America Rolls Into 2021 Amid Political Rancour & Pandemic

Washington: Roughly 160 Americans are dying every hour from Covid-19 and related causes as the year of profound mistrust and suffering drew to a close on Thursday, with the US racking up new records for infections, hospitalizations, and deaths from the pandemic. Vaccination rates are behind the expected curve, many people are partying like there is no tomorrow, and indeed, for some, there isn’t.

- Chidanand Rajghatta

Deaths are expected to tick over 4,000 per day in January given the holiday party in December, and while many are youngsters who can’t wait to leap into 2021, some of the old are dying alone in hospitals and nursing homes. Their stories don’t make the headlines beyond bald statistics — unless they are rich and famous. Official data on 2020 deaths will likely not be released until early 2022, but it is estimated more Americans have died in 2020 than any other year in history, with Covid-19 bumping it up to over 3 million for the first time.