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The World Health Organization said on Tuesday it was seeing a “very large acceleration” in coronavirus infections in the United States which had the potential of becoming the new epicentre.

Over the past 24 hours, 85 per cent of new cases were from Europe and the United States, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters. Of those, 40 percent were from the United States.

Asked whether the United States could become the new epicentre, Harris said: “We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the U.S. So it does have that potential.”

The new fatalities offer a stark illustration of the outbreak’s deepening human toll at a time when President Donald Trump is considering scaling back containment efforts in hopes of preventing further economic turmoil. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that the federal government would reassess social distancing guidelines at the end of the month.

Photo by Andrew Kelly/Reuters

Public health officials have urged the administration not to backpedal on social distancing, saying such a move would undermine work to mitigate the virus and overwhelm hospitals, which are already facing shortages of tests, masks and other essential medical supplies.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned of a worsening crisis as some people continue to disregard messages to stay home.

People choosing to visit beaches and national parks or spend time crowding around Washington’s cherry blossoms is how the virus is going to keep spreading, Adams told NBC’s “Today” show Monday.