Recently reported Covid-19 cases in the US were above 200,000, bringing the country’s total reported infections above 21 million, as hospitalizations reached another record.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, the country reported 229,055 new cases for Tuesday, up from 180,477 reported on Monday. Tuesday’s figure was also higher than the 202,145 reported a week earlier. Johns Hopkins revised Tuesday’s case number from an earlier figure of more than 230,0000.
According to Johns Hopkins, more than 21.07 million cases have been reported in the US, and more than 358,000 people have died.
The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases, which eliminates irregularities in the data, was 219,253 on Tuesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data. The average of 14 days was 200,460. When the seven-day average is higher than the 14-day average, it indicates that the cases are increasing.
Hospitalizations jumped to a record 131,215 again, according to the Covid Tracking Project. It was the first time the number had risen more than 130,000, and the 10th day in a row it was above 120,000. There were 23,509 people in intensive care, according to the project, also a record.
Georgia health officials said on Tuesday that a highly contagious type of Covid-19 first found in the UK had been detected in the state. The new strain, which is thought to spread 70% faster than earlier forms of the virus, was found in an 18-year-old man who had no history of travel.
A new exclusion came into force in England and Scotland to curb the spread of the new tribe. Colorado was the first state in the US to discover the variant from one of its residents last week. Additional cases were subsequently found in California, Florida and New York.
The Recording Academy also said on Tuesday that the Grammy Awards would be postponed by two months due to the pandemic.
Meanwhile, a vaccine official from the National Institutes of Health said the agency is investigating whether a half-dose of Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc. can protect people against the disease, which can effectively double the supply of the vaccine. A day earlier, the Food and Drug Administration had rejected proposals to reduce the recommended doses of vaccines.
Worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins data, more than 86.7 million infections have been reported, and more than 1.87 million people have died.