Coronavirus Pandemic: US COVID-19 death toll crosses 50,000, accounts for over 50% of global tally

The death toll due to the coronavirus pandemic in the US crossed the 50,000 mark on Friday, as the number of confirmed cases rose above 8.8 lakh.

According to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus trackers, 50,114 people have died in the pandemic in the US alone, with the number of infections reaching 880,112.

In the last 24 hours over 3,000 people died from the coronavirus in the US, the university tracker said. This is the highest single-day death toll for any country in the world since the virus first reported in China's Wuhan city last year.

As of 10:30 pm (IST), the global tally of COVID-19 cases stands at 2,761,121 with 193,671 dead.

The US accounted for nearly 32% of the total number of cases, and over 25% of the fatalities.

New York is the worst-hit state in the country with over 18,000 deaths.

Most of the states in the US have issued stay-at-home order with President Donald Trump on Thursday indicating that the order might be extended beyond May 1. He, however, advocated the need to gradually open up the economy.

Outside the US, Spain, Italy, France and the United Kingdom are most hit both in terms of the number of cases and in deaths.