US President, Donald Trump, on Wednesday issued his starkest warning yet on the threat posed by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak to the US, saying that the country is facing “a hell of a bad two weeks” ahead.
The President said at his latest briefing from the White House that observing social distancing rules is “a matter of life and death”.
“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead. This is going to be one of the roughest two or three weeks we’ve ever had in our country. We’re going to lose thousands of people.”
On Wednesday morning, 4,076 deaths – more than twice the 2,010 recorded on Saturday – were reported.
The number eclipsed the official count of 3,305 victims in China, putting the US only behind Italy and Spain for recording more deaths from the disease to date.
The number of confirmed US cases is now higher than anywhere in the world, having reached 189,510.
White House projections indicate that the coronavirus could cause anywhere between 100,000 to 240,000 deaths, even with existing social distancing measures still in place.
More Americans have now died from the COVID-19 virus than those from the 9/11 terror attacks on New York City.
On Wednesday, Manhattan had recorded more than 900 deaths in the borough alone, as US military personnel erected temporary hospitals across the city.
According to data provided by John Hopkins University, more than 40 per cent of all US Coronavirus deaths so far have come from New York City where there have been over 1,700 confirmed deaths.
