2020 is the deadliest year in US history with deaths expected to top 3 MILLION for the first time - as COVID-19 fatalities surge to record highs with one American dying every 33 seconds in the last week

• Preliminary numbers suggest that the US is on track to see more than 3.2 million total deaths this year, which is a 15% jump from 2019 
• It would mark the largest leap since 1918, when 116,516 US soldiers died in WWI and 675,000 Americans died in the Spanish Flu pandemic
• Deaths could potentially go even higher for 2020 once all fatalities from this month are counted 
• Life expectancy for 2020 could now end up dropping as much as three full years 
• COVID-19 has so far killed more than 319,000 Americans this year and the death toll is only increasing 
• Deaths from coronavirus have been surging this month to record highs with the nationwide seven day average now at more than 2,600 
• The last week has been the deadliest of the pandemic so far with more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths, which equates to one death every 33 seconds  

By EMILY CRANE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESS-22 December 2020December 2020

This year is the deadliest in US history with overall deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time - as COVID-19 fatalities continue to surge to record highs with one American dying every 33 seconds in the last week alone.  

Preliminary numbers from the CDC, based on weekly data, suggests that the US is on track to see 3.2 million total deaths this year. More than 2.9 million have already died from all causes in the US this year, preliminary data shows.

Deaths usually rise by about 20,000 to 50,000 each year, mainly due to the nation's aging, and growing, population. 

While deaths increase most years and some annual rise in fatalities is expected, the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15 percent compared to 2019 when 2.8 million deaths were recorded.  

The 2020 death toll could potentially go even higher once all fatalities from this month are counted. There is a several week lag in deaths.    

It would mark the largest single-year percentage leap since 1918, when 116,516 US soldiers died in World War I and 675,000 Americans died in the Spanish Flu pandemic. Deaths rose 46 percent that year, compared with 1917. 

COVID-19 has so far killed more than 319,000 Americans this year and the death toll is only surging. Deaths from coronavirus have increased this month to record highs with the nationwide seven-day average now at more than 2,600. 

TOTAL US DEATHS: Deaths usually rise by about 20,000 to 50,000 each year, mainly due to the nation's aging, and growing, population. The CDC counted 2.8 million US deaths last year, or nearly 16,000 more than 2018

COVID-19 has so far killed more than 319,000 Americans this year and the death toll is only increasing. Preliminary numbers from the CDC suggest that the US is on track to see more than 3.2 million total deaths, not just COVID-19, this year

Preliminary numbers from the CDC suggest that the US is on track to see more than 3.2 million total deaths this year. Deaths, on average, are higher than 2019. While deaths increase most years and some annual rise in fatalities is expected, the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15% compared to 2019 when 2.8 million deaths were recorded

The last week has been the deadliest of the pandemic so far with more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths, which equates to one death every 33 seconds. 

The month of December is now on track to become the deadliest month of the pandemic. 

Just 21 days into the month, December has already recorded 50,996 deaths. It is just shy of the 52,200 deaths recorded during the entire month of April. 

In the last week, deaths increased in 22 states. Washington, Delaware, Oregon and Arizona all reported a more than 50 percent increase in fatalities compared to the previous seven days, according to a Reuters analysis of local and state reports.  

In terms of deaths per 100,000 people, Iowa, South Dakota and Rhode Island were the hardest hit.  

Health officials fear the death toll will only increase after the holiday season. 

Hospitals across the country are already at capacity and officials say a surge in new infections due to gatherings and travel could impact that. 

The US recorded 190,519 new cases on Monday and a record total of 115,351 people are currently hospitalized with the virus. 

Tennessee, California and Rhode Island had the highest per capita new cases in the country last week, according to the Reuters analysis. 

While the country has begun to administer two new vaccines, it may be months before the inoculations put a dent in the COVID-19 outbreak. 

In the last week, deaths increased in 22 states. Washington, Delaware, Oregon and Arizona all reported a more than 50 percent increase in fatalities compared to the previous seven days, according to a Reuters analysis of local and state reports

The US recorded 190,519 new cases on Monday. There have been more than 18 million cases so far throughout the pandemic

Tennessee, California and Rhode Island had the highest per capita new cases in the country last week, according to the Reuters analysis

Before the COVID-19 pandemic came along, there was reason to be hopeful about US death trends this year. 

The nation's overall mortality rate fell a bit in 2019, due to reductions in heart disease and cancer deaths. 

Life expectancy inched up - by several weeks - for the second straight year, according to death certificate data released on Tuesday by the CDC.

However, life expectancy for 2020 could now end up dropping as much as three full years. 

The CDC counted 2.8 million US deaths last year, or nearly 16,000 more than 2018. 

The age-adjusted death rate dropped about 1 percent in 2019, and life expectancy rose by about six weeks to 78.8 years, the CDC reported.

'It was actually a pretty good year for mortality, as things go,' Robert Anderson, who oversees CDC death statistics, said.  

The COVID-19 epidemic has been a big driver of deaths this year, both directly and indirectly. 

The virus has become the third leading cause of death in the US, behind only heart disease and cancer. 

For certain periods this year, COVID-19 was the number one killer, but some other types of deaths also have increased.

A burst of pneumonia cases early this year may have been COVID-19 deaths that simply weren't recognized as such early in the epidemic.

There also have been an unexpected number of deaths from certain types of heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes and dementia, according to Anderson. Many of those, too, may be related to COVID. 

Anderson said the virus could have weakened patients already struggling with those conditions, or could have diminished the care they were getting.  

The number of Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 hit a record high of 115,000 nationwide on Monday. There were 18,359 people hospitalized with the virus across California, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

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