People stand in the rain at as they wait to be tested for the coronavirus (COVID – on April , in New … Read More
NEW YORK: The US death toll from the novel coronavirus reached , 10 on Friday, having doubled in 19 days, according to a Reuters tally.
More than , (Americans have contracted the highly contagious respiratory illness Covid – 19 caused by the virus, and on average about 2, have died every day this month, according to a Reuters tally.
The true number of cases is thought to be higher, with state public health officials cautioning that shortages of trained workers and materials have limited testing capacity.
Deaths are also likely higher, as most states only count hospital and nursing home victims and not those who died at home. About 53% of the deaths have occurred in New York state, the epicenter of the US outbreak, followed by New Jersey, Michigan and Massachusetts.
US coronavirus deaths, the highest in the world, now exceed the total number of Americans killed in the – (Korean War – , . Coronavirus has also killed more people in the United States than the seasonal flu in seven out of nine recent seasons, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ).
Flu deaths range from a low of , (in) – to a high of , lives lost in the – season.
Coronavirus deaths in the United States fall far short of the Spanish flu, which began in and killed 823, Americans, according to the CDC.
Globally, coronavirus has claimed more than , lives since the outbreak began in China late last year. The United States, with the world’s third-largest population, has twice as many deaths as the next hardest-hit countries of Italy, Spain and France.
Of the top 24 most severely affected countries, the United States ranks ninth based on deaths per capita, according to a Reuters tally. The United States has 1.5 deaths per , people. Belgium ranks first at over five deaths per , 10 people, followed by Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.
Unprecedented stay-at-home orders issued to try to curb the spread of the virus have hammered the economy, with the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits over the last five weeks soaring to . 5 million.
While some states have said they plan to begin reopening their economies over the coming weeks, health experts and some governors have warned that a premature easing of restrictions on movement could trigger a surge in new cases.
A Reuters / Ipsos survey this month found that a bipartisan majority of Americans want to continue to shelter in place to protect themselves from the coronavirus , despite the impact on the economy.
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