U.S. becomes country with most COVID-19 deaths, surpassing Italy

The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpassed that in Italy on Saturday, reaching 19,701 as of 1: 35 p.m. (1735 GMT) among 506,188 cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

According to the tally, Italy reported 19,468 deaths among 147,577 cases.

• U.S. COVID-19 cases top 500,000, Italy extends lockdown
• WHO sees a “welcome slowing” of COVID-19 infections in some hardest-hit countries in Europe

In the United States, New York state suffered the most deaths, 8,627. The fatalities of New Jersey and Michigan have both surpassed 1,000. States that reported over 20,000 cases included New York, New Jersey, Michigan, California, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Italy’s death toll from coronavirus close to 20,000

The coronavirus pandemic has claimed 19,468 lives in locked-down Italy, bringing the total number of infections, fatalities and recoveries so far to 152,271, according to the latest data released by the country’s Civil Protection Department on Saturday.

Addressing a televised press conference, Civil Protection Department Chief Angelo Borrelli said fatalities grew by 619 cases on a daily basis, while active infections increased by 1,996 to 100,269.

Meanwhile, 2,079 new recoveries registered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 32,534.

Of those who have tested positive, 28,144 people are currently hospitalized (98 fewer than the previous day), 3,381 are in intensive care (116 fewer), and 68,744 are isolated at home, Borrelli said.

Source: Xinhua