Washington, December 3: US death toll from the coronavirus surpassed 2,700 in one day as of Wednesday evening, the highest since April, according to Johns Hopkins University. The new tally of 2,731 fatalities raises the overall known death toll in America to 273,181 since the pandemic started. The numbers have been on the rise as Americans defied official warnings and travelled for Thanksgiving holiday.

Health officials have been repeatedly pleading Americans to stick with coronavirus restrictions even with a vaccine in sight. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Deliveries Can Happen Before Christmas 2020 'Only if Things Go Well'.

The top US health officials announced plans on Tuesday to begin vaccinating Americans against the coronavirus as early as mid-December, as nationwide deaths hit the highest number for a single day in six months.

US COVID-19 Death Toll Surpasses 2,700, Highest Since April

On the other hand, COVID-19 vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, in coordination with German drugmaker BioNtech, was approved for rollout by the United Kingdom government on Wednesday.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2020 08:35 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).