21 US States in 'red zone'

Washington: Twenty-one US states have been placed in the government's "red zone" due to a massive surge in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, according to a new federal report.

Those states have been designated as in the "red zone", because they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the week ending July 24, reports Xinhua news agency.

America's coronavirus death toll was 150,676 as of Wednesday -- more than a fifth of the world's recorded deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US also had over 4,426,000 confirmed cases, making it the world's worst-hit country.

The first death in the US was reported on February 29. The country reached 50,000 deaths 54 days later on April 23, and 34 days later, on May 27, crossed 100,000 deaths. It has taken 63 days to add another 50,000 to reach the 150,000 mark, CNN reported.