In an analysis of the US coronavirus reports, it was identified that someone had died due to COVID-19 every 33 seconds, in the past week.

In the past week that ended on 20 December, the virus had claimed over 18,000 which is a 6.7% rise from the week prior, with the highest death toll being reported from Iowa, South Dakota and Rhode Island. The percentage of COVID cases reported fell by 1% to nearly 1.5 million, with Tennessee, California and Rhode Island recording the highest number of cases.

Down from the 12% recorded the previous week, the US had reported that 11.3% of the tests conducted had tested positive for the coronavirus.

As per the World Health Organization standards, positive test rate over 5% is considered ‘concerning’ as it suggests that there are more cases in the community that are yet to be identified.

Meanwhile, health authorities also fear a rise in the number of COVID infections could overwhelm the hospitals during the festive season as many hospitals had reached their maximum capacity during the Thanksgiving celebrations.

Despite the advice given by the health authorities to restrict the travel during year-end holidays, 3.2 million people were screened at U.S. airports from 18 to 20 December.