The United States set a grim record on Wednesday (December 9) as 3,124 people died from COVID-19 across the country. That is the highest number of deaths reported in the U.S. in a single day since the start of the global pandemic. The previous record was set on April 22, when 2,861 people died.
There were a record 221,000 new infections reported on Wednesday as the number of people currently hospitalized reached a new record of 106,688, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project.
The U.S. continues to lead the world with over 15 million cases and 289,000 deaths.
Health officials are warning that the pandemic is going to get worse in the coming weeks. A new forecast from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention projects the U.S. will see the death toll rise to between 332,000 and 362,000 by January 2.
"We are in a totally unprecedented health crisis in this country," former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, according to CNN. "The disease is everywhere -- Midwest, West Coast, East Coast, North, South. Health care workers are exhausted. Hospitals are totally full."
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