US virus deaths top its WWII fatalities

America’s coronavirus deaths surpassed the country’s troop fatalities in World War II as cases surged past 96 million worldwide, fuelled by the emergence of new variants including one that was first detected in Britain.

“We need all our strength to persevere through this dark winter. We’re entering what may be the toughest and deadliest period of the virus,” US President Joe Biden said at his inauguration. A Johns Hopkins University tracker on Wednesday showed that 405,400 people have died from the disease in the US, more than the 405,399 total US combat and non-combat deaths in WWII.

Meanwhile, Amazon has offered its logistics to help with the Biden administration’s aim to inoculate 100mn Americans with Covid vaccine in 100 days.

China’s commercial hub of Shanghai reported its first locally transmitted cases in two months on Thursday. China plans to impose strict testing requirements during the Lunar New Year holiday season, when millions of people travel.

Russia said it could supply Hungary with its Sputnik V vaccine from next month, after Budapest gave initial approval to the shot, which was also registered for domestic use on Thursday by the UAE. Russia is seeking international endorsement for Sputnik V, named after the satellite that triggered the Cold War space race, and is building up its global customer base.