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Covid-19 drove record US death rate in 2020 with 15% hike

Washington - Covid-19 killed nearly 400,000 people of the total 3 million deaths in the US last year, making it the third-leading cause of death.

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A US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study has found that last year was the deadliest in US history, with Covid-19 helping to drive a 15 per cent increase in deaths, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Over 3 million people died in the US in 2020, Politico said, adding Covid-19 was the third most common cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer.

The CDC will summarise its findings in an upcoming issue of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The analysis will detail the rates at which US residents of various races and ethnicities died as a result of the coronavirus as well as the total number of deaths in each demographic group, according to Politico.

The CDC and the US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More than 117.6 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 2.73 million have died thus far, according to a Reuters tally.

The United States has had the highest number of deaths from Covid-19 in the world, with over 528,000 fatalities. The country has thus far reported more than 29 million cases.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky has said the recent plateau of Covid-19 cases appeared to be trending downward, while new hospital admissions and coronavirus-related deaths were also decreasing.

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