Washington, Nov 10 (IANS): Health experts have expressed serious concerns that the US was ill-prepared for the upcoming winter season and the holidays when the Covid-19 pandemic could spiral into its deadliest phase.

As of Tuesday morning, the overall number of global coronavirus cases in the US has increased 10,051,722, while the deaths have surged to 238,201, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The two tallies currently account for the highest in the world, making the US the worst-hit country.

The US is heading into a fall holiday season marked by family gatherings and longer indoor periods, while the signs of further Covid-19 restrictions are basically non-existent, according to an article published by The Guardian.

Washington's strategy toward the pandemic boils down to one word -- hope, which is not a strategy, said Carlos del Rio, executive associate dean of the Emory School of Medicine and Grady Health System in Georgia.

He predicted that the daily number of new cases could reach 200,000 by Thanksgiving which falls on November 26, if the country's public health measures continue as they currently operate.

"We are heading into the very worst of the pandemic right now," Megan Ranney, an emergency room doctor at Brown University told The Guardian, adding that the fate of the country in the pandemic depends much on the next two months.

The situation could be exacerbated as US businesses are exhausting their pandemic relief aid, an ominous sign foreboding more layoffs and bankruptcies, the report said.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday reported a record-high average daily increase of Covid-19 cases at nearly 100,000, a new milestone since the onset of the pandemic in the country.