"The pandemic set a devastating record today. It will not be the last."
The seven-day average of daily deaths was also at a record high, of 2,276 deaths. Since mid-October, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has been climbing relentlessly, with only a brief dip in the days after Thanksgiving, when states delayed reporting daily data. This past weekend the seven-day deaths average for the first time surpassed the record set in the spring surge.