Coronavirus cases in US soar over 600,000, deaths cross 25,000; death toll in UK tops 12,000

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 600,000, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

On Tuesday, the country has seen 602,989 cases with 25,575 deaths by 6:50 p.m. (2250 GMT), according to the CSSE, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the tally, the hardest-hit state, New York, saw 202,630 cases and a death toll of 10,834. New Jersey followed with 68,824 cases and 2,805 deaths. Other states with over 20,000 cases included Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois and Louisiana.

COVID-19 deaths in NYC exceed 10,000

The death toll from COVID-19 in New York City (NYC) increased by some 3,700 to exceed 10,000 after including those who presumably died of the disease but never got tested for the coronavirus, according to the US media reports.

The city`s Health Department has been working for weeks to collect those missed data by learning about those who passed away with the same symptoms as COVID-19 and their medical histories.

The city`s official number of deaths was believed to be an undercount as people who died at home before they got tested for the virus were left out, local officials and media had said.

Due to limited testing and hospital capacity, especially at the beginning of the outbreak, many people with mild to mid-level symptoms were turned down at testing centers, reported Xinhua news agency.

Mark Levine, chair of the NYC Council Committee on Health, said last week that normally 20 to 25 people die at home on a daily basis in the city, while the number now is at 200-215 every day.

"For sure nearly all the increase is people with coronavirus. But not all are being counted that way," he tweeted.

"Only people who die at home who are known to have a `positive coronavirus test` have the disease listed as the official cause on their death certificate. We know there are many others going uncounted," he said.

As of 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Tuesday, a total of 202,630 cases were reported in New York state, with 110,464 in New York City, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

COVID-19 death toll tops 12,000 in UK

The death toll of those hospitalized in Britain who tested positive for the novel coronavirus reached 12,107, a daily increase of 778, the Department of Health and Social Care said.

As of Tuesday morning, a total of 93,873 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, said the department, adding that 382,650 tests have concluded, with 14,982 tests on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"These are tough times and there will be more to come," said Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak during Tuesday`s Downing Street daily press briefing, adding that the latest death figures are a "powerful reminder" of the need for people to stick to social distancing rules.

"We absolutely need to make sure that we keep the benefits of this going forward and we don`t take a foot off the pedal, we don`t become complacent," said Sunak.

Sunak stressed that Britain`s strategy is not about "choosing" between people`s health and the health of the economy, calling "not to take action to protect people`s health" as "self-defeating".

"The single most important thing we can do for the health of our economy is to protect the health of our people," he said.

Earlier Tuesday, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) warned Britain`s economy could shrink by 35 percent in the second quarter, and the unemployment could rise by more than 2 million to 10 percent during that period of time.

Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has suggested the total number of virus-related deaths in Britain is significantly higher than the figures published by the National Health Service (NHS) and the health department, which only count hospital deaths.

According to the ONS, around one in 10 coronavirus-related deaths registered up to April 3 in England and Wales took place outside hospitals.

"The latest comparable data for deaths involving COVID-19 with a date of death up to April 3, show there were 6,235 deaths in England and Wales. When looking at data for England, this is 15 percent higher than the NHS numbers as they include all mentions of COVID-19 on the death certificate, including suspected COVID-19, as well as deaths in the community," said Nick Stripe, head of health analysis and life events at the ONS.

Watch Zee Business live TV below:

The provisional number of deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending April 3 (week 14) was 16,387, representing an increase of 5,246 deaths registered compared with the previous week (week 13) and 6,082 more than the five-year average, according to the ONS.