U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 4,000
The U.S. death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus has passed 4,000, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker.
In total, 4,081 Americans have died from the illness, with 1,096 deaths in New York City alone. The country has reported 189,633 cases of coronavirus, while New York State currently has the largest number of reported cases at 76,049.
New York City hospitals have been overwhelmed trying to keep up with the number of patients.
On Tuesday President Trump and members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force braced Americans for a mounting death toll in the coming weeks. Task Force members Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Deborah Birx said at a press conference that the U.S. could see 100,000 to 240,000 deaths even if Americans continue to cooperate with social distancing guidelines.
“As sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it,” Fauci said. “It will be difficult, not one is denying that we are going through a really difficult time right now.”
“This is going to be the roughest three weeks we’ve ever had in this country,” Trump told reporters. “I wanted as few as a number of people to die as possible. And that’s all we’re working on.”
