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US reaches grim milestone as coronavirus death toll surpasses 100,000

Manhattan Skyline beyond graves in Calvary Cemetery during outbreak of the coronavirus disease - Reuters
Manhattan Skyline beyond graves in Calvary Cemetery during outbreak of the coronavirus disease - Reuters
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter
Coronavirus Article Bar with counter

America has become the first country to see its coronavirus death toll pass 100,000, a grim milestone that exceeded some of Donald Trump’s early estimates and triggered a wave of national condolences from political leaders.

The US president offered his “heartfelt sympathy and love” to those who lost friends and relatives to Covid-19 while Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, called the total a “heart-rending” point in the nation’s history.

National newspapers produced special front pages to mark the moment, with The Washington Post placing a large black square with the number 100,000 in the centre of its splash and USA Today printing the faces of some victims.

America’s Covid-19 death toll is around three times higher than the country with the second highest total, Britain, which has seen more than 37,000 deaths followed by Italy on 33,000 and France on close to 29,000.

The scale of death far exceeds one early estimate from Mr Trump that as few as 60,000 people would be killed from the virus in America, though he has given a variety of numbers throughout the outbreak.

 

 

America has seen more than 1.7 million confirmed cases of Covid-19. While new case numbers continue to drop across the nation as a whole, around a dozen states are seeing them rise including in some which reopened early.

Mr Trump tweeted: “We have just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000.

“To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!”

Mr Biden tweeted: “There are moments in our history so grim, so heart-rending, that they're forever fixed in each of our hearts as shared grief.

“Today is one of those moments. 100,000 lives have now been lost to this virus. To those hurting, I'm so sorry for your loss. The nation grieves with you.”

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives, called the milestone "tragic" as she urged the Trump administration to improve its nationwide testing system.

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont senator and leading figure in the US democratic socialist movement, cited the figure as he called for new legislation to protect the working class.

Jerome Adams, the US Surgeon General, marked the moment by urging people to continue social distancing, calling each life lost a “tragedy”.

He said Americans could help “slow the spread” with “good hand hygiene, physical distancing, and choosing to wear a face covering in public”.

Washington DC will become the latest part of America to begin opening up on Friday, with restaurants able to serve people in outdoor spaces as lockdown begins to ease.

Another 2.1 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, new figures published on Thursday revealed.

It takes the total during the 10-week coronavirus crisis up to 40 million, unlike any surge seen since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

It has emerged that the White House will not issue a mid-year update to its economic forecasts this summer, breaking decades of tradition.

Mr Trump has talked up the hope of an economic recovery beginning in the third quarter of 2020.

His re-election campaign hopes the green shoots of recovery will be evident before the vote on November 3, now just five months away.

The president continued his back-and-forth with Mr Biden over mask-wearing in public. Mr Trump declined to do so for events on Monday, unlike Mr Biden.

The president again tweeted a picture of Mr Biden from that day showing the Democrat’s face half covered by a black mask, writing: “He looks better!”