Covid-19 killed nearly 51,000 people in California, which became the first state on Wednesday to pass 50,000 deaths related to the coronavirus, according to an NBC News census of reports.
The state has seen more than 3.5 million infections, a statistic that also leads the nation based on raw numbers. California is also the most populous state with about 40 million people.
According to the NBC News census, New York state had reported more than 48,000 deaths on Wednesday night and Texas more than 42,000.
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Part of the increase in California deaths reported on Wednesday came from Los Angeles County, which announced 806 deaths not initially counted as associated with Covid-19.
The county health department said those deaths came after extensive death registry checks and occurred during a major wave from December 3 to February 3.
At the time of the increase, not all deaths were reported to the department due to the magnitude of the records, officials said. She found a later review of vital records listing cause of death, he said. More than 9,700 deaths had already been reported from December to January, it said.
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“It is heartbreaking to report on this large number of additional deaths associated with Covid-19 and a devastating reminder of the terrible toll that the winter wave has taken on so many families across the county,” said Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Department. Angeles County. of Public Health, said in a statement.
New cases of Covid-19 reported daily have been declining across the country in recent weeks, but health experts have said the number is still very high.
On Sunday, 500,000 people passed away. According to the NBC News census, the US had registered more than 28 million cases on Wednesday evening.