Health and Healthcare

American COVID-19 Deaths Top 300,000

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: December 13, 2020 7:30 am

Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic hit a grim milestone as they passed 300,000 to 301,278, according to the Microsoft Bing COVID-10 Tracker. The total represents an increase of 2,374 from the previous day. The increase in fatal cases currently runs at a rate of over 2,000 most days and have even risen above 3,000. Experts say the rise is not nearly over. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine forecasts 502,256 American deaths by April 1.

Confirmed cases have just moved above 16 million as they hit 16,222,405, up by 206,246. Increases in confirmed cases often number over 200,000 a day.

The large states make up a huge part of the total. New York State still has the most deaths at 35,074. The figure stands so high because of how hard the state was blitzed by the disease in March and April.

Several states could catch up. California’s fatal case count is 20,958, and it rises by over 100 many days. The total in Texas is 23,967. In Florida, the number sits at 20,047.

Large counties also dominate the death count. Los Angeles County, the largest in the nation by population has posted 8,269 deaths.

Several counties that constitute New York City stand at the top of the list, once again, the product of the spring spread of the disease in the Northeast. Kings County which is Brooklyn has had 7,555 deaths. Queens County has had 7,402. And, Bronx County has had 5,048. New York County, which is Manhattan, has had 3,242.

Several counties that have America’s largest cities have also been centers of fatal cases. Cook County, the nation’s second-largest by population and home to Chicago has had 7,319. Maricopa, home to Phoenix, America’s fastest-growing large city has had 4,324. Miami-Dade has had 3,965. Wayne County, which includes Detroit has had 3,412. Harris County, which includes Houston has had 3,142.

Another astonishing part of the pandemic is the extent to which it has taken lives in small states based on population. In some of their deaths per 100,000 people are the highest in the country. South Dakota has 1,243, which rose 33 yesterday. Much larger Ohio had 55 new deaths yesterday, an example of the depth of the trouble in South Dakota.

Some states have been largely spared. Vermont’s total death is 95. It is the state with the smallest number of confirmed cases at 5,626.

Careless habits by Americans continue to shoulder most of the blame for the deaths. Poorly run nursing homes, lack of mask-wearing and shunning of social distancing have all contributed to the 300,000 fatal cases total and will continue to.