WASHINGTON — The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has surpassed the 80 million mark, more than two years after the country logged its first laboratory-confirmed case in January 2020.
Early Wednesday, U.S. coronavirus cases totaled 80,019,128, with a nationwide death toll of 978,691, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The figures include 23,643 new daily infections and 961 deaths reported within the 24-hour period that ended at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday.
California remains the hardest-hit U.S. state, logging nearly 9.1 million COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the university. Texas, Florida and New York followed, with cumulative case counts ranging from 4.99 million to 6.7 million.
More than 485.2 million coronavirus cases and 6.1 million deaths have been reported globally over the course of the pandemic, according to the university.
The news came as the rate of new COVID-19 cases appeared to be declining domestically and globally, according to The New York Times. As of Tuesday, the U.S. was averaging 29,253 new cases per day, down 9% in the past two weeks, the newspaper reported. Meanwhile, the worldwide average was 1.47 million new cases per day, down 14% from 14 days earlier.
As for fatalities, the U.S. averaged 716 deaths per day – a decrease of 42% in the past two weeks, the newspaper reported. The global average hovered at 4,688 daily deaths, down 11% from 14 days earlier.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that 65.5% of the U.S. population is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19. About 44.8% of fully vaccinated residents have received a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine, the agency said.
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