US records 2,000 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours in worst toll for three months
7 August 2020, 06:36
The US has recorded 2,060 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, making it the deadliest day in three months.
According to data from John Hopkins University, more than 58,000 new cases were also confirmed across the country, bringing the total to well over five million.
The last time 2,000 fatalities were recorded was 7 May.
In April, the US became the first country to record 2,000 deaths in a day, and in total more than 160,000 Americans have died from the virus.
One of the youngest victims to die was a seven-year-old boy in Georgia. He had no underlying health conditions, officials said.
Dr. Lawton Davis, the Health Director for the Coastal Health District said: "Every COVID-19 death we report is tragic, but to lose someone so young is especially heart-breaking.
"We know that older individuals and those with underlying conditions are at higher risk of complications, but this is a disease everyone should take seriously."
Despite claims by Donald Trump that his administration has done a "great job" with the ongoing pandemic, there are signs the US has seen a resurgence after many states relaxed lockdown rules.
Earlier this week, when faced with the reality that thousands could die each day, the US President said: "It is what it is", and continued to claim the US had some of the lowest rates of death and infection in the world.
Newly released figures buy the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation have predicted almost 300,000 could be dead by December if masks are not widely worn in the country.
Donald Trump argues with reporter over Covid-19 death numbers
Director Dr. Christopher Murray said: "The public's behaviour had a direct correlation to the transmission of the virus and, in turn, the numbers of deaths."
He added that if 95 per cent of the population wore masks, the number of deaths could be reduced to 228,271.
Trump's history with the virus has been fraught with inconsistencies and contradictions on what Americans should and should not be doing.
Perhaps most notably, the US President at one point suggested people could inject themselves with disinfectant as a treatment for coronavirus.
As his Administration's health team advised people should be wearing face masks to stem the spread of the virus, Trump told Fox News: "I don’t agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask everything disappears.”
But after facing increasing pressure to lead by example, Trump was eventually pictured in a mask for the first time in July.