California becomes second state to pass one million Covid cases

California has become the second state to amass more than one million confirmed cases of Covid-19.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the Golden State joins Texas, which has the greatest number of coronavirus infections in the US.

On Thursday California had officially recorded 1,000,631 cases, and 18,126 deaths since the start of the pandemic in March.

The state saw the nation’s first lockdown begin on 19 March in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus from overwhelming the medical system.

As summer began restrictions were eased and case counts remained low, but as with the rest of the country, the onset of the autumn saw a surge in new infections.

Local authorities are beginning to reintroduce or plan restrictions on public gatherings, commercial businesses, and in-person learning at schools.

As the most populous state, with 40 million residents, California only ranks 39th in the number of cases per 100,000 people, so there has been some success in slowing the spread.

Nevertheless, the state experienced the same challenges as elsewhere — providing enough protective gear for healthcare workers, rolling out testing, and contact tracing those that may have been exposed.

Poor Californians and the Latino community have suffered especially badly. Approximately 39 per cent of the population is Latino, but they account for 60 per cent of cases.

In lower-income neighbourhoods near downtown Los Angeles, twenty per cent of people tested positive in the early days of the pandemic.

Many contracted the virus working low-paid essential jobs and then brought it back to crowded homes.

The US has more than 10.6 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and over 243,000 officially recorded deaths.