June 16, 2021
2 mins read

Covid-19 was in US from Dec 2019: Study

The results build on findings from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study that suggested the virus may have been circulating in the US in late December 2019…reports Asian Lite News

A new government study has revealed that at least seven people in five US states were infected with the Covid-19 weeks before the country reported its first cases.

In the study, participants who reported antibodies against Sars-CoV-2 were likely exposed to the virus at least several weeks before their samples were taken, as the antibodies do not appear until about two weeks after a person has been infected, the researchers said, according to a report from the Hindustan Times.

The results build on findings from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study that suggested the virus may have been circulating in the US in late December 2019, before the first Covid-19 case was detected on January 19, 2020.

The development came at a time when the US reached a grim milestone of 600,000 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

With the national case count topping 33.4 million, the death toll across the US rose to 600,012 as of 12:22 p.m. local time (1622 GMT), according to the CSSE data.

ALSO READ: Pompeo insists Covid-19 leaked from Wuhan lab

California topped the national death toll list, standing at 63,191. New York reported the country’s second largest deaths of 53,558, followed by Texas with 51,940 deaths and Florida with 37,265 deaths, the CSSE tally showed.

States with more than 20,000 fatalities also include Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Georgia, Michigan and Ohio, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The US remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world’s highest caseload and death toll, accounting for nearly 20 per cent of the global cases and over 15 per cent of the global deaths.

Last year, US Covid-19 deaths hit 100,000 on May 27, topped 200,000 on September 22, and reached 300,000 on December 14. The number surged to 400,000 on January 19, 2021 and passed more than half a million on February 22, 2021.

It took nearly four months for the national death toll to climb from 100,000 to 200,000, less than three months to jump from 200,000 to 300,000 and only more than one month to soar from 300,000 to 400,000 and from 400,000 to half a million, respectively.

US Covid-19 deaths increased at a slower pace from 500,000 to 600,000 in nearly four months, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

ALSO READ: UK PM: Selfish Approach to COVID proved Self-Destructive

Previous Story

Exhibiting the ‘RAY’ reflections

Next Story

Yoga to boost kids’ memory

Latest from -Top News

IMF hails India’s economic reforms

The IMF on Tuesday raised India’s growth projection to 6.6 per cent, an upward swing of 0.2 percentage points…reports Asian Lite News IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Thursday praised India for

Trump plans new squeeze on Russia

US President Donald Trump plans to tighten pressure on Moscow by halting global energy imports from Russia….reports Asian Lite News Since imposing a large sum of “reciprocal” trade tariff, Trump has been

India, Lanka deepen trade, education ties

The leaders discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in education and capacity building….reports Asian Lite News External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini

Yunus regime faces military heat

Army Chief, General Waker-uz-Zaman, is facing immense pressure from his officers, and this led him to cancel his visits to India and Saudi Arabia….reports Asian Lite News A major showdown is looming

India, Uganda vow deeper ties

Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh met Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday to discuss strengthening India–Uganda ties….reports Asian Lite News Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh met
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Vaccines still effective against Omicron: WHO chief scientist

Stressing that hospitalisations and even within hospitalised people the need

Judge cautions Trump on trial influencing statements

The former President is already subject to a protective order