U.S. surpasses 10 million coronavirus cases

In its third wave of the pandemic, the United States has become the first country to surpass 10 million cases.

Bryan Wood reports.

The United States became the first country to surpass 10 million coronavirus infections on Sunday, according to a Reuters tally.

The grim milestone came as the third wave of the virus surges across the nation.

The U.S. has reported about a million cases in the past 10 days and a record of over 131,000 cases on Saturday.

The country's latest seven-day average is more than the combined average for both India and France and on average, the U.S. accounts for one in 11 deaths reported worldwide each day, according to a Reuters analysis.

The U.S President-elect Joe Biden pledged on Saturday to make tackling the pandemic a top priority and is to announce a 12-member task force on Monday to tackle the pandemic.

It will be led by former surgeon general Vivek Murthy and former Food and Drug Administration commissioner David Kessler.

Across the country, the hardest hit is the Midwest, with North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska topping the most cases per capita.

Texas on Saturday became the first state to surpass a million cases in the United States.

Meanwhile, Illinois has emerged as a new epicenter, with the highest single-day number of cases so far.

New York state still remains the state with the highest number of deaths of over 33,000.