Washington, DC, United States of America

The United States hit a new record for coronavirus cases Friday, notching nearly 290,000 in a span of 24 hours.

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The country, the hardest-hit in the world by the Covid-19 pandemic, also recorded 3,676 virus deaths in the same day.

The day before, the US had recorded a record of nearly 4,000 deaths in 24 hours.

The world's largest economy has recorded 21.8 million coronavirus cases and more than 368,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Some 131,000 people are currently hospitalised in the US for Covid-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

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The country is ultimately counting on a massive vaccination campaign begun in mid-December to bring the health crisis to an end. But the effort is running behind, with just under six million people having received the first of two injections in the country of 330 million.