Virus kills 630 in a single day in US state of New York

The Covid-19 coronavirus killed 630 people over 24 hours in New York state, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday, the worst day yet for the US state hit hardest by the pandemic so far. Infections in the state doubled in just six days. Cases worldwide have doubled in the last week to over 1.2 million. As of 11:04 Thai time today (Sunday) global infections stand at 1,202,827 and the virus has  killed 64,771 worldwide.

NY Governor Cuomo told a news conference the situation is particularly worrying on Long Island, east of New York City, where the number of cases “is like a fire spreading.” The disease has now killed 3,565 people in the state, 2624 of them in New York City.

Experts calculate that New York State, home to both bustling Manhattan and hilly farm country that stretches to the Canadian border, might be around a week away from the worst point in the current outbreak of the virus impacting the state.

“We’re not yet at the apex, we’re getting closer… Our reading of the projections is we’re somewhere in the 7 day range. It’s only been 30 days since our first case. It feels like an entire lifetime.”

The US has the world’s highest number of known cases of Covid-19. More than 311,000 people have tested positive there and over 8,454 have died. The White House’s medical experts predicted that 100,000 to 240,000 Americans could die in the pandemic, even if sweeping orders to stay home are followed.

New York City alone accounts for more than a quarter of the US coronavirus deaths tallied by Johns Hopkins University. Hospitals and makeshift morgues in the city are struggling to treat the desperately ill and bury the dead.

Crematories are extending their hours and burned bodies into the night, with corpses piling up so quickly that city officials were looking elsewhere in the state for temporary burial sites.

Graphic: Reuters

For a full global coronavirus tracker, click HERE or HERE.

SOURCES: Thai PBS World | Reuters