United States’ COVID death toll crosses one million: White House

The death toll in the United States due
to the COVID-19 pandemic has crossed one million, the White House said on
Thursday.

Also Read: Half of COVID patients have at least one symptom 2 years later: Study

“Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one
million American lives lost to COVID-19. One million empty chairs around the
dinner table. Each an irreplaceable loss. Each leaving behind a family, a
community, and a nation forever changed because of this pandemic. Jill and I
pray for each of them,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement.

Last week the US government said that
COVID-19 cases could surge to 100 million this winter and fall with the virus
wave set to claim a significant number of deaths, reports claimed.

Also Read: Kim Jong-un orders complete lockdown as North Korea records 1st COVID case

The Biden administration claimed that
omicron and its subvariants will continue to spread around the country. The US
is the worst-hit country due to the virus with over one million deaths and 81
million COVID-19 cases since the pandemic took hold in the country over two
years ago.

“We must remain vigilant against this
pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as possible, as we have
with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever before,” US President Joe
Biden said in a statement.

Also Read: Rising COVID-19 cases spark sporadic return of school mask mandates in US

The pandemic continues to surge in
China, where the virus first emerged in 2020 in Wuhan. In the latest wave,
Shanghai has become the new epicentre of the virus in China with the financial
hub in a lockdown for over a month.

In the US the COVID-19 cases crossed the
one million mark after several states had discarded the mask mandate for public
transportation imposed by the Biden administration.

Also Read: Drug overdoses killed more than 100,000 in US in 2021, a 15% rise over 2020

On Thursday after the White House said
that the US crossed the one million mark, Biden said, “We must remain vigilant
against this pandemic and do everything we can to save as many lives as
possible, as we have with more testing, vaccines, and treatments than ever
before. It’s critical that Congress sustain these resources in the coming
months.”