The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 topped 915,000 on Friday, as Nevada became the latest state to drop face mask requirements in most places, including its casinos. A number of states, mostly Democrat-run, have recently announced their plans to scrap face mask mandates as their governors push for a return to something like normalcy. The move clashes with CDC guidelines, which continue to recommend the use of face masks to rein in infections. The U.S. is still averaging 205,115 new COVID cases a day, according to a New York Times tracker, down 65% from two weeks ago. Cases have fallen sharply from their January peak as the omicron variant appears to be waning, although they remain high. Hospitalizations are down 32% from two weeks ago at 103,455 a day on average. But deaths are up 2% at an average of 2,575 a day, still the most since last winter before vaccines were widely available. Globally, the case tally now stands at 406.4 million while the death toll is above 5.79 million. The U.S. continues to lead the world with 77.4 million cases and 915,618 fatalities.
Source: Marketwatch
