The US death toll from Covid-19 surpassed 600,000 on Tuesday, although officials hailed progress towards a return to normality as its world-leading vaccination program promised to turn the page on one of the worst health crises in American history.
The United States has racked up by far the largest national death toll -- ahead of Brazil and India -- after a heavily-criticized early response to the pandemic, but has since organized among the world's most effective immunization drives.
Progress against the coronavirus was underlined as New York announced more than 70 percent of adults had received at least one vaccine dose and the last of the state's restrictions could be lifted.
"There's still too many lives being lost," President Joe Biden said, noting that despite the daily number of dead dropping sharply, the continuing loss of life was still "a real tragedy."
"My heart goes out to all those who have lost a loved one," he said, speaking on Monday in Brussels as the Johns Hopkins University tally ticked close to 600,000.Biden has set July 4 as the target date for 70 percent of US adults to have received at least one dose, but several states in the South are lagging far behind and the country might miss that goal.
In New York city -- where more than 33,000 died from Covid -- life took a major step forward as almost all restrictions were lifted.
"We have hit 70 percent vaccination," Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
"It is the national goal, and we hit it ahead of schedule. What does 70 percent mean? It means that we can now return to life as we know it."
- 'Reopening day' in California -
California -- the first US state to enact a stay-at-home order just under 15 months ago -- also celebrated its "reopening day" Tuesday by lifting almost all pandemic-related social distancing and capacity limits.Vaccinated people will be free to ditch their masks in nearly all of the nation's richest and most populous state, though exceptions will remain for locations including public transport, schools and hospitals.
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