U.S. COVID-19 Cases Hit 19-Million Mark

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Dec 27, 2020 08:53 PM EST

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has now surpassed 19 million, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The country has marked the 19th million cases just six days after the country recorded 18 million cases. The nation's COVID-19 cases have more than doubled in less than two months, the Associated Press reported.

Deaths associated with the disease have also increased in the country. It now totals more than 332,000 recorded deaths, which is more than one death for every 1,000 Americans.

The U.S. accounts for about four percent of the world's population. COVID-19 cases account for 24 percent of its total population and 19 percent for its COVID-19 deaths.

Health experts believed that many cases have gone underreported both in America and internationally.

ICU Capacity Dropping

States across the nation reported having a shortage of healthcare staff or space to accommodate patients.

In California, hospitals in the central and southern parts have recorded a shortage of hospital beds. The state has long had a shortage of hospital beds, The New York Times reported.

According to 2018 data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, California just had 1.8 hospital beds per 1,000 people. California is considered to be one the wealthiest and most populous state in the country.

In Southern California and San Joaquin Valley, hospitals have been reported to have zero percent intensive care unit (ICU) capacity. This prompted the California Department of Public Health to keep the stay-at-home order until at least Dec. 28.

In the Bay Area, intensive care units are at 11.3 percent capacity, and the Greater Sacramento region at 16.9 percent capacity.

Before the pandemic, California's bed ratio for each person was only slightly higher in the Washington State and Oregon. Both of the latter states ranked last in the nation.

State officials on Sunday reported that California has 2,122,806 recorded COVID-19 cases with more than 24,000 deaths. According to a Stars and Stripes report, these figures are the most recent data available.

California's total confirmed cases increased by more than 50,000 over the previous day, which increased by 2.4 percent. The state also reported 237 additional deaths.

California Governor Gavin Newsom implied that the stay-at-home orders would not be allowed to lapse.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) update from Saturday, the state has reported an average of 100.5 daily COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents over seven days, the SFGate reported.

Officials and health care workers have warned that the situation is now out of control. In South Los Angeles, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital has placed gurneys in the gift shop, and the lobby is being used to treat patients.

California is the first state to report more than two million COVID-19 cases so far. The weekly average of new cases per day in the state was 36,418, as per the N.Y. Times database.

Los Angeles county reportedly had the most significant number of COVID-19 related deaths with 9,438, followed by Stanislaus with 572 deaths.