Marking another grim milestone, the overall number of deaths in the US caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has topped the 700,000 mark on Saturday, according to the latest update by the Johns Hopkins University.
As of the Saturday morning, the death toll stood at 700,258, which is also the highest in the world, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in the update.
California led the country with 69,225 fatalities, followed by Texas (65,529), New York (55,416) and Florida (55,299), the update showed.
States with more than 22,000 fatalities also include Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio.
The US remains the country worst hit by the pandemic with the world's highest caseload and death toll, accounting for more than 18 per cent of the infections and almost 15 per cent of the fatalities.
The current caseload stood at 43,617,650.
Covid deaths in the country hit half a million on Februaru 22, and topped 600,000 on June 15.
It took 113 days for the national death toll to climb from 500,000 to 600,000, and 108 days to soar from 600,000 to 700,000.
1918 Flu Killed Estimated 675,000 Americans
"The number of reported deaths from Covid in the US will surpass the toll of the 1918 flu pandemic this month. We cannot become hardened to the continuing, and largely preventable, tragedy," tweeted Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to IANS.
The 1918 flu killed an estimated 675,000 Americans, according to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention. It was considered America's most lethal pandemic in recent history up until now.
Covid-19 deaths and cases in the US have climbed to levels not seen since last winter, wiping out months of progress and potentially bolstering President Joe Biden's argument for sweeping new vaccination requirements.
