NEW YORK — Shelby County hit a grim milestone on Friday recording more than 1,000 total COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began in March.
On Thursday, leaders with the Memphis Shelby County Joint COVID Task Force warned the county could hit 1,000 deaths by Friday after reporting 984 deaths Thursday. That means over the last 24 hours 31 people have died.
David Sweat with the task force said the county is very much in the worst part of the pandemic and experiencing the surge after the holiday break that health officials have been warning about for weeks.
The news comes just hours after the United States hit its own record, topping 4,000 daily deaths and breaking a record set just one day earlier.
That tally from Johns Hopkins University shows the U.S. had 4,085 deaths Thursday. The U.S. had nearly 275,000 new coronavirus cases as well.
The numbers are another reminder of the worsening situation following travel for holidays and family gatherings, along with more time indoors during the winter months. There’s been a surge in cases and deaths in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
More than 365,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus.
