New York remains COVID-19 hotspot in US, reports largest single-day jump with 5,489 deaths

Washington DC: The United States is surely facing a harrowing time as it reported a record daily figure of 1,939 deaths bringing up the total toll of COVID-19 positive deaths to 12,907, which is fast closing on tolls in the other worst-hit countries such as Italy and Spain.

As on Wednesday, the US has more cases than any other country, with over 399,081 people diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.

Italy so far has reported 17,127 deaths and Spain stands second in overall death toll with 14,045 deaths. 

With 5,489 deaths, New York reported the largest single-day jump on Tuesday. New York City remains the hotspot with 731 deaths new deaths on Tuesday. 

Long-time singer-songwriter John Prine has died of coronavirus, his representative told ABC News.

"Widely lauded as one of the most influential songwriters of his generation, John’s impact will continue to inspire musicians for years to come," the Recording Academy said in a statement. "We send our deepest condolences to his loved ones."

The 73-year-old had recently been checked into Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, suffering from COVID-19, his family said in late March.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is worried about coronavirus cases and hospitalizations increasing again as some people start to leave their homes, CNN reported.

He said, "The weather has turned warm. People have been in their homes for one month, everyone has cabin fever and they`re coming out in greater numbers."

In view of rising COVID-19 infections in the country, President Donald Trump sought to assure a grieving nation that new data projections reveal fewer deaths than originally thought.

‘’We're looking to have far fewer deaths than originally thought. I think we're heading in that direction, but it's too early to talk about it,’’Trump told reporters at his daily White House news briefing.

While the death toll in the US continues to soar and those being infected by the deadly virus now approaching four lakhs, the highest for any country in the world.

The national number of both fatalities and cases of infections are expected to jump during the next week, officials believe, but they exuded confidence that strict enforcement of social mitigation measures, including social distancing, would help bring things under control in the next few weeks.

‘’We are seeing light at the end of the tunnel,’’ Trump said during a White House meeting on Small Businesses.

Nearly 97 percent of the America's 330 million population are under stay-at-home order. In the last 10 days, the US Army has added thousands of new beds by converting large public spaces like convention centres into makeshift hospitals. 

Thousands of ventilators have been distributed, along with millions of face masks, personal protection equipment and essential medical supplies.