U.S. reports over 4,000 new coronavirus deaths for first time
08 January 2021
The U.S. reported more than 4,000 new coronavirus-related deaths on Thursday, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Why it matters: It is the first time the U.S. topped 4,000 new deaths in a single day, a record that comes as hospitals nationwide continue to be overwhelmed by an influx of COVID-19 patients.
The big picture: The seven-day average for deaths is more than 2,750, also a record, per the COVID Tracking Project.
- Over 365,170 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since the pandemic began.
- More than 132,300 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday evening.
What they're saying: Earlier on Thursday, NIAID director Anthony Fauci warned that "things will get worse as we get into January."
- Speaking to NPR's Morning Edition, Fauci attributed his warning to the holiday season and "the congregate settings that usually take place socially during that period of time."
- "Hopefully, if we really accelerate our public health measures during that period of time, we'll be able to blunt that acceleration. But that's going to really require people concentrating very, very intensively on doing the kinds of public health measures that we talk about all the time. Now's not the time to pull back on this," he added.
Go deeper: Fauci says vaccine rollout’s "bumps and hiccups” won’t last long
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.