The coronavirus death toll in the US has soared to more than 4,000 doubling within three days, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The
The coronavirus death toll in the US has soared to more than 4,000 doubling within three days, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. The number of deaths on Tuesday was 4,076 – more than twice the 2,010 recorded late Saturday – and more than 40 percent of the fatalities were in New York state.
Yesterday the US exceeded the number of deaths reported in China (3,309) where the virus emerged from a wet market in Wuhan in December. Although this grim milestone is mitigated by Beijing’s appalling record of concealing the extent of the virus, America has now the most confirmed cases in the world, with 189,510, though Italy and Spain have recorded more deaths.
President Donald Trump warned yesterday of ‘a very, very painful two weeks’ ahead for the country when experts anticipate the contagion will peak in ferocity. Fears that the U.S. is on track to become the new Italy, whose healthcare system has buckled under the weight of the pandemic, are fast becoming a reality. Italy has recorded more deaths, with 12,428 as of Tuesday afternoon. However, the U.S. has far surpassed its number of confirmed cases, with the U.S. reaching 189,199 to Italy’s 105,792.
The mounting crisis hit close to home for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who reported teary-eyed that his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, had tested positive for the virus. The governor pronounced the disaster unlike any other the city has weathered: ‘This is ongoing and the duration itself is debilitating and exhausting and depressing.’ New York was the nation’s deadliest hot spot, with about 1,550 deaths statewide, most of them in New York City, which braced for things to get much worse in the coming weeks.
