
US coronavirus deaths now exceed 50,000 - double the number of fatalities in Spain and Italy - as the number of confirmed cases rose by a near-record amount to hit more than 891,000.

An additional 2,416 deaths were confirmed in the US on Thursday. That daily death toll was just shy of a peak of 2,524 deaths in a single day on April 15. The total number of deaths now stand at 50,478 in the U.S.

The number of confirmed cases rose by 34,828 in 24 hours. The record daily rise in coronavirus cases was on April 10 when the number jumped by 35,579. There are now 894,774 cases in the U.S.

The US has both the highest number of confirmed cases and the highest death toll in the world.

In comparison, Italy has recorded 25,549 deaths and Spain has 22,524 fatalities. The next highest region in the world is New York state with just over 16,000 deaths.

A predictive model relied on by the White House this week increased its projection of expected deaths in the US by August by 10 per cent to 66,000.

The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation now expects the national death toll to hit 65,976 by August - 5,561 more than previously forecast.

The true number of cases is thought to be higher, with state public health officials cautioning that shortages of trained workers and materials have limited testing capacity.

Deaths are also likely higher, as most states only count hospital and nursing home victims and not those who died at home. About 40 percent of the deaths have occurred in New York state, the epicenter of the US outbreak, followed by New Jersey, Michigan and Massachusetts.

Despite the peak in deaths and confirmed cases, some states are still looking at easing lockdowns in a bid to kick start the economy again.

It comes as health experts and some governors in parts of the country have warned that a premature easing of restrictions on movement could trigger a surge in new cases.

Alaska has become the latest US state to partially reopen by easing lockdown restrictions on businesses from today - despite Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy acknowledging there will be more coronavirus deaths.

Tennessee has also outlined its plan for reopening from April 27 and Montana committed to kickstarting the economy by May 4.

The states join Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas in announcing partial reopenings amid the pandemic.

It comes after President Donald Trump last week gave the nation's governors his road map for how the US can reopen businesses and schools shut down by the coronavirus.

The guidelines suggest that states should record two weeks of declining cases before reopening. None of the states that are reopening have yet to record such a decline.

Public health experts have warned the US could be headed for a 'perfect storm' of new virus infections as the southern states form a coalition to reopen the economy.

Confirmed cases rose by 34,828 bringing the total cases across the nation to 891,622

An additional 2,416 deaths were confirmed, bringing the total to 50,442. Confirmed cases rose by 34,828 bringing the total cases across the nation to 891,622. That daily death toll was just shy of a peak of 2,524 deaths in a single day on April 15

None of the six states that have already committed to partially reopening - Oklahoma, Colorado, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas - have reached a point where they are limiting the spread of infections, according to new data

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis revealed this week that Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi are joining forces to ease lockdown measures across the states, in a move that mirrors the coalition already set out by some northern states.

Jill Roberts of the University of South Florida's College of Public Health issued a grave warning that together the six states - which are rife with chronic health conditions and are lagging behind on testing - could trigger a new spike in cases and deaths if they push to reopen too soon.

'If you put these states together, there is a perfect storm for a massive epidemic peak later on,' she told Politico.

The reopening plans come as a new study has claimed Coronavirus was spreading silently through US cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle in February when the world was worried only about China.

Researchers from Northwestern University have estimated that based on lockdown orders, confirmed cases and people's traveling and moving habits, the true number of people infected across those five cities by March 1 was 28,000. Only 23 cases had been confirmed at the time.

Their estimates were shared by The New York Times on Thursday and paint a worrying picture of how far behind the US was in responding to the threat.

The first death in the US was previously thought to have occurred on February 29 in Washington State and was that of a man who had recently come back from Wuhan.

This week, Californian officials revealed that a seemingly healthy woman died on February 6 from the virus.

Patricia Dowd died at home in Santa Clara County, which takes in San Jose and is just south of San Francisco and the Bay Area, but her death went unreported as a coronavirus death because she was not tested.

According to her relatives, she had been suffering flu like symptoms for a few days before her death but had recovered. They chalked her death down to a heart attack but were confused by it because she exercised regularly, did not smoke and watched her diet.

A new study has claimed Coronavirus was spreading silently through US cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle in February when the world was worried only about China , Researchers from Northwestern University have estimated that based on lockdown orders, confirmed cases and people's traveling and moving habits, the true number of people infected across those five cities by March 1 was 28,000. Only 23 cases had been confirmed at the time

New York City, which has a population of 8.4million, has recorded 10,290 confirmed coronavirus deaths and there are another 5,121 presumed deaths from the disease. There are currently more than 141,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the city

New York City, which has a population of 8.4million, has recorded 10,290 confirmed coronavirus deaths and there are another 5,121 presumed deaths from the disease. There are currently more than 141,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the city

In the hardest-hit corner of the US, evidence has emerged that perhaps 2.7 million New York state residents have been infected by the virus - 10 times the number confirmed by lab tests.

The study took samples from 3,000 randomly selected people across the state who were chosen at grocery stores and had their blood taken via a finger-prick test that the state's health department made.

It remains unknown how accurate it is. While private companies have given exact percentages for how accurate their own tests are, when questioned about their test, the NY health department, said only that theirs was 'very accurate'.

Statewide, the virus prevalence was 13.9 percent but it was far higher in New York City, where 21.2 percent tested positive. New York City, which has a population of 8.4million, has recorded 10,290 confirmed coronavirus deaths and there are another 5,121 presumed deaths from the disease.

There are currently more than 141,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the city.

Oxiris Balbot, the New York City health commissioner, said on Thursday that she estimates up to one million New Yorkers might have been infected.

Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus, according to new data released Thursday.

More than 4.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government reported. In all, roughly 26 million people — the population of the 10 biggest U.S. cities combined — have now filed for jobless aid in five weeks.

Unemployment in the U.S. is swelling to levels last seen during the Great Depression of the 1930s, with 1 in 6 American workers thrown out of a job by the coronavirus, according to new data released Thursday

More than 4.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the government reported