America’s death toll from coronavirus has overtaken the number of people killed in the September 11 attacks as the outbreak continues to gather pace across the country.

On Monday more than 3,000 people in the US had been killed from the virus, according to a tracker from John Hopkins University. It is now rising by around 400 a day, while its 163,429 cases are by far the highest national number ahead of Italy, Spain and China.

The latest increase saw it surpass the near 3,000 people killed in 9/11 when the World Trade Centre and Pentagon were attacked by jihadists in 2001.

Potential death tolls were a point of debate on Monday after Donald Trump abandoned hopes of lifting strict nationwide guidelines by Easter during a press conference on Sunday.

The US president announced that the guidelines, which were due to expire on Monday, will instead be extended until April 30 and possibly beyond that.