Coronavirus deaths in the United States surged to their highest level in months as Muslim pilgrims began a pandemic-curtailed version of the hajj in Mecca.
The human toll of the disease has risen to a level not seen since mid-May in the United States, the world's hardest-hit country, with nearly 1,600 deaths recorded in 24 hours, Johns Hopkins University reported.
Case numbers have been rising for weeks across swathes of the nation. President Donald Trump's effort to be re-elected in November has been dogged by a crisis that has already killed nearly 150,000 Americans and wreaked havoc on the world's biggest economy.