Washington, DC - The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report that provides provisional data on mortality in the US in 2020.

The report ranked Covid-19 – with approximately 378,000 fatalities – as the third leading cause of underlying death, after heart disease and cancer.

In 2020, about 3.3 million people died in the country, marking a 16% increase in deaths from 2019, the report shows.

On Wednesday, 68,162 new coronavirus cases were reported in the country, taking the national total to 30,460,344.

This is higher than the seven-day average of 64,396.

Also, 1,138 new deaths were reported in the country on the same day, which is higher than the weekly average of 938.

California and Texas, the two worst-affected states, together accounted for 263 deaths, while most cases – 7,683 – were reported in New York.

The CDC's most recent data show a 12% increase in the seven-day average of new cases from the seven-day period prior.

Hospitalizations also continue to spike. The most recent seven-day average – about 4,900 admissions per day – is up from 4,600 admissions per day in the prior seven-day period.

Giving an update on the federal vaccination rollout, White House Senior Advisor for Covid Response Andy Slavitt said that three more mass vaccination sites will open next week. They are in Memphis, Tennessee, at the Pipkin Building at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium; in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Wisconsin Center; and in Greenbelt, Maryland, at the Greenbelt Metro Station.

In total, 25 mass vaccination sites have been opened, with a combined capacity to administer over 95,000 shots per day.