Washington: The United States has more COVID-19 patients than any other country on the planet, surpassing China and Italy.
Around 40 per cent of American population have been confined to their homes as 15-day ‘slow-down’ period has been imposed by authorities, urging the public to practice social distancing and minimeze their public interactions.
Currently 21 US states have told residents to stay in their homes or ordered the closure of non-essential businesses in order to contain the pandemic.
The US has recorded 1,178 deaths, while the global death toll stood at 23,293.
New York City, which has been the epicentre of virus outbreak in US with 37,800 confirmed coronavirus cases, has witnessed more than 6,400 emergency medical calls in a time period of around 24 hours, surpassing the total from the 9/11 attacks.
“We are waging war on this virus using every financial, scientific, medical, pharmaceutical and military resource, to halt its spread and protect our citizens,” President Donald Trump said.
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine has warned around 2,300 patients could be dying every day by April if the virus outbreak continues its trajectory.
US Vice-President Mike Pence said that coronavirus tests were now available in all 50 states and more than 552,000 tests had been conducted nationwide.
Earlier, President Donald Trump has announced that he aims to ‘re-open’ the country by Easter.
US Senate has approved a historic $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
