US COVID-19 Death Toll Crosses 5000; Record 884 Deaths In 24 Hours

By RTTNews Staff Writer | Published: 4/2/2020 10:43 AM ET

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States crossed 5,000 on Wednesday, with 884 more deaths reporting in 24 hours.

This is the biggest daily surge in coronavirus deaths in U.S. since the first case in the country was reported on January 23.

Also, the number of confirmed infections across the country rose by more than 25,000 in one day.

In all, 215,344 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States, which is almost double the number reported in Italy (110,574), the second worst-affected in the world.

However, in terms of death, Italy's case – 13,155 – is far worse than that of the United States – 5,112.

The latest victims include a six-week-old baby.

The alarming pace of spread prompted Vice-President Mike Pence to warn that the country appeared to be on a similar trajectory as Italy.

Of the latest deaths occurred in the U.S., most of them were in New York. It continues to be the worst-hit state with 2219 deaths and 83901 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

New York City's second-most populous borough Queens, where social-distancing guidelines are hard to enforce, reportedly has the highest concentration of coronavirus infection.

New Jersey has fast overtaken many other states to become the second worst-affected state with 355 deaths and 22255 infections.

Michigan (337 deaths, 9,334 infections), Louisiana (273 deaths, 6,424 infections), Washington (254 deaths, 5984 infections), California (215 deaths, 9936 infections) and Georgia 154 death, 4748 infections) are the other worst-affected states.

Wyoming still remains to be the only U.S. state not to have reported a death from the coronavirus, but there are 137 infected cases.

Meanwhile, the states of Florida, Georgia and Mississippi have ordered its people to stay at home, leaving more than 75 percent of the country's population under lockdown.

Amid reports that two prisoners at a Louisiana prison died of coronavirus, all inmates in federal prisons have been confined to their cells and wards to prevent the spread of the disease.

Article written by an RTT News Staff Writer, and posted on the RTT News.com website.

Article reposted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe