Zelene Blancas, a young elementary school teacher from Texas who became famous in the country for her sweet teachings.
George Roque, a Hispanic firefighter who has served his community for 22 years in Los Angeles.
These are just a few of the thousands of people who lost their lives in recent weeks across the country due to COVID-19.
The United States closed 2020 and began the first days reaching the milestone of
350,000 deaths due to the coronavirus
as cases continue to multiply uncontrollably.
New York this Saturday became the fourth state to register a total of more than a million infections, according to the counts of our sister network NBC News.
A tribute to the victims of the pandemic is held in a Brooklyn cemetery.
AP
[A black doctor dies of coronavirus after complaining of racist treatment]
California remains at the top of the list with
2.3 million confirmed cases
.
Los Angeles County alone has reported about 806,210 cases as of Saturday, according to public health officials.
There lived Captain George Roque, a Hispanic firefighter who was 57 years old and worked for more than two decades for the force.
He was the second firefighter to die in Los Angeles from complications related to COVID-19.
COVID-19 takes the life of a Latino firefighter in Los Angeles
Jan. 2, 202100: 20
December was specifically the deadliest month of the entire pandemic, with more than 77,000 deaths and 6.4 million cases, while a more contagious variant of the virus emerged in the country, initially detected in the United Kingdom.
The second deadliest month was April 2020, with more than 58,000 deaths.
The other two most affected states are Florida and Texas, with 1.3 million and 1.7 million cases, respectively.
Among the latest fatalities in Texas, the death of teacher Zelene Blancas was recently known, who had become famous in 2018 when she shared a video about how her students said goodbye at the end of a class that went viral.
Blancas tested positive on October 20, was hospitalized days later and never made a full recovery.
The 35-year-old spent two months in the hospital on a ventilator, her relatives told CNN.
"
She was like my Wonder Woman
," said her brother, Mario Blancas.
"She was my spine and she was like my second mother even though we were only four years apart," he added.
[The health crisis in California worsens: hospitals, morgues and funeral homes are on the edge]
Experts have warned that the pandemic numbers may not adequately represent the severity of what is happening on the ground because the tally is not complete.
In New York City, for example, many people were infected during the spring when there was no access to diagnostic tests, NBC New York reported.
Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies at 41 after catching COVID-19
Dec. 30, 202000: 24
Across the country, the vaccination campaign has begun, with two vaccine models, from Pfizer and Moderna, and 20 million doses distributed so far, but the effects will take time to arrive.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has said the city plans to vaccinate 1 million residents in January alone.
["Vaccines for all": Pope Francis asks for solidarity with the most vulnerable people]
The arrival of a more contagious variant has also generated fear of an explosion of cases and the saturation of hospitals, with some areas suffering a health crisis, such as
Los Angeles County where one in five people tests positive for the virus
.
At least four cases of the new strain have been detected in Colorado, California and Florida, but public health experts believe it is likely circulating in other parts of the country.
With information from NBC News and CNN
.
