The United States recorded nearly 1,500 deaths from COVID-19 between Thursday and Friday, according to the John Hopkins University tracker, the worst 24-hour death toll globally since the pandemic began.

With 1,480 deaths counted between 8:30 pm (0030 GMT) Thursday and the same time n Friday, according to the university's continuously updated figures, the total number of people who have died since the start of the pandemic in the United States is now 7,406.