The U.S. coronavirus death toll climbed above 150,000 on Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University, the latest grim milestone the country has crossed as the outbreak rages from coast to coast.
The state of New York, which was once the epicenter of the outbreak, now accounts for about 1 in 5 American deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins tally.
No country on the planet has witnessed a more deadly eruption of COVID-19 than the U.S., according to official death counts.
Brazil, with 88,539 deaths on Wednesday, has the second steepest tally in the Johns Hopkins database. Britain had recorded 46,046, the third most in the world.
Around the world, more than 660,000 people have died from COVID-19 since the virus emerged late last year, according to the figures.
In the U.S., the daily drumbeat of cases has climbed for weeks, even as warm days of summer allow people to gather outside, where the virus is believed to spread less ferociously.
The death toll in America crossed 100,000 in late May.
