Monday, 28 December 2020_The United States has surpassed 19 million coronavirus cases, adding one million new cases in just less than a week.
The US recorded 165,151 new cases in the 24 hours to Monday evening, bringing the overall total to 19,107,675 cases, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed.
The country has a total of 333,069 COVID-19 deaths, the highest in the world, the Baltimore-based institution said.
Coronavirus cases have been surging at an alarming rate in the world's largest economy, adding at least one million new cases per week since early November.
More than a million Americans have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccines, however, top US government scientist Anthony Fauci warned Sunday that the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come.
US officials say the pandemic is driving the country to a "critical point" as holiday travel spreads the coronavirus.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also on Sunday reported 18,909,910 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 179,104 cases from its previous count, and said deaths had risen to more than 330,900.
As the COVID pandemic takes a record toll in US cases and deaths, the US economy has been gravely battered, with jobless rates spiking in recent weeks.
The pandemic left million of Americans without job and turned to the biggest headache for President Donald Trump, whose mishandling of the COVID crisis cost him the November presidential election.
On Sunday, Trump signed off on a $2.3 trillion spending legislation that includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and the remainder for government spending through next September.
Under pressure from all sides and after delaying for nearly a week and, the Republican president finally signed the massive stimulus bill in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.
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