San Francisco (USA), Feb 11 (EFE) .- With 45,639 deaths since the pandemic began, California, the most populous state in the United States, has ousted New York as the leader in deaths from covid-19, according to the count of this Thursday from Johns Hopkins University.
The state of New York – the fourth with the largest population behind Texas and Florida, in addition to California – held this title since March of last year, when the coronavirus was especially prevalent with the Big Apple.
That first wave of the pandemic was relatively mild in California, especially when compared to what happened on the east coast of the United States, but since late last year, the situation in the west has worsened significantly and cases have multiplied. .
In terms of cases, California is also the worst hit state in the country with 3,454,751, more than twice that of New York.
Within California, Los Angeles County is the one with the highest figures and with 18,519 deaths it concentrates more than a third of the total deaths in the state.
Los Angeles is also the most populous city in California and the second-largest city in the US.
Orange and Riverside counties, both near Los Angeles, are the other two with the highest death toll, with 3,493 and 3,477, respectively.
Other areas of the state with a strong impact of the coronavirus are San Diego County (second city in the state) and the San Francisco Bay area, which includes several counties.
Despite the badness of these accumulated figures, the state has experienced in recent days an improvement in the situation in which the number of beds occupied by covid-19 patients has dropped, which led the governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, to allow a certain relaxation of the restrictions.
Regarding vaccines, the state (of 39 million inhabitants) has already fully vaccinated (with the two doses administered) 2.5% of its population, while 10.4% have received at least the first dose.
The governor has come under harsh criticism for what is perceived as a slower vaccination rate than it should be, and those in groups 1A and 1B are currently being vaccinated, which include emergency workers, workers farmers, teachers and people over 65. EFE
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