US officials warned Americans to expect alarming numbers of coronavirus deaths this week, even as there was evidence that the number of new infections was flattening in New York state, the epicenter of the US outbreak.
But Americans must resist the temptation to backslide on social distancing now that signs of progress have emerged in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak, US medical and state officials said on Thursday.
US deaths, the second highest in the world, set new daily records on Tuesday and Wednesday with over 1,900 new deaths reported each day, according to a Reuters tally. US deaths were up over 1,600 on Thursday with several states yet to report their latest figures.
US cases topped 459,000 on Thursday, up 27,000 from the prior day.