing across the country has also declined. Wednesday’s toll, however, was still significantly lower than the peak witnessed between mid to late April with the U.S. recording more than 2000 deaths a day.

211,500. That is the number of excess deaths reported in the United States since the pandemic began in March, according to a report in The New York Times. This number is 60,000 more than what the official figures have directly linked to Covid-19, likely suggesting a significant undercount in coronavirus deaths. The U.S. has reported more than 155,000 deaths directly linked to Covid-19, with some states reporting additional deaths that are probably linked to the coronavirus. Experts had warned that the sharp spike in the number of new cases that began in late June would lead to a similar spike in deaths in the preceding weeks since most deaths occur weeks after a person contracts the virus. Despite the spike in the death toll, President Trump continues to push for school and business reopenings across the country. “We’ve got to open up our schools and open up our businesses,” Trump said at a White House presser on Wednesday, adding that he wanted to see a college football season this fall.