U.S. COVID DEATHS SHATTER RECORDS, WHO SHOCKED BY BAD NEWS

Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. have soared to more than 2,200 a day on average, mirroring the frightening peak set in April, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

New infections per day have eclipsed 200,000 on average for the first time on record, with the crisis all but certain to get worse because of the fallout from Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.

Virtually every state is reporting surges just as a vaccine appears days away from getting the go-ahead in the US, Lisa Marie Pane and Rachel La Corte reported for AP.

“The epidemic in the US is punishing. It’s widespread. It’s quite frankly shocking to see one to two persons a minute die in the US," the World Health Organization’s chief of emergencies says. The virus is blamed for more than 286,000 deaths and over15 million confirmed infections in the US.