Washington: The US has recorded nearly 1,500 coronavirus deaths in a span of 24 hours, the highest number of fatalities registered in a day globally since the pandemic began last December, it was reported.
According to figures from the Washington-based Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), 1,480 deaths were recorded between Thursday and Friday.
As of Saturday morning, the US has registered 7,152 coronavirus deaths, with New York, the epicentre of the pandemic in the country, accounting for 1,867 of the total count, the CSSE figures showed.
The US also has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the world at 277,953.New York accounts for 102,863, while other states with over 10,000 cases include New Jersey, California, and Michigan, Xinhua news agency reported citing the figures.
France on Friday reported 588 more coronavirus deaths in hospital, its biggest 24-hour toll in the country since the epidemic began.
The new deaths brought to 5,091 the total number of people who have died in hospital of COVID-19 in France, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters.
There is no daily toll for those who have died of COVID-19 in old people’s homes in France. But Salomon said that a total of 1,416 people had died in such establishments from COVID-19 during the epidemic. This brings the total French toll to at least 6,507.
France has been in lockdown since March 17 in a bid to slow the spread of the epidemic, with only essential trips allowed outside that have to be justified with a signed piece of paper.
Spain overtook Italy for the first time on Friday for the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, but the overnight death toll fell from the previous day, providing a small glimmer of hope.
With a total 117,710 confirmed cases, Spain is now second in the number of infections only to the United States, which has a population some seven times larger. Spain’s total death toll now stands at 10,935, second only to Italy, with 13,915 fatalities.
On a happier note, Friday marked the first time in more than a week that the number of deaths fell from the previous day, to 932 fatalities from 950.