California sees record 379 coronavirus deaths as ICU capacity plummets

State has 1.7m cases, nearly as many as Spain, with ICU capacity in southern California at 0%

The coronavirus toll in California reached another frightening milestone on Thursday, with health officials announcing a one-day record of 379 deaths and a two-day total of nearly 106,000 newly confirmed cases.

The most populous US state has recorded more than 1,000 deaths in the last five days. Its overall case total now tops 1.7m, a figure nearly equal to Spain's and only surpassed by eight countries. The state's overall death toll has reached 21,860.