The US on Wednesday reported more than 2,400 deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, according to the Johns Hopkins University – the highest daily toll in six months.
As the Thanksgiving holiday began, the 2,439 fatalities recorded in the previous 24 hours raised the country's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic to 262,080. It also registered nearly 200,000 new Covid-19 cases.
Travel appeared to be down the night before Thanksgiving, when Americans usually criss-cross the country to be with family and friends for a feast marking one of their most important national holidays.
In recent days, images on social media of crowded airports fuelled concerns Americans were not taking the warnings seriously.
But one day before Thursday's celebrations, officials and passengers in Los Angeles noted an eerie quiet compared with previous years.
Joe Biden, the president-elect, cited accelerating plans to deliver a vaccine as he appealed for his weary countrymen to dig deep.
"There is real hope, tangible hope. So hang on. Don't let yourself surrender to the fatigue," Mr Biden said in a televised Thanksgiving address.
"You will get your lives back. Life is going to return to normal. That will happen. This will not last for ever."
Gallery: the world grapples with a second Covid-19 wave
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Visitors watch the opening show of the Castle of Magical Dreams at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hong Kong, China. REUTERS -
A health worker takes a sample to test for COVID-19 at a market area in New Delhi, India. India’s total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began has crossed 9 million. Nevertheless the country’s new daily cases have seen a steady decline for weeks now and the total number of cases represents 0.6% of India’s 1.3 billion population. AP Photo -
A woman, accompanied by a child, looks over as an airline crew wearing full personal protective equipment against COVID-19 walks through the international terminal at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles. AP Photo -
A member of the French Red Cross presents an antigen test at a mobile Covid-19 screening site, in Saint-Gilles, southeastern France. AFP -
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence takes off his protective face mask to speak as he leads a briefing by the White House coronavirus task force about the U.S. spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Brady press briefing room at the White House in Washington, U.S. REUTERS -
A nurse’s shoes are seen in the COVID-19 intensive care unit, as the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, U.S. REUTERS -
Men dressed in protective suits stand around the coffin of Kenyan doctor Daniel Alushula who died of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), during his funeral in the village of Khumusalaba, in Kakamega county, Kenya. REUTERS -
Chaplain Kevin Deegan prays for COVID-19 patient Pedro Basulto while on a video call with the patient's daughter, Grace, at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills section of Los Angeles. "These video calls have been a lifeline for families," said Deegan. "It can be emotionally exhausting and very draining, but it also an honor to be a bridge for the family." AP Photo -
Health workers and relatives stand by the funeral pyre of a COVID-19 victim in New Delhi, India. India’s total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began has crossed 9 million. Nevertheless, the country’s new daily cases have seen a steady decline for weeks now and the total number of cases represents 0.6% of India’s 1.3 billion population. AP Photo -
Pedestrians wearing protective masks cross a road in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo raised its Covid-19 alert to the highest of four levels, as daily infections in the Japanese capital increased by more than 500 for the first time amid a resurgence of the pathogen across the country. Bloomberg -
A health worker collects a sample for a COVID-19 test from a baby who arrived on a flight from Mexico at the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Cuba. The airport received its first commercial flights in over 8 months since the country locked down to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. AP Photo
