Covid continues to devastate countries across the world, as the global death toll from the deadly virus fast nears the grim milestone of 2.5 million.

For weeks after Cindy Pollock began planting tiny flags across her yard — one for each of the more than 1,800 Idahoans killed by COVID-19 — the toll was mostly a number. Until two women she had never met rang her doorbell in tears, seeking a place to mourn the husband and father they had just lost.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving, and he does not expect current recommendations around social distancing to be relaxed before Christmas.

Nearly 90,000 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals across the United States as of Thursday, the Thanksgiving day, reaching a new all-time high for the 16th consecutive day, according to The COVID Tracking Project.   Wednesday's death toll climbed to 2,284, the highest since May 7.   The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicted that the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths will likely increase over the next four weeks, with 10,600 to 21,400 new deaths likely to be reported in the week ending Dec 19.   The third wave of COVID-19 deaths in long-term care facilities has continued, as cases increased at twice the rate of the nation's total cases, according to The COVID Tracking Project.   States across the United States reported a 50 percent increase in new long-term care cases, 46,153 new COVID-19 cases this week alone.   Long-term care facilities recorded about 3,000 new deaths in one week, a marker last passed in early June. Nearly half of these deaths occurred in the Midwest, according to the tracking project.   While the Midwest remains the epicentre of long-term care facility outbreaks, accounting for 39 percent of new cases, the crisis stretches beyond the Midwest.   As COVID-19 continued to sweep the country, each region reported their largest increase of long-term care cases in the past four months, according to the tracking project.   "With winter approaching and case numbers higher than ever before, existing safety measures will not adequately protect this vulnerable population," said a report of the project.   Public health officials have urged Americans to celebrate Thanksgiving only with members of the same household, or at least gather outdoors, to avoid further virus spread.   The CDC issued a new guidance last Friday urging Americans to stay home and not travel for Thanksgiving.   "Travel may increase your chance of getting and spreading COVID-19. Postponing travel and staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others this year," said the guidance.   The United States has recorded more than 12.86 million cases with over 263,200 related deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to the real-time count kept by Johns Hopkins University.   Read Also: New Covid-19 cases, deaths on the rise in Bangladesh: 37 more die in 24 hrs

The US, which remains the world’s worst hit country, is approaching another grim milestone of 10 million cases as the country’s total caseload reached 9,968,155 as of Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 6.5 million on Monday, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.