The number of novel coronavirus-related deaths in the United States swelled past 300,000 on Monday, the same day front-line health care workers received the first Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine inoculations.
According to CNN, the latest death toll means an average of more than 961 virus-related deaths per day has been reported in the United States since Feb. 6.
By Monday night, more than 16.5 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed nationwide, resulting in at least 300,382 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.
It took only 27 days for total U.S. COVID-19 deaths to increase from 250,000 to 300,000, Reuters reported.
The latest figures indicate nearly 1 in 5 virus-related deaths worldwide have occurred in the United States and U.S. cases now account for nearly 23% of the nearly 73 million reported worldwide.
The five hardest-hit states in terms of COVID-19 mortality include:
• New York: 35,643
• Texas: 24,414
• California: 21,080
• Florida: 20,003
• New Jersey: 17,775
Click here to see CNN’s complete state-by-state breakdown.
According to a Reuters analysis, the United States is reporting 91 deaths per 100,000 people, the seventh-worst in the world on a per capita basis and 2.5 times the rate in Canada.
Meanwhile, more than 108,000 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized in U.S. facilities, the outlet reported.
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