U.S. records over 1,100 new coronavirus deaths for a second day in a row

[July 23, 2020]  By Lisa Shumaker

(Reuters) - U.S. deaths from the novel coronavirus rose by more than 1,100 for a second day in a row on Wednesday, including a record one-day rise in fatalities in Alabama, California, Nevada and Texas, according to a Reuters tally.

The United States has not seen back-to-back days with over 1,100 lives lost since late May. Weeks after cases began to surge, 23 states are now seeing fatalities also rise, according to a Reuters analysis of deaths for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.

Deaths rose by 1,101 on Wednesday to a total of over 143,000 after climbing 1,141 on Tuesday. Total cases are nearing 4 million. The states with the most deaths on Wednesday were Texas at 197, California at 159, Florida at 140 and Ohio at 106.

While deaths are rising in the United States for a second week in a row, they remain well below levels seen in April, when on average 2,000 people a day died from the virus.

One hard-hit Texas county is storing bodies in refrigerated trucks after COVID-19 deaths doubled in the span of a week.

Hidalgo County, at the southern tip of the state on the U.S. border with Mexico, has seen cases rise 60% in the last week, according to a Reuters tally, with deaths doubling to more than 360.

An ambulance is seen backed up to a temporary morgue outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, New York, U.S., May 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Crematoriums in the Hidalgo County area have a wait list of two weeks, a local official said, forcing the county to use five refrigerated trucks that can hold 50 bodies each.

Among the 20 countries with the largest outbreaks, the United States ranks sixth highest globally for deaths per capita, according to a Reuters analysis.

(Reporting by Lisa Shumaker, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Himani Sarkar)

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