More than 3,900 people died of Covid-19 in the US, according to a count released by Johns Hopkins University, a new daily record for fatalities from the virus.

The Baltimore-based university said 3,927 people had died of the coronavirus in the 24 hours in the US, the worst-hit country in the world, while 189,671 new cases had been recorded.

That brought the US total to 19,715,899 infections and 341,845 deaths since the pandemic began, according to AFP.

Earlier, the country's leading infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, warned that the worst of the pandemic was likely yet to come, with the death toll rising at an alarming rate in the winter months and after major holiday gatherings.