WASHINGTON, April 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The US death toll in the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak topped 20,000 on Saturday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 20,071 people in the US, which also leads the world in the number of confirmed infections with 519,453, by the Baltimore-based school’s count.
Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe with a population a fifth the size of the US, was also approaching the grim milestone with 19,468 declared virus fatalities.
The United States became the first country to report more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day, marking a grim milestone as billions around the world celebrated the Easter holiday weekend under lockdown from home.
The global death toll from the virus surged past 103,000 on Friday, with the United States quickly becoming the epicentre of the pandemic that first emerged in China late last year.
Europe has so far shouldered the majority of all deaths and infections — though there were signs of hope the curve could be starting to flatten in some of the hardest-hit countries.
On Friday, the United States reported 2,108 new deaths, the highest daily toll out of any country since the outbreak was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December.
With more than half a million reported infections, the United States already has more coronavirus cases than anywhere else in the world.
The global infection rate now stands at more than 1.7 million, though with many countries only testing the most serious cases the numbers are likely far higher.
But President Donald Trump said that with the US infection trajectory “near the peak” and social distancing working well, he was considering ways to re-open the world’s biggest economy as soon as possible.
He acknowledged the risk of higher death tolls if businesses restart too soon — after the World Health Organization on Friday cautioned countries against lifting lockdown measures too quickly.
“But you know what? Staying at home leads to death also,” Trump added, pointing to the massive economic suffering for millions of Americans.
And while President Trump has discussed a rapid return to economic stability, the US government’s top infectious disease specialist Anthony Fauci said that despite signs of progress, “this is not the time… to be pulling back at all” on social distancing efforts.
It is unclear when that will be possible, with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo saying millions in the state — the hardest hit in the US — will have to be tested before it can reopen.
Easter weekend kicked off in near-empty churches around the world as parishioners remained locked in their homes. — NNN-AGENCIES
