USA – Covid19 cases pass 30 million mark
The coronavirus caseload in the US has surpassed the 30 million mark, as the pandemic still rages in the world’s worst-hit country.
California is the worst-hit state with 3,647,735 cases, followed by Texas (2,765,635), Florida (2,021,656), New York (1,814,662) and Illinois (1,227,708).
Cases rose by 4 percent nationwide over the past week with states such as Michigan, Colorado and Connecticut all reporting spikes of more than 30 percent.
Health authorities are racing to vaccinate in the face of the first uptick in new cases on a weekly basis since January. Against the advice of health experts, several states have lifted mask mandates and more infectious variants have also spread across the nation.
Arizona lowered the eligibility age to 16 at state-run vaccination sites in three populous southern counties, effective Wednesday. Three other counties already have eligibility at 16, but most are at 55.
Nearly one-fourth of Americans have received at least one dose while about 13 % of the population is fully vaccinated.