US registers over 1,500 fatalities in last 24 hours; COVID-19 case tally crosses 5.5 lakh

The death toll from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the United States on Monday crossed 22,000 and currently stands at 22,115. Two days earlier, the US had surpassed Italy to become the country with the highest number of deaths in the world, surpassing Italy, as the pandemic outbreak continues to spread like wildfire across the globe.

According to the Coronavirus Resource Center at the Baltimore-based John Hopkins University, the US has recorded 1,514 deaths related to the coronavirus over the past 24 hours alone. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the US has crossed 5.5 lakh and currently stands at 5,56,044.

On Friday, the US had recorded over 2,000 deaths, the highest tally for any country so far. At least 2,056 people had died of complications related to COVID-19 in the USA on Friday, reports said.

Meanwhile, it is likely that the US might start gradually reopening next month, according to the federal government's top infectious diseases expert, as signs grew that the coronavirus pandemic was peaking.

According to news agency AFP, Trump has cast the decision on when to ease the lockdown as the biggest of his presidency as he faces competing pressures from public health experts and businesses along with some conservative allies who want a swift return to business as usual.

Anthony Fauci, the veteran pandemic expert who has quietly sought action to stem infections, said in a televised interview that parts of the country could begin easing restrictions in May -- but was cautious.

Unlike in most Western countries, lockdown decisions are primarily up to local governments, not the president, and leaders of a number of hard-hit, densely populated states have vowed to act as long as necessary.

The hardest-hit state in the US is New York, where more than 1.89 lakh COVID-19 cases have been registered. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said that while it is important to reopen as soon as possible, the caveat is to be smart in the way the process of reopening is carried out. Another 758 coronavirus deaths were registered in the state on Sunday.

In the neighbouring state of New Jersey, where nearly 62,000 cases have been registered, the state's governor Phil Murphy said that an economic recovery depended on a "full health-care recovery."

The United States has been recording nearly 2,000 deaths a day from the coronavirus, disproportionately older people with weakened immune systems and ethnic minorities with less access to health care and teleworking.

The US, which has 4.25 percent of the world's population, accounts for almost a fifth of the world's nearly 110,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the disease first emerged in China late last year.

The global coronavirus death toll on Monday stands at 114,185. There have been 1,846,963 positive cases of COVID-19 worldwide so far. Globally, 431,629 infected patients have recovered.

In terms of infection, the US is followed by Spain (166,831 cases), Italy (156,363 cases), France (133,670 cases), Germany (127,854 cases) and the United Kingdom (85,208 cases).

In terms of death, Italy (19,899), Spain (17,209), France (14,393) and the United Kingdom (10,612) have the highest death toll after the US.