Lifestyle Health 1,000 Americans Died of Coronavirus on Tuesday, Most Since Early June, as Cases Near 4 Million The U.S. death rate is steadily increasing after two months of soaring COVID-19 case numbers By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Twitter Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 22, 2020 12:26 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Martin Schwartz/PEOPLE More than 1,000 Americans died from COVID-19 on Tuesday, the most since early June, as new infections continued to soar across the country. The number of new deaths each day had been on the decline since the U.S.’s peak in mid-April, but as new infections soared after Memorial Day weekend, the death rate was expected to start climbing. After days of increases, the death toll reached 1,127 on July 21, marking the first time deaths have been over 1,000 since June 9 and the highest total since May 29. At least 142,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in March, according to The New York Times’ database. Over the last 14 days, new deaths from COVID-19 have been on the rise in 25 states, from California to Alabama, North Carolina to South Dakota. 6 States Set Records for New Coronavirus Cases as Arizona Reaches Highest Death Toll Yet Arizona nearly topped their record for new deaths on Tuesday with 123, slightly below their record from four days earlier of 136. Florida had also repeatedly broken its record for daily deaths, with the highest, 156, occurring on July 16. The COVID-19 death toll in Florida is at least 5,205 as of Wednesday morning. The national death rate is now trending upwards for the first time since April, when New York was dealing with overloaded hospitals. Nationally, an estimated 63 percent of hospital beds are currently occupied, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while several states — particularly Florida, Arizona and Texas — are dealing with major shortages. Fauci Says U.S. Could See 100,000 New Coronavirus Cases a Day ‘If This Does Not Turn Around’ The high number of deaths comes as the number of cases in the U.S. near 4 million, following two months of soaring infections in most of the country. On Tuesday, after months of downplaying COVID-19 and disputing the high numbers of cases and deaths, President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. will continue to suffer from the virus in the near future. “It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better," Trump, 74, said in his first COVID-19 briefing since April. "[That's] something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is. That's what we have." He also encouraged Americans to wear masks after speaking dismissively about them in the past. “Get a mask,” Trump said, while reading from prepared notes. “Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact. They will have an effect and we need everything we can get." As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.