US coronavirus death toll surpasses 3,000
The US death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic exceeded 3,000 on Monday, according to the latest tally compiled by the Johns Hopkins University, with more than 163,000 confirmed cases.
US has recorded 3,008 deaths, according to the tally, while its 163,429 coronavirus cases are by far the highest national number ahead of Italy, Spain and China.
The US President Donald Trump has been criticised for an initially slow response by the federal government to the now-accelerating pandemic proliferation.
In New York and elsewhere, harrowing scenes from hospitals unveiled a healthcare facility unprepared with basic supplies such as face masks, as well as life-saving devices like respirators.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump canceled his plans to re-open much of the country by Easter – April 12 – and extended social distancing guidelines until the end of April after his top scientists confronted him with data on the rising COVID-19 crisis.
He said America’s death toll rate was likely to increase for two weeks, describing as “horrible” a prediction by senior scientist Anthony Fauci that COVID-19 could take up to 200,000 lives.
