Over the past 24 hours, the United States has reported nearly 1,500 coronavirus deaths, the worst 24-hour death toll worldwide since the pandemic began.
Based on latest projections by the Johns Hopkins University, between Thursday morning and Friday morning 1,480 fatalities were recorded, and the total figure of those who have perished since the beginning of the outbreak in the US is now at 7,406.
In a bleak evaluation of the coming days, United States President Donald Trump disclosed at his daily briefing that "there will be a lot of death."
The president sought to comfort the worst-hit areas, offering medical equipment and military manpower to contain the pandemic. Unlike his warning, however, Trump proposed easing Easter's social-distancing measures.
In just a 24-hour span, the coronavirus has claimed the lives of more people across New York than ever before - and the worst is yet to come, warned Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned on Saturday.
The death toll of the state breached past the 3,500 mark - including a cumulative death of over 2,600 by Saturday night in New York City - reflecting a "all-time rise" of 630 lives lost in a single day, Cuomo disclosed during a media conference.
The governor added that infections could peak anywhere from four to 14 days in the state. At latest count, the US has more than 300,000 confirmed positive cases of coronavirus.
Health officials encouraged Americans to continue to follow the social distance guidelines, with Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease calling it "our most effective resource."
Earlier this week, White House experts estimated that at least 100,000 Americans might die from the virus - and that's if people adhere strictly to federal social distancing guidelines, which were extended for another month.
Research indicates that the coronavirus has the capability to spread "even when people just speak, contrary to coughing and sneezing," Fauci told Fox News.
The National Academy of Sciences sent a letter to the White House on April 1 summarizing recent work on the subject, stating that it is not yet definitive, but "the findings are consistent with aerosolisation of the coronavirus from normal breathing."
Meanwhile, there has been reason for hope elsewhere in the world, as the number of new virus infections and deaths has started to slowly decrease. In Italy, the number of patients with coronavirus in intensive care units declined for the first time since the start of the health crisis.
