US Surpasses Italy As COVID-19 Deaths Top 20,000

New York state has recorded the most deaths in the country, 8,627, which is followed by New Jersey and Michigan with 2,183 and 1,276, respectively. A total of 29,507 patients in the country have recovered, according to the CSSE.

Paramedics push a gurney with a patient to Brooklyn Hospital Center Emergency Room on March 31, 2020 in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

New Delhi: The United States has surpassed Italy’s figures in terms of Coronavirus deaths and has emerged as one of the worst hit countries.  The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the United States topped 20,000, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University. A total of 20,071 people have died of the disease among 519,453 confirmed cases in the country as of 4 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Saturday, the CSSE said, reported Xinhua news agency. New York state has recorded the most deaths in the country, 8,627, which is followed by New Jersey and Michigan with 2,183 and 1,276, respectively. A total of 29,507 patients in the country have recovered, according to the CSSE. Also Watch:  Chicago and other cities across the Midwest braced for a potential surge in victims and moved to snuff out smoldering hot spots of contagion before they erupt. With the New York area still deep in crisis, fear mounted over the spread of the scourge into the nation's heartland. More than 5 lakh people in the country have tested positive for the virus which has infected over 1.5 million people worldwide since it originated in China's Wuhan last year. Meanwhile, in France, the number of coronavirus related deaths has topped 13,800 on Saturday. "A total of 13,832 people have died in hospitals, medical and social institutions since March 1," Jerome Salomon, the head of the state health agency in France, was quoted as saying by Sputnik. He added that 8,943 people have died in hospitals alone, including 353 patients who died in the past 24 hours. While nearly 5,000 have died in nursing homes. (inputs from agencies)