US becomes first country to record over 2,000 COVID-19 deaths in single day
With 2,108 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, the United States became the first country to record over 2,000 fatalities in a single day. The COVID-19 death toll in America, hence, reached 18,693 on Friday. Moreover, the coronavirus has now infected over 500,000 people in the US as 500,399 COVID-19 have been reported in the country till now, according to the Johns Hopkins University data.
The deadly coronavirus has claimed as many as 5,820 lives in New York City, making it the worst-hit city followed by Nassau, which reported 723 fatalities so far. Whereas, Michigan's Wayne recorded 609 deaths till now. Suffolk, Illinois, Bergen, Westchester, Essex are the cities in which over 300 people lost their lives due to coronavirus.
More than 40% of the deaths in the US so far have happened in New York state, which reported 777 new deaths on Friday. But there were also signs of hope. State officials reported that the number of people in intensive care dropped for the first time there since mid-March. Hospitalizations are also slowing, with 290 new patients admitted in a single day versus daily increases of more than 1,000 last week.
California has more than 21,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and at least 583 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, figures far lower than New York, where the infections have been most prevalent and deadly.
State-wise tally of coronavirus cases in the United States
| USA State |
Total Cases |
New Cases |
Total Deaths |
New Deaths |
Active Cases |
Tot Cases/ 1M pop |
Deaths/ 1M pop |
Total Tests |
Tests/ 1M pop |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA Total | 502,876 | 0 | 18,747 | 0 | 456,815 | 1,519 | 57 | 2,538,888 | 7,670 | |
| New York | 172,358 | 7,844 | 148,280 | 8,786 | 400 | 417,885 | 21,301 | |||
| New Jersey | 54,588 | 1,932 | 51,974 | 6,146 | 218 | 113,523 | 12,781 | |||
| Michigan | 22,783 | 1,281 | 21,433 | 2,288 | 129 | 72,044 | 7,235 | |||
| California | 21,073 | 584 | 19,549 | 538 | 15 | 164,863 | 4,211 | |||
| Massachusetts | 20,974 | 599 | 20,365 | 3,071 | 88 | 102,372 | 14,988 | |||
| Pennsylvania | 20,340 | 446 | 19,724 | 1,590 | 35 | 113,019 | 8,836 | |||
| Louisiana | 19,253 | 755 | 18,448 | 4,128 | 162 | 92,280 | 19,787 |
White House hopeful that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing
At the end of a week officials had warned would be this generation’s Pearl Harbor, White House officials pointed to hopeful signs Friday that the spread of the coronavirus could be slowing, even as President Donald Trump insisted he would not move to reopen the country until it is safe.
At the same time, Trump said he would be announcing the launch of what he dubbed the “Opening our Country” task force next Tuesday to work toward that goal.
“I want to get it open as soon as possible,” he said at a Good Friday briefing, while adding: “The facts are going to determine what I do.”
With the economy reeling and job losses soaring, Trump has been itching to reopen the country, drawing alarm from health experts who warn that doing so too quickly could spark a deadly resurgence that could undermine current distancing efforts.
But Trump, who had once set Easter Sunday as the date he hoped people in certain parts of the country might begin to return to work and pack church pews, said he would continue to listen to health experts like Drs. Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx as he considers what he described as the “biggest decision I’ve ever had to make.”
(With inputs from AP)
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